“When you learn a language, you don’t just learn to speak and write a new language. You also learn to be open-minded, liberal, tolerant, kind and considerate towards all mankind.”
Before language became a tool for learning, its earliest and primary purpose was, and will always remain to be, communication. Coming back to our case, purpose here for use of Urdu is merely communication.
We must respect and rejoice in our diversity, including our many languages. One of our principal constitutional values of ‘tolerance’ must also come into play. Urdu is not alien to India. Interestingly, Urdu words have a heavy influence on Court parlance. States which have Urdu as an official language are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Union Territories which follow this practice are Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. This is not an occasion to have an elaborate discussion on rise and fall of Urdu.
Our misconceptions, perhaps even our prejudices, against a language have to be courageously and truthfully tested against reality. Let us make friends with Urdu and every language.
– Hon’ble Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, Mrs. Varshatai v. State of Maharashtra, [Diary No. 24812 of 2024].
