मियाँ ग़ालिब ने फरमाया-

क्यूँ न फ़िरदौस में दोज़ख़ को मिला लें या रब
सैर के वास्ते थोड़ी सी फ़ज़ा और सही

अब इसे रचनात्‍मक जिद्‌द या गुस्‍ताख़ी कह लें, इसके आगे राष्‍ट्रवादी पहचान की 'शुध्‍दता' के दावे को थोड़ी देर के लिए
नज़रअन्‍दाज़ कर देना ही ठीक है।

'हिन्‍दी उर्दु के मुकदमे' में ज़िरह करने वाले तमाम वकील शायद अब थक चुके होंगे।बेहतर हो कि बदले हुए माहौल में हम इस मसले पर एक बार फिर से गौ़र फ़रमायें।



A CASE FOR URDU EDUCATION IN INDIA

Apoorvanand,Delhi

The question of Urdu as a language in education has been a subject of fierce debates and arguments. Ironically it seems to be dictated by political considerations and controlled by people who knows and cares little about languages and education. A popular perception that Urdu belongs to a particular religious community has been allowed to gain ground. The fact however is it is a language with rich history spreading over more than thousand of years. Unfortunately sometimes Urdu is no longer perceived as an independent language. Since Urdu and Hindi have grown in close proximity, they are often perceived as two different styles of one language. While accepting the evolution of Urdu and Hindi as a unique case of one language split into two and that at a certain level of abstraction there is little difference between the two, one should not forget that this perception has led to an understanding that there is no need to clamour for an independent space for Urdu in Persho Arabic script and it can very well survive in the shell of Hindi written in Devnagari script. As a result of this it has been made to suffer the apathy and neglect of policy makers in general and education planners in particular.

Urdu shares its territory with Hindi and is, in one form or other, in use in the areas of Kashmir ,Punjab, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and in the geographical ares of old Hyderabad and Marathwada(i.e, parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh).Murshidabad in Bengal was once a centre of Urdu but now in Bengal it has remained largely a language of the migrnts from Bihar who more or less live on a permanent basis there.There is a thriving newspaper industry even in a state like maharshtra and there is demand for Urdu books and journals in Karnataka.

If we take into account the fact that even after suffering a deliberate official neglect for about half a century, Urdu has managed to survive in the above mentioned areas making use of the meager resources available to it in the form of community support and little support it garnered from the governments proves that as a language it continues tobe a living organism which has its own cultural and societal moorings. There is no reason therefore to treat it as a language in disuse and natural decline.

Popularity of Hindustani cinema and Ghazal gayaki ,etc have kindled a love for Urdu even among those whowould for other reasons would not call Urdu "their"language. The fact there is a growing demand for Urdu literature in Devnagari only proves that there are sufficient societal resources and levels of acceptance which need to be tapped for a healthy growth of Urdu.

Another argument which is extra linguistic in nature but socially relevant is that there is renewed warmth in the relations of the peoples of India and Pakistan and Urdu could prove to be a very strong bridge to help them come together and gain a better understanding of the commonness of the ground they share. That peace and friendship between the two nations is vital for their healthy growth is an argument which does not need further elucidation.

One needs to take note that neglect by the state owned educational structures has driven Urdu to the Madarsas , especially relevant in the case of a large population of poor Muslim masses to whom they offerfree education. They are weak centers of education where Urdu is taught in complete isolation from other social and cultural communities, thereby depriving the Urdu learners the richness of inter community and cultural interactions that lead to openness in any language use. It only further weakens Urdu as a language.

The irony of Urdu is that while it is treated with respect and dignity as a cultural entity, there is little or no empirical knowledge transaction or production in it. Poor availability of Urdu textbooks in sciences and social sciences combined with non appointment of qualified teachers in Urdu medium schools who could deal ably with different subjects forces the students, otherwise at home in the Urdu medium to go for Hindi or English medium schools. It would therefore essential to create the wherewithal necessary for Urdu to continue as a language of education in the 21st century.