Many Indian children have no idea who Munshi Premchand is.
NEW DELHI: This is with reference to Dr Tariq Rahman’s article of July 17 titled “The murder of linguistic history — I”.
After reading the article, I ended up trying to catch my past when I was a student of class VI at the Centennial Higher Secondary School, Golaganj, Lucknow where Sadiq Sahib (referred to by the writer) was my English as well as Urdu teacher. I studied Pehla Qaida from him. But after class VI, Urdu became optional and I switched over to Sanskrit.
This was the end of my formal learning of the great language of Urdu in the Persian script. But in common discussions, we used to speak Urdu words without hesitation. My passion for Urdu was mainly due to the poetry of great literary scholars like Ghalib, Josh and Firaq, which I read in Hindi magazines for children like Parag and Nandan. These two magazines were instrumental in making me interested in great story writers like Saadat Hasan Manto and Krishan Chandar. Films like Mirza Ghalib, Taj Mahal, Mughal-e-Azam, Mere Mehboob, and Pyasa had plenty of songs written by Sahir Ludhianvi and Shakeel Budaunyni which were sung by people like Bade Ghulam Ali sahib, Talat sahib, Rafi sahib, Manna Dey and Lata ji.
Till the 1960s, Urdu was a language of the masses and was still being used in offices and courts, particularly in the north. However, over time it began to be forced out from curriculums, and this was done by politicians and by society in general. The politicians opted for a ‘tri-language’ arrangement in which Hindi was to be the national language of India, English the language of communication and various regional languages the mother tongues.
No doubt, this formula worked wonders in a regionally-divided population, but in the process, Urdu was sidelined and subsequently not considered as a viable option for those entering the job market. My grandfather used to read Urdu newspapers/magazines but I could read it only in the Devnagri script.
Also over time, many villagers from eastern UP migrated to Lucknow, and that further diluted the Urdu culture and heritage. That said, I do have a few friends who still insist on teaching Urdu to their children, perhaps because they feel it an important part of their identity.
I have no words to express my deep sorrow at seeing the decline of Urdu in India’s composite culture. Since we have not been able to preserve Urdu, the same is going to happen with Hindi one day. With English considered necessary in India to get a decent job, Hindi is already considered a secondary language by the elite. Many Indian children have no idea who Munshi Premchand is.
I would like to thank your newspaper for publishing such a well-researched article. Shukriya, Dr Tariq Rahman sahib.
Sanjay Sharma
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.
