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Urdu Day has traditionally been celebrated on November 9, the birth anniversary of poet Allama Iqbal. However, there's a small revolt of sorts in the offing.
Piqued by the growing misconception that Urdu is the language of Muslims alone (a canard that, apart from being historically untrue, also does disservice to the legions of non-Muslim writers and Urdu lovers who enriched the language and championed its cause), a group of university professors is attempting to restore to Urdu its secular character. Banding under the banner of the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre of Indian Languages and the All India Association of Urdu Teachers of Colleges and Universities, their goal is to celebrate March 31 as Urdu Day. Reason: it was on this day that Pandit Deo Narayan Pandey and Jai Bahadur Singh died fighting for its rights.
Unlike Iqbal, Pandey and Singh were no Urdu poets. Supporters of the Urdu Muhafiz Dasta (Urdu Protection Squad), they were members of the group that staged a hunger strike to get Urdu the status of second official language in states like UP. "Pandey sat on the hunger strike on March 20, 1967, outside the collector's office in Kanpur while Singh was part of the group which sat outside the UP assembly in Lucknow. Pandey died on March 31 while Singh died a few days later. We want to dedicate Urdu Day to the duo's memory," says Anwar Alam Pasha, an Urdu professor at JNU, who is spearheading the movement. Incidentally, the idea was first mooted by late Mohammed Hassan, a retired professor of Urdu at JNU, in the 1990s.
As a mark of respect to the sacrifice of Pandey and Singh, a movement to bring back Urdu into the mainstream education system will also be launched on March 31. "Teaching of Urdu must be facilitated in schools and colleges," says Pasha.
Senior Urdu writers and journalists maintain that Pandey and Singh are more deserving of being remembered as champions of Urdu than Iqbalâand dedicating Urdu Day to them will help remove the misconception that the language belongs to Muslims alone. "Urdu symbolises our composite character. It is inherently secular. There cannot be a better example to prove it than the martyrdom of Pandey and Singh," maintains Professor Ali Jawed of Delhi University. Adds senior Urdu columnist Hasan Kamaal, who had participated in Urdu Muhaffiz Dasta's march in Mumbai in the late 1960s, "By participating in a hunger strike for the cause of Urdu and dying for it, they proved that a language has no religion."
Many argue that one single poet or writer should not be remembered on an entire language's behalf. "Ghalib was a bigger poet than Iqbal. Many say Meer was bigger than Ghalib. So why should we dedicate a day to Iqbal's memory?" asks Professor Mohammed Kazim of Delhi University.Iqbal's controversial ideological moorings are another active discouragement. "Iqbal was a pan-Islamist. Pakistan regards him as its ideological founding father and celebrates November 9 as Iqbal Day. We should not celebrate his birthday as Urdu Day, and it is good that there is an effort to dedicate Urdu Day to two obscure champions of Urdu," says Ather Farouqi, general secretary of Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu, an over-century-old organisation dedicated to propagation of the language.
At a time when non-Muslim readers of Urdu are few and far between and the language is being increasingly banished to the madrassas, Urdu lovers feel that urgent steps are needed to preserve its secular character. And one of the steps, they say, is to find new heroes. "Urdu newspapers are developing a religious tone, and an impression is being created that Urdu has become Musalman," says senior Urdu-Hindi columnist Feroz Ashraf. "This must be changed. And one way to change is to accord respect to selfless non-Muslim workers of Urdu like Pandey and Singh."
Iqbal and Urdu day in India
Piqued by the growing misconception that Urdu is the language of Muslims alone (a canard that, apart from being historically untrue, also does disservice to the legions of non-Muslim writers and Urdu lovers who enriched the language and championed its cause), a group of university professors is attempting to restore to Urdu its secular character. Banding under the banner of the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre of Indian Languages and the All India Association of Urdu Teachers of Colleges and Universities, their goal is to celebrate March 31 as Urdu Day. Reason: it was on this day that Pandit Deo Narayan Pandey and Jai Bahadur Singh died fighting for its rights.
Unlike Iqbal, Pandey and Singh were no Urdu poets. Supporters of the Urdu Muhafiz Dasta (Urdu Protection Squad), they were members of the group that staged a hunger strike to get Urdu the status of second official language in states like UP. "Pandey sat on the hunger strike on March 20, 1967, outside the collector's office in Kanpur while Singh was part of the group which sat outside the UP assembly in Lucknow. Pandey died on March 31 while Singh died a few days later. We want to dedicate Urdu Day to the duo's memory," says Anwar Alam Pasha, an Urdu professor at JNU, who is spearheading the movement. Incidentally, the idea was first mooted by late Mohammed Hassan, a retired professor of Urdu at JNU, in the 1990s.
As a mark of respect to the sacrifice of Pandey and Singh, a movement to bring back Urdu into the mainstream education system will also be launched on March 31. "Teaching of Urdu must be facilitated in schools and colleges," says Pasha.
Senior Urdu writers and journalists maintain that Pandey and Singh are more deserving of being remembered as champions of Urdu than Iqbalâand dedicating Urdu Day to them will help remove the misconception that the language belongs to Muslims alone. "Urdu symbolises our composite character. It is inherently secular. There cannot be a better example to prove it than the martyrdom of Pandey and Singh," maintains Professor Ali Jawed of Delhi University. Adds senior Urdu columnist Hasan Kamaal, who had participated in Urdu Muhaffiz Dasta's march in Mumbai in the late 1960s, "By participating in a hunger strike for the cause of Urdu and dying for it, they proved that a language has no religion."
Many argue that one single poet or writer should not be remembered on an entire language's behalf. "Ghalib was a bigger poet than Iqbal. Many say Meer was bigger than Ghalib. So why should we dedicate a day to Iqbal's memory?" asks Professor Mohammed Kazim of Delhi University.Iqbal's controversial ideological moorings are another active discouragement. "Iqbal was a pan-Islamist. Pakistan regards him as its ideological founding father and celebrates November 9 as Iqbal Day. We should not celebrate his birthday as Urdu Day, and it is good that there is an effort to dedicate Urdu Day to two obscure champions of Urdu," says Ather Farouqi, general secretary of Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu, an over-century-old organisation dedicated to propagation of the language.
At a time when non-Muslim readers of Urdu are few and far between and the language is being increasingly banished to the madrassas, Urdu lovers feel that urgent steps are needed to preserve its secular character. And one of the steps, they say, is to find new heroes. "Urdu newspapers are developing a religious tone, and an impression is being created that Urdu has become Musalman," says senior Urdu-Hindi columnist Feroz Ashraf. "This must be changed. And one way to change is to accord respect to selfless non-Muslim workers of Urdu like Pandey and Singh."
Iqbal and Urdu day in India
