For Tejasvi Surya, Some History About the Language & Attire of Hindus
The BJP leader forgets that Urdu is not an alien language in India, even for the region he represents in Parliament.
Published:
|
Showing posts with label Urdu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urdu. Show all posts
October 21, 2021
September 29, 2019
India: Move by Punjab university to treat Urdu as a Foreign Language
The Telegraph
Panjab University Urdu ‘foreign’ protest
The university had recently proposed bringing the Urdu department under the School of Foreign Languages
By PTI in Chandigarh
Published 29.09.19, 1:40 AM
Urdu was born, nurtured and cultured in India during the first two decades of the 13th century by Amir Khusro. From that moment onward, Urdu and Hindi languages have not looked back.
Urdu was born, nurtured and cultured in India during the first two decades of the 13th century by Amir Khusro. From that moment onward, Urdu and
Panjab University’s Urdu department has objected to its proposed merger with those of various foreign languages, asserting that Urdu is not a foreign tongue but an Indian language like Hindi and Punjabi.
The university had recently proposed bringing the Urdu department under the School of Foreign Languages to be set up after merging the departments of Russian, French, German, Chinese and Tibetan languages, said Urdu department coordinator Ali Abbas on Saturday.
“Urdu was born, nurtured and cultured in India during the first two decades of the 13th century by Amir Khusro. From that moment onward, Urdu and Hindi languages have not looked back. Not only this, even Punjabi language was put on the path of development by Baba Farid Ganj Shakar,” Abbas said in a letter to Panjab University’s dean for university instructions.
A “wrong impression” is being created by “certain elements that Urdu is a foreign language”, said Abbas, asserting that “it is far from the truth”.
“Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi are the three main languages... which were later accorded the status of state language at different times,” the letter stated.
The Urdu department raised the objection after the university authorities recently proposed to merge small departments with less than six faculty members to form one single school or centre as per new norms laid down by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (Naac).
According to the varsity’s proposal, the merger is aimed at enhancing the “academic performance by sharing infrastructure and human resources” of various smaller departments.
Abbas, however, suggested bringing the departments of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi under one umbrella — that of the department of Indian languages. “Or (the Urdu department) may be allowed to function independently as per the present arrangements,” Abbas wrote in the letter.
A 15-member committee, formed by the university’s vice-chancellor will take the final call on the proposed merger of small departments on September 30.
Panjab University Urdu ‘foreign’ protest
The university had recently proposed bringing the Urdu department under the School of Foreign Languages
By PTI in Chandigarh
Published 29.09.19, 1:40 AM
Urdu was born, nurtured and cultured in India during the first two decades of the 13th century by Amir Khusro. From that moment onward, Urdu and Hindi languages have not looked back.
Urdu was born, nurtured and cultured in India during the first two decades of the 13th century by Amir Khusro. From that moment onward, Urdu and
Panjab University’s Urdu department has objected to its proposed merger with those of various foreign languages, asserting that Urdu is not a foreign tongue but an Indian language like Hindi and Punjabi.
The university had recently proposed bringing the Urdu department under the School of Foreign Languages to be set up after merging the departments of Russian, French, German, Chinese and Tibetan languages, said Urdu department coordinator Ali Abbas on Saturday.
“Urdu was born, nurtured and cultured in India during the first two decades of the 13th century by Amir Khusro. From that moment onward, Urdu and Hindi languages have not looked back. Not only this, even Punjabi language was put on the path of development by Baba Farid Ganj Shakar,” Abbas said in a letter to Panjab University’s dean for university instructions.
A “wrong impression” is being created by “certain elements that Urdu is a foreign language”, said Abbas, asserting that “it is far from the truth”.
“Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi are the three main languages... which were later accorded the status of state language at different times,” the letter stated.
The Urdu department raised the objection after the university authorities recently proposed to merge small departments with less than six faculty members to form one single school or centre as per new norms laid down by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (Naac).
According to the varsity’s proposal, the merger is aimed at enhancing the “academic performance by sharing infrastructure and human resources” of various smaller departments.
Abbas, however, suggested bringing the departments of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi under one umbrella — that of the department of Indian languages. “Or (the Urdu department) may be allowed to function independently as per the present arrangements,” Abbas wrote in the letter.
A 15-member committee, formed by the university’s vice-chancellor will take the final call on the proposed merger of small departments on September 30.
March 19, 2016
India: Urdu writers asked to declare "My book not against the govt, nation"
The Indian Express - March 19, 2016
Urdu writers asked to declare: My book not against the govt, nation
The form, received by several Urdu writers and editors over the past few months, also asks authors to provide signatures of two witnesses.
Written by Dipti Nagpaul | Mumbai
writers-480 The form, received by several Urdu writers and editors over the past few months, also asks authors to provide signatures of two witnesses.
The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), which operates under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has introduced a form which requires authors of books NCPUL acquires annually to declare that the content will not be against the government or the country.
The form, received by several Urdu writers and editors over the past few months, also asks authors to provide signatures of two witnesses. Originally circulated in Urdu, the form, accessed by The Indian Express, reads: “I son/daughter of confirm that my book/magazine titled which has been approved for bulk purchase by NCPUL’s monetary assistance scheme does not contain anything against the policies of the government of India or the interest of the nation, does not cause disharmony of any sort between different classes of the country, and is not monetarily supported by any government or non-government institution.”
It also warns that in case of a breach, the NCPUL can take legal action against the author and take back the monetary assistance.
NCPUL director Irteza Karim, who was appointed early last year, said, “If a writer wants financial aid from the government, then of course the content cannot be against (the government). NCPUL is a government organisation and we are government employees. We will naturally protect the interests of the government.”
“The decision to add this declaration form was taken about a year ago at a meeting of the council members, which includes members of the HRD Ministry. The Home Ministry is also in the know of things,” Karim said.
“The council has to face many problems; sometimes books written by one author are submitted under another’s name and we get embroiled in legal issues. Since we do not have the manpower to scrutinise every single line of each book, this form helps us place the onus on the authors,” he added.
Karim said the move was triggered by an incident last year when a book on Abul Kalam Azad put out some incorrect information. “He is a national figure and misinformation on him can become a national issue. We cannot take responsibility for everything,” Karim said.
Urdu writers criticised the form, saying it strives to “strangle dissent”. Shanaaz Nabi, an author and a professor at the University of Calcutta, received the form earlier this week along with a letter stating that her selection of literary essays, titled Tamquivi Mutaliyat, has been selected for acquisition by the NCPUL in 2016.
“It is an insult to ask an author to get two witnesses to sign a declaration that will curb their freedom of expression,” said Nabi. Nabi said this was a way of arm-twisting the writers into complying with the “government’s shenanigans” as Urdu literature is suffering and writers need the money.
Jamshedpur-based Abrar Mujib, editor of a bi-annual magazine titled Raavi, said the point of literature is to critique the government and point out flaws in society. “But such a loosely-worded declaration makes everyone vulnerable and can place immense power in the hands of the government to strangle any dissent,” he said, adding that no one has been provided any guidelines that define what counts as objectionable.
Urdu writers asked to declare: My book not against the govt, nation
The form, received by several Urdu writers and editors over the past few months, also asks authors to provide signatures of two witnesses.
Written by Dipti Nagpaul | Mumbai
writers-480 The form, received by several Urdu writers and editors over the past few months, also asks authors to provide signatures of two witnesses.
The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), which operates under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has introduced a form which requires authors of books NCPUL acquires annually to declare that the content will not be against the government or the country.
The form, received by several Urdu writers and editors over the past few months, also asks authors to provide signatures of two witnesses. Originally circulated in Urdu, the form, accessed by The Indian Express, reads: “I son/daughter of confirm that my book/magazine titled which has been approved for bulk purchase by NCPUL’s monetary assistance scheme does not contain anything against the policies of the government of India or the interest of the nation, does not cause disharmony of any sort between different classes of the country, and is not monetarily supported by any government or non-government institution.”
It also warns that in case of a breach, the NCPUL can take legal action against the author and take back the monetary assistance.
NCPUL director Irteza Karim, who was appointed early last year, said, “If a writer wants financial aid from the government, then of course the content cannot be against (the government). NCPUL is a government organisation and we are government employees. We will naturally protect the interests of the government.”
“The decision to add this declaration form was taken about a year ago at a meeting of the council members, which includes members of the HRD Ministry. The Home Ministry is also in the know of things,” Karim said.
“The council has to face many problems; sometimes books written by one author are submitted under another’s name and we get embroiled in legal issues. Since we do not have the manpower to scrutinise every single line of each book, this form helps us place the onus on the authors,” he added.
Karim said the move was triggered by an incident last year when a book on Abul Kalam Azad put out some incorrect information. “He is a national figure and misinformation on him can become a national issue. We cannot take responsibility for everything,” Karim said.
Urdu writers criticised the form, saying it strives to “strangle dissent”. Shanaaz Nabi, an author and a professor at the University of Calcutta, received the form earlier this week along with a letter stating that her selection of literary essays, titled Tamquivi Mutaliyat, has been selected for acquisition by the NCPUL in 2016.
“It is an insult to ask an author to get two witnesses to sign a declaration that will curb their freedom of expression,” said Nabi. Nabi said this was a way of arm-twisting the writers into complying with the “government’s shenanigans” as Urdu literature is suffering and writers need the money.
Jamshedpur-based Abrar Mujib, editor of a bi-annual magazine titled Raavi, said the point of literature is to critique the government and point out flaws in society. “But such a loosely-worded declaration makes everyone vulnerable and can place immense power in the hands of the government to strangle any dissent,” he said, adding that no one has been provided any guidelines that define what counts as objectionable.
February 04, 2015
India: Behind hounding of female editor who published Hebdo cover, pettiness of Urdu journalism (Jyoti Punwani)
Behind hounding of female editor who published Hebdo cover, pettiness of Urdu journalism lies exposed
Shireen Dalvi's rapid ascent has annoyed many of her male peers.
by Jyoti Punwani
http://scroll.in/article/704074/Behind-hounding-of-female-editor-who-published-Hebdo-cover,-pettiness-of-Urdu-journalism-lies-exposed
Shireen Dalvi's rapid ascent has annoyed many of her male peers.
by Jyoti Punwani
http://scroll.in/article/704074/Behind-hounding-of-female-editor-who-published-Hebdo-cover,-pettiness-of-Urdu-journalism-lies-exposed
October 09, 2014
India: Hindustani Versus Sanskritized Hindi – Saeed Naqvi
Caravan Daily
Hindustani Versus Sanskritized Hindi – Saeed Naqvi
Saeed Naqvi is a former newspaper editor and a widely travelled Indian political analyst and commentator on diplomatic affairs
Hindustani Versus Sanskritized Hindi – Saeed Naqvi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 27, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Lei/IANS)
Modi’s Hindi, learnt presumably as an RSS pracharak, is dry and, to a novice like me, forbidding. Not just me, there are Macaulay’s children and millions of votaries of the new consumerism — they will all be more comfortable with Hindustani. Hence the case for the prime minister to use a more intelligible Hindustani than a heavily Sanskritized Hindi
SAEED NAQVI
I did not understand a word of what our prime minister said at the United Nations General Assembly. Well, except for words like “taaqatwar”, “rozgar” and “zahir”, all other words were beyond my comprehension. I had to fall back on translation.
What confounded me even more were the one liners on top of the TV screen.
“Modi’s befitting reply to Sharif.”
This was baffling. I may have lost Modi’s syntax but I did not hear him mention “Sharif” even once. But the anchors would not give up.
“The UNGA hall was empty when Sharif spoke; it was packed when Modi did”.
Another chipped in: “I think we should cut out this Indo-Pak hyphenation”.
The anchors were possessed by a seering desire to be nasty with Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, and anything associated with either. As an answer to their prayer, up popped the heads of two ex Pakistani generals from distant Karachi and Islamabad, grinning from ear to ear, in cheerful anticipation of being punched for the next hour. Why they show up is a mystery.
Yes, to revert to that difficulty in accessing the Hindi used by Narendra Modi. Why did I find it so disconcerting?
It is immaterial what my belief is because in a world comfortable with denominational identity, it is tempting to place me in a coop with other Indian Muslims. This would be a bad fit. Indeed it would be a cacophony. Muslims would speak Malayalam in Kerala, Tamil in Tamil Nadu, Bengali in Bengal and so on. Modi’s elevated Hindi would pose the same problems in the regions – for Hindus and Muslims alike. They have all learnt to understand Bollywood Hindustani. That should be the queue.
In Kerala, for instance, it was accepted in the 1980s, that Mohammad Koya spoke the wittiest Malayalam in the state assembly. As chief minister, he once invited me to dinner which was something of a culture shock to both of us. He spoke little Hindi or English and I spoke no Malayalam. He left a strong Malayali imprimatur on the meal by having me sample five varieties of bananas by way of dessert.
Hindi cascades from its Sanskritic heights, then picks up the flavours of Awadhi, Brajbhasha, Bhojpuri and lilts of a hundred rural, pastoral dialects, across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Dilute the Sanskritic bit and add some Persian instead and you have the scale of Urdu. The language can be stately and inaccessible to the untrained.
When writers elevate their diction, as Maulana Azad did, the verse quoted is generally in Persian. But the finest writers and poets have brought it down to the level of popular literature where it becomes Hindustani. It was the boast of Arzoo Lucknawi that in his collection of poetry, “Surili Bansuri”, Melodious Flute, there is not a single Persian or Arabic word.
In the vast stretch of the cow-belt, an area called Awadh, was where Hindus and Muslims together refined and enriched Urdu. The first great prose writer of Urdu was Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar. One of the great ghazal poets of the 20th century was Raghupati Sahay Firaq Gorakhpuri. Urdu became the central column of what people in this region called India’s Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb or culture. (Tragic consequences of Partition on Urdu in Pakistan is another sad story.)
When the Congress party, without consulting the people, signed up for the Partition of India on June 3, 1947, this lot panicked. What would happen to their beloved Urdu? In divided India, Hindi would have to be the national language. What would happen to Urdu?
Saiyyid Mohammad Askari wrote:
“Hai dua yeh ki mukhalif jo/Hain dharey mil jaaen/Aaj phir Kausar o Ganga ke/Kinarey mil jaaen.”
(Let us pray that these opposing currents become a stream/May the banks of Kausar, river of paradise, become one with the Ganga)
Josh Malihabadi wailed:
“Chalne lagi zabaan pe churi inteqaam ki,/Chhaanti gayeen lughat se jo lafzein theen kaam ki/Rahman hi baat chali phir na Ram ki/Guddi se khich gayee jo zubaan thi awaam ki”
(The vengeful knife reached for our mother tongue/Choice words were wrenched from dictionaries/
No heed paid to Ram or Allah,/Tongues pulled out from the throat, men became speechless.)
This was not hyperbole in 1950.
This love for Urdu cost the Muslims dear. While the enlightened Hindu took to Western education exactly as Macaulay had willed, Muslims saw the package of Westernization, language included, with disdain. Later they settled for Hindustani. But what would happen to the Urdu script? Trapped in such considerations, a whole community lost the race for modernity.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s reversal to Hindi was moderate cultural assertion. There was lilt and melody in his makeup. Modi’s Hindi, learnt presumably as an RSS pracharak, is dry and, to a novice like me, forbidding. Not just me, there are Macaulay’s children and millions of votaries of the new consumerism – they will all be more comfortable with Hindustani.
Hindustani Versus Sanskritized Hindi – Saeed Naqvi
Saeed Naqvi is a former newspaper editor and a widely travelled Indian political analyst and commentator on diplomatic affairs
Hindustani Versus Sanskritized Hindi – Saeed Naqvi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 27, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Lei/IANS)
Modi’s Hindi, learnt presumably as an RSS pracharak, is dry and, to a novice like me, forbidding. Not just me, there are Macaulay’s children and millions of votaries of the new consumerism — they will all be more comfortable with Hindustani. Hence the case for the prime minister to use a more intelligible Hindustani than a heavily Sanskritized Hindi
SAEED NAQVI
I did not understand a word of what our prime minister said at the United Nations General Assembly. Well, except for words like “taaqatwar”, “rozgar” and “zahir”, all other words were beyond my comprehension. I had to fall back on translation.
What confounded me even more were the one liners on top of the TV screen.
“Modi’s befitting reply to Sharif.”
This was baffling. I may have lost Modi’s syntax but I did not hear him mention “Sharif” even once. But the anchors would not give up.
“The UNGA hall was empty when Sharif spoke; it was packed when Modi did”.
Another chipped in: “I think we should cut out this Indo-Pak hyphenation”.
The anchors were possessed by a seering desire to be nasty with Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, and anything associated with either. As an answer to their prayer, up popped the heads of two ex Pakistani generals from distant Karachi and Islamabad, grinning from ear to ear, in cheerful anticipation of being punched for the next hour. Why they show up is a mystery.
Yes, to revert to that difficulty in accessing the Hindi used by Narendra Modi. Why did I find it so disconcerting?
It is immaterial what my belief is because in a world comfortable with denominational identity, it is tempting to place me in a coop with other Indian Muslims. This would be a bad fit. Indeed it would be a cacophony. Muslims would speak Malayalam in Kerala, Tamil in Tamil Nadu, Bengali in Bengal and so on. Modi’s elevated Hindi would pose the same problems in the regions – for Hindus and Muslims alike. They have all learnt to understand Bollywood Hindustani. That should be the queue.
In Kerala, for instance, it was accepted in the 1980s, that Mohammad Koya spoke the wittiest Malayalam in the state assembly. As chief minister, he once invited me to dinner which was something of a culture shock to both of us. He spoke little Hindi or English and I spoke no Malayalam. He left a strong Malayali imprimatur on the meal by having me sample five varieties of bananas by way of dessert.
Hindi cascades from its Sanskritic heights, then picks up the flavours of Awadhi, Brajbhasha, Bhojpuri and lilts of a hundred rural, pastoral dialects, across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Dilute the Sanskritic bit and add some Persian instead and you have the scale of Urdu. The language can be stately and inaccessible to the untrained.
When writers elevate their diction, as Maulana Azad did, the verse quoted is generally in Persian. But the finest writers and poets have brought it down to the level of popular literature where it becomes Hindustani. It was the boast of Arzoo Lucknawi that in his collection of poetry, “Surili Bansuri”, Melodious Flute, there is not a single Persian or Arabic word.
In the vast stretch of the cow-belt, an area called Awadh, was where Hindus and Muslims together refined and enriched Urdu. The first great prose writer of Urdu was Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar. One of the great ghazal poets of the 20th century was Raghupati Sahay Firaq Gorakhpuri. Urdu became the central column of what people in this region called India’s Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb or culture. (Tragic consequences of Partition on Urdu in Pakistan is another sad story.)
When the Congress party, without consulting the people, signed up for the Partition of India on June 3, 1947, this lot panicked. What would happen to their beloved Urdu? In divided India, Hindi would have to be the national language. What would happen to Urdu?
Saiyyid Mohammad Askari wrote:
“Hai dua yeh ki mukhalif jo/Hain dharey mil jaaen/Aaj phir Kausar o Ganga ke/Kinarey mil jaaen.”
(Let us pray that these opposing currents become a stream/May the banks of Kausar, river of paradise, become one with the Ganga)
Josh Malihabadi wailed:
“Chalne lagi zabaan pe churi inteqaam ki,/Chhaanti gayeen lughat se jo lafzein theen kaam ki/Rahman hi baat chali phir na Ram ki/Guddi se khich gayee jo zubaan thi awaam ki”
(The vengeful knife reached for our mother tongue/Choice words were wrenched from dictionaries/
No heed paid to Ram or Allah,/Tongues pulled out from the throat, men became speechless.)
This was not hyperbole in 1950.
This love for Urdu cost the Muslims dear. While the enlightened Hindu took to Western education exactly as Macaulay had willed, Muslims saw the package of Westernization, language included, with disdain. Later they settled for Hindustani. But what would happen to the Urdu script? Trapped in such considerations, a whole community lost the race for modernity.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s reversal to Hindi was moderate cultural assertion. There was lilt and melody in his makeup. Modi’s Hindi, learnt presumably as an RSS pracharak, is dry and, to a novice like me, forbidding. Not just me, there are Macaulay’s children and millions of votaries of the new consumerism – they will all be more comfortable with Hindustani.
February 05, 2012
Why the opposition to use of Urdu in FIR's a problem?
From: The Times of India
Use of Urdu In FIRs Baffles Courts, commoners
Sukhbir Siwach & Hina Rohatki, TNN | Feb 5, 2012, 05.13PM IST
CHANDIGARH: Sounds like a line from a ghazal? It's something more prosaic-these lines are a part of an FIR at a police station in Panchkula district. It means: At this time, the police station's daily diary register number 2 records that the complainant was present at the police post, got his complaint registered, the details of which are as under..."
A heavy spattering of Urdu and Persian, remnant of the days of pre-Independence undivided Punjab, in FIRs and daily diary reports (DDRs) by the Haryana Police have left not only the common man but also judges baffled as they scurry to decipher the text.
The practice continues despite policemen being told way back in 2005 by the then DGP to use Hindi while writing FIRs, reports of cases, investigation and research reports on disputes. Even judges in various Haryana districts have time and again asked the police to use simple Hindi. Munshis, who pen reports in police stations, have not changed their ways over the years and sources say, even the young ones who join learn from their seniors and continue the practice.
"Over the years, policemen simply follow set precedents as they do not wish to make an effort at simplifying things. The words are picked up from earlier FIRs and they become a part of a munshi's vocabulary," said professor of linguistics at Panjan University, Mohammad Khalid.
Even judges have problems deciphering the meaning. During a judgment on November 21 last year, additional sessions judge, Bhiwani, M M Dhonchak had directed the superintendent of police, to ensure that the practice of using Urdu words should be abandoned and instead Hindi or English should be used.
"The reply to the bail application (of the case) contains several words of Urdu and other languages with which this court is not conversant and it was with great difficulty that this court could apprehend the contents ... time and again this court has expressed its displeasure over this irresponsible attitude of the police," the judge had said.
"Police have been writing words even without knowing their meaning. Even lawyers lawyers failed to understand what they meant during questioning in courts," then DGP had said in his communication in 2005.
The present Haryana DGP R S Dalal, however, feels use of such words can continue. "Many such words have become part of our daily conversation. Largely, open-minded people of the state welcome all languages and cultures," Dalal told TOI.
"We should not be too rigid on the use of pure Hindi in place of Urdu, which has become a part of common vocabulary in many cases. However, the language should not be overtly technical. Most policed stations now provide FIRs in computerised formats and in Hindi. This has been appreciated by many courts," said Haryana home secretary, Samir Mathur.
Hard Jargon
Tameel: Execution
Aala-e-katal: Murder weapon
Taftish: Investigation
Daryaft: Plea
Hasab jabta: As per law
Missal: File
Tarmeem: Amendment
Ishtgassa: Petition
(With inputs from Ajay Sura, Bhaskar Mukherjee and Pradeep Rai )
Use of Urdu In FIRs Baffles Courts, commoners
Sukhbir Siwach & Hina Rohatki, TNN | Feb 5, 2012, 05.13PM IST
CHANDIGARH: Sounds like a line from a ghazal? It's something more prosaic-these lines are a part of an FIR at a police station in Panchkula district. It means: At this time, the police station's daily diary register number 2 records that the complainant was present at the police post, got his complaint registered, the details of which are as under..."
A heavy spattering of Urdu and Persian, remnant of the days of pre-Independence undivided Punjab, in FIRs and daily diary reports (DDRs) by the Haryana Police have left not only the common man but also judges baffled as they scurry to decipher the text.
The practice continues despite policemen being told way back in 2005 by the then DGP to use Hindi while writing FIRs, reports of cases, investigation and research reports on disputes. Even judges in various Haryana districts have time and again asked the police to use simple Hindi. Munshis, who pen reports in police stations, have not changed their ways over the years and sources say, even the young ones who join learn from their seniors and continue the practice.
"Over the years, policemen simply follow set precedents as they do not wish to make an effort at simplifying things. The words are picked up from earlier FIRs and they become a part of a munshi's vocabulary," said professor of linguistics at Panjan University, Mohammad Khalid.
Even judges have problems deciphering the meaning. During a judgment on November 21 last year, additional sessions judge, Bhiwani, M M Dhonchak had directed the superintendent of police, to ensure that the practice of using Urdu words should be abandoned and instead Hindi or English should be used.
"The reply to the bail application (of the case) contains several words of Urdu and other languages with which this court is not conversant and it was with great difficulty that this court could apprehend the contents ... time and again this court has expressed its displeasure over this irresponsible attitude of the police," the judge had said.
"Police have been writing words even without knowing their meaning. Even lawyers lawyers failed to understand what they meant during questioning in courts," then DGP had said in his communication in 2005.
The present Haryana DGP R S Dalal, however, feels use of such words can continue. "Many such words have become part of our daily conversation. Largely, open-minded people of the state welcome all languages and cultures," Dalal told TOI.
"We should not be too rigid on the use of pure Hindi in place of Urdu, which has become a part of common vocabulary in many cases. However, the language should not be overtly technical. Most policed stations now provide FIRs in computerised formats and in Hindi. This has been appreciated by many courts," said Haryana home secretary, Samir Mathur.
Hard Jargon
Tameel: Execution
Aala-e-katal: Murder weapon
Taftish: Investigation
Daryaft: Plea
Hasab jabta: As per law
Missal: File
Tarmeem: Amendment
Ishtgassa: Petition
(With inputs from Ajay Sura, Bhaskar Mukherjee and Pradeep Rai )
December 27, 2011
Communal politics and religionisation of urdu in India
. . . post-1980s, degree holders from dini madaris, the Islamic religious institutions, were declared eligible for university teaching in Urdu and Arabic. This gave Urdu teaching in universities an Islamic profile. With the Islamisation of the university teachers occurred the Islamisation of the political front of Urdu in free India. With students from religious institutions monopolising all those avenues, from Urdu institutions to Urdu newspapers, which had even the remotest connection with Urdu literature, the situation became worse.
[. . .]
Owing to their communal outlook, these university teachers of Urdu are equally ignorant about secular Urdu literature.
There are two major reasons behind this ignorance: first, the entire educational process in the dini madaris is dedicated to religious learning and, second, the only reason they studied Urdu or Urdu literature was to learn a language that could help them in Islamic studies. Since most of the Urdu teachers of university Departments are products of dini madaris, their perspective is mostly communal and archaic. For the alumni of dini madaris, Urdu literature is largely synonymous with profanity. Despite receiving big salaries in the name of Urdu, their hatred for the secular literary genre of Urdu is deeply ingrained. In sum, they do not have any interest in any activity other than the expansion of Islam; therefore, the Urdu Departments of universities have turned into arenas of politics of Muslim fanaticism and mediocrity. [...].
FULL TEXT AT: http://tinyurl.com/bwng7lq
[. . .]
Owing to their communal outlook, these university teachers of Urdu are equally ignorant about secular Urdu literature.
There are two major reasons behind this ignorance: first, the entire educational process in the dini madaris is dedicated to religious learning and, second, the only reason they studied Urdu or Urdu literature was to learn a language that could help them in Islamic studies. Since most of the Urdu teachers of university Departments are products of dini madaris, their perspective is mostly communal and archaic. For the alumni of dini madaris, Urdu literature is largely synonymous with profanity. Despite receiving big salaries in the name of Urdu, their hatred for the secular literary genre of Urdu is deeply ingrained. In sum, they do not have any interest in any activity other than the expansion of Islam; therefore, the Urdu Departments of universities have turned into arenas of politics of Muslim fanaticism and mediocrity. [...].
FULL TEXT AT: http://tinyurl.com/bwng7lq
August 16, 2007
The Other Attack on Tasleema Nasrin At Hyderabad
Outlookindia.com
August 11, 2007
THE OTHER ATTACK ON TASLIMA NASRIN AT HYDERABAD
by C. M. NAIM
On August 9, 2007, the Centre for Enquiry, Hyderabad, held a meeting at the local press club, to celebrate the publication of two Telugu books, both translations, one from the Bengali of Taslima Nasrin, and the other from the Chinese (via English) of Jung Chang. Since the two authors are victims of persecution in their home countries, the meeting was also a celebration of the fundamental human right of free expression and political dissent. The guest of honour was the Bangladeshi writer herself, who had flown in from Kolkota where she presently lives in a perilous and uncertain exile.
As the meeting was coming to a close, it was disrupted by a small mob. This is how The Hindu, under the heading -- 'Taslima Roughed Up in Hyderabad,’ reported the main events the following day:
‘Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin was roughed up by legislators of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and a mob led by them in the Press Club of Hyderabad on Thursday…. She had just completed her engagement when about 20 MIM activists, led by MLAs Syed Ahmed Pasha Qadri, Afsar Khan and Moazzam Khan, barged into the conference hall.
She looked in disbelief as they hurled abuses against her. Demanding to know “who had mustered the guts to invite her to Hyderabad, they wanted Ms. Nasrin to be handed over to them.
Without further warning, they began throwing books, bouquets, chairs, and whatever they could lay their hands on at her. Some persons in the mob almost got hold of her but Narisetti Innaiah, rationalist and chairman of the Center for Inquiry, who was her host, shielded her. He was injured in his face. A couple of journalists who went to their rescue also sustained injuries in the scuffle.
Ms. Nasrin escaped unhurt though she was badly shaken by the sudden attack that came minutes after she made a categorical statement that she would continue to fight against evil “till my death”.’
I then looked up the same news on the websites of Hyderabad’s two most widely read Urdu newspapers, Siasat and Munsif, and also the English language website of the former. What I found on August 10 did not come as a surprise at all. In fact, it was as I had expected on the basis of my experience of Urdu newspapers in Lucknow and Delhi. But what I read today (August 11) on the English language website indeed surprised me. It made me aware that things have changed more radically than I had thought.
What I read on August 10 were two fiery, rabble-rousing statements in Urdu, but a more professional news report in English, no different from what I quoted above from The Hindu. Below I give in translation portions of the two Urdu reports. (But first an explanation of a phrase used below. Gustakh-e-Rasul, lit. one who insults the prophet. I abbreviate it as GR.):
1. In Siasat, dated August 10, under two headings:
‘GR Authoress Taslima Nasrin Attacked with Bouquets of Flowers’
‘An Observance of What the Shari’at Commands or Merely a Political Ruse?’
‘. . . GR Taslima Nasrin succeeded in safely going back from Hyderabad, despite the fact that three MLAs, with some fifty supporters, threw flowers at her in the name of a protest. The shameless GR authoress, who stands next to Salman Rushdie, was taking part in a function organized by the Center for Enquiry at the Press Club, Somaji Goda, when three members of the Legislative Assembly, Muqtada Khan Afsar, Ahmad Pasha Qadiri, and Muazzam Khan, together with more than fifty of their supporters, arrived and, while using abusive language, did no more than cause a ruckus and some vandalism. All of them were unable to harm in the slightest a GR, not even a woman GR. A person despised in the Muslim world, against whom fatwas to kill have been issued, on such a person they threw [merely] bouquets that had been placed near the stage, when [in fact] there were not too many people present there to protect her….
Neither the police nor the Intelligence Service knew about the presence of Taslima Nasrin. That is why the MLAs had a fine opportunity to disrupt her program. However, a most opportune moment to enforce the law of Shari’a on that GR was wasted, what they did was only for political opportunism. The political ambitions of the protesters was also made evident by the fact that they dared not throw shoes or chappal at the GR who was only three or four feet away from them, but instead kept throwing bouquets. The Muslim Millat can tolerate every tyranny, injustice, and humiliation but it can never tolerate any disrespect to the Last of the Prophets (pbuh). Whenever anyone has shown such disrespect, Muslims have in turn shown no fear in bringing that person to his deserved end. It is a fact of history that the Faithful have never worried about consequences when it comes to punishing a person who defames the Prophet (pbuh).’
2. In Munsif, dated August 10, under three headings:
‘An Attempt to Attack the GR and “Notorious in Time” Taslima Nasrin’
‘The Bangladeshi Authoress Didn’t Get Even a Scratch.’
‘People say: ‘The confused author should have been taught a severe lesson.’
‘Three members of the legislative assembly, with some fifteen supporters, disrupted the meeting. They raised slogans and threw a bouquet of flowers and a ladies’ handbag toward Taslima Nasrin. Taslima Nasrin hid in a panic behind her hosts and was not at all hurt. She was trembling in fear even though no protesters came near her or lay a hand on her….
‘Eyewitnesses say that the way this protest was conducted made it look like a welcoming ceremony with flowers instead. The MLAs and other protesters threw only flowers at Nasrin. They took flowers out of the bouquets set up in the hall, and threw them at her. Not one of the protesters had the courage to take off his shoes or chappals and hit Taslima with them, throw them at her, or at least point the same at her. It was perfectly legitimate [ja’iz] to attack Taslima Nasrin, to humiliate her, or to insult and mock her in any fashion. However, the MLAs and workers of a political party threw flowers, which had people’s minds ringing with the old song, ‘Baharo phul barsao, mera mahbub aayaa hai.’
‘What should have been done instead? Taslima Nasrin should have been dishonoured in such a manner that henceforth she’d never dare to return to Hyderabad. But that was not done. There was no police officer present there. Only two persons were trying to protect Taslima. The protesting MLAs made a lot of noise but showed no willingness to charge forward. Those who saw the whole thing call it a “drama.” The leaders of this political party had thrown a pot of filth upon the editor of an Urdu newspaper in Mahdi Patnam, but now they showered only flowers on a GR. Today all was possible to teach a GR and a disparager of Islam what her end could be, but a political party of the city wasted the opportunity by seeking only cheap publicity. The leaders of this party drew revolvers in their tussle over one hundred yards of Waqf land, but cast only flowers at Taslima today….’
Long accustomed to reading such blatantly rabble-rousing statements in the Urdu press of North India, I was not surprised to find the same in the Hyderabadi Urdu press. And the more professional report published on the English language website of Siasat, reflective of a kind of hypocrisy also found in North Indian Muslim circles, came not as a surprise either. One is always on one’s best behaviour in English in India. Or so was the case, I thought. But today’s web-edition of the English language Siasat carries an unsigned statement concerning the incident that tells me that things have indeed changed radically. The statement is headlined, ‘Barking dogs never bite!’, and reads as follows:
‘It is said that 30 minutes are enough either to make or break anybody’s career, reputation or life. In the wake of the incident of attack on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreeen [sic] at press club on Thursday, it is indeed unbelievable that MIM MLAs got more than thirty minutes and instead of using this time to its maximum damage, they simply wasted it in chanting useless slogans and hurling flower bouquets knowing fully that they would get badly needed political mileage.
‘They could not lift even a chair lying near by to attack her with strong impact though only a few persons were present there. It is nothing but a political gimmick played on her.
‘The suicide bombers in Iraq are the best example to eliminate not only their targets but also themselves. And they are doing so with an eye blinker. Imagine, what could they have done if they had 30 minutes. Religious sentiments are totally different from the political ambitions.
‘If you are religiously hurt, no might on this earth be able to prevent you to eliminate a person or organization that is involved in blasphemy of prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It clearly indicates that whatever MIM people have on their tongue, it is missing from their hearts as the proverb goes that barking dogs never bite.
‘Now, according to Times of India and The Hindu, they are trying to add one more ‘feather’ to their cap by showing an intention to organize a campaign against Taslima to oust her from the country.
‘When they could not utilize those thirty minutes to oust her from this world itself, what is the use to organize a campaign now? It is just like an embarrassed cat is scratching the pole. Religion is second to none to Mr. Asad.’
To my knowledge, the Munsif does not have an English language edition. Its issue today, however, carries an editorial, which deserves some notice. Titled, ‘The Accursed Gustakh-e-Rasul Taslima Nasrin,’ it begins by raising a question: ‘What would a true Muslim do if he came face to face with a GR woman and there is no “security” to protect her?’ While it explicitly recommends ‘beating with shoes’ and ‘blackening the face,’ it also uses innuendo and ‘historical’ references to suggest more severe actions. For Munsif, any ‘protest’ must be ‘punitive.’ It further points out that if the protesters were hesitant to attack a woman, they could have brought some of their own women with them—the MIM has its own ‘women force’ and women ‘corporators’—and the latter could have made Taslima a target of their wrath.
Munsif, incidentally, is owned and edited by someone who long lived in Chicago, made his money here, and might still be an American citizen. That may explain why Munsif has no English website—it could get its owner in trouble with the American security hotheads. Siasat, on the other hand, seems to have some ambitions to reach out to both Urdu and non-Urdu readers on the web. As one reads the reports and editorials in the two newspapers one understands the true significance of the incident and its deep links to local political rivalries. One also sees how violently radical the so-called Muslim-Urdu opinion-makers have now become, and how blatantly they go about radicalizing the public discourse in the worst way. As Barkha Dutt, in a passionate and hard-hitting analysis in the Hindustan Times (August 10), points out, the incident at Hyderabad must be taken most seriously by every Indian. The MIM MLAs are indeed as reprehensible as any Pravin Togadia or Bal Thackeray. They should indeed be condemned equally forcefully and widely. In addition to public condemnations of the incident at Hyderabad and its perpetrators, it is most urgent for the state and press authorities themselves to examine the reports and editorials mentioned above and determine if any violation of India’s secular laws has also occurred. Similarly, Urdu intellectuals in Hyderabad and elsewhere should undertake a more active role in exposing and challenging the violent and extremist views that are seemingly becoming more acceptable in Urdu journals and newspapers with every passing day.
August 11, 2007
THE OTHER ATTACK ON TASLIMA NASRIN AT HYDERABAD
by C. M. NAIM
On August 9, 2007, the Centre for Enquiry, Hyderabad, held a meeting at the local press club, to celebrate the publication of two Telugu books, both translations, one from the Bengali of Taslima Nasrin, and the other from the Chinese (via English) of Jung Chang. Since the two authors are victims of persecution in their home countries, the meeting was also a celebration of the fundamental human right of free expression and political dissent. The guest of honour was the Bangladeshi writer herself, who had flown in from Kolkota where she presently lives in a perilous and uncertain exile.
As the meeting was coming to a close, it was disrupted by a small mob. This is how The Hindu, under the heading -- 'Taslima Roughed Up in Hyderabad,’ reported the main events the following day:
‘Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin was roughed up by legislators of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and a mob led by them in the Press Club of Hyderabad on Thursday…. She had just completed her engagement when about 20 MIM activists, led by MLAs Syed Ahmed Pasha Qadri, Afsar Khan and Moazzam Khan, barged into the conference hall.
She looked in disbelief as they hurled abuses against her. Demanding to know “who had mustered the guts to invite her to Hyderabad, they wanted Ms. Nasrin to be handed over to them.
Without further warning, they began throwing books, bouquets, chairs, and whatever they could lay their hands on at her. Some persons in the mob almost got hold of her but Narisetti Innaiah, rationalist and chairman of the Center for Inquiry, who was her host, shielded her. He was injured in his face. A couple of journalists who went to their rescue also sustained injuries in the scuffle.
Ms. Nasrin escaped unhurt though she was badly shaken by the sudden attack that came minutes after she made a categorical statement that she would continue to fight against evil “till my death”.’
I then looked up the same news on the websites of Hyderabad’s two most widely read Urdu newspapers, Siasat and Munsif, and also the English language website of the former. What I found on August 10 did not come as a surprise at all. In fact, it was as I had expected on the basis of my experience of Urdu newspapers in Lucknow and Delhi. But what I read today (August 11) on the English language website indeed surprised me. It made me aware that things have changed more radically than I had thought.
What I read on August 10 were two fiery, rabble-rousing statements in Urdu, but a more professional news report in English, no different from what I quoted above from The Hindu. Below I give in translation portions of the two Urdu reports. (But first an explanation of a phrase used below. Gustakh-e-Rasul, lit. one who insults the prophet. I abbreviate it as GR.):
1. In Siasat, dated August 10, under two headings:
‘GR Authoress Taslima Nasrin Attacked with Bouquets of Flowers’
‘An Observance of What the Shari’at Commands or Merely a Political Ruse?’
‘. . . GR Taslima Nasrin succeeded in safely going back from Hyderabad, despite the fact that three MLAs, with some fifty supporters, threw flowers at her in the name of a protest. The shameless GR authoress, who stands next to Salman Rushdie, was taking part in a function organized by the Center for Enquiry at the Press Club, Somaji Goda, when three members of the Legislative Assembly, Muqtada Khan Afsar, Ahmad Pasha Qadiri, and Muazzam Khan, together with more than fifty of their supporters, arrived and, while using abusive language, did no more than cause a ruckus and some vandalism. All of them were unable to harm in the slightest a GR, not even a woman GR. A person despised in the Muslim world, against whom fatwas to kill have been issued, on such a person they threw [merely] bouquets that had been placed near the stage, when [in fact] there were not too many people present there to protect her….
Neither the police nor the Intelligence Service knew about the presence of Taslima Nasrin. That is why the MLAs had a fine opportunity to disrupt her program. However, a most opportune moment to enforce the law of Shari’a on that GR was wasted, what they did was only for political opportunism. The political ambitions of the protesters was also made evident by the fact that they dared not throw shoes or chappal at the GR who was only three or four feet away from them, but instead kept throwing bouquets. The Muslim Millat can tolerate every tyranny, injustice, and humiliation but it can never tolerate any disrespect to the Last of the Prophets (pbuh). Whenever anyone has shown such disrespect, Muslims have in turn shown no fear in bringing that person to his deserved end. It is a fact of history that the Faithful have never worried about consequences when it comes to punishing a person who defames the Prophet (pbuh).’
2. In Munsif, dated August 10, under three headings:
‘An Attempt to Attack the GR and “Notorious in Time” Taslima Nasrin’
‘The Bangladeshi Authoress Didn’t Get Even a Scratch.’
‘People say: ‘The confused author should have been taught a severe lesson.’
‘Three members of the legislative assembly, with some fifteen supporters, disrupted the meeting. They raised slogans and threw a bouquet of flowers and a ladies’ handbag toward Taslima Nasrin. Taslima Nasrin hid in a panic behind her hosts and was not at all hurt. She was trembling in fear even though no protesters came near her or lay a hand on her….
‘Eyewitnesses say that the way this protest was conducted made it look like a welcoming ceremony with flowers instead. The MLAs and other protesters threw only flowers at Nasrin. They took flowers out of the bouquets set up in the hall, and threw them at her. Not one of the protesters had the courage to take off his shoes or chappals and hit Taslima with them, throw them at her, or at least point the same at her. It was perfectly legitimate [ja’iz] to attack Taslima Nasrin, to humiliate her, or to insult and mock her in any fashion. However, the MLAs and workers of a political party threw flowers, which had people’s minds ringing with the old song, ‘Baharo phul barsao, mera mahbub aayaa hai.’
‘What should have been done instead? Taslima Nasrin should have been dishonoured in such a manner that henceforth she’d never dare to return to Hyderabad. But that was not done. There was no police officer present there. Only two persons were trying to protect Taslima. The protesting MLAs made a lot of noise but showed no willingness to charge forward. Those who saw the whole thing call it a “drama.” The leaders of this political party had thrown a pot of filth upon the editor of an Urdu newspaper in Mahdi Patnam, but now they showered only flowers on a GR. Today all was possible to teach a GR and a disparager of Islam what her end could be, but a political party of the city wasted the opportunity by seeking only cheap publicity. The leaders of this party drew revolvers in their tussle over one hundred yards of Waqf land, but cast only flowers at Taslima today….’
Long accustomed to reading such blatantly rabble-rousing statements in the Urdu press of North India, I was not surprised to find the same in the Hyderabadi Urdu press. And the more professional report published on the English language website of Siasat, reflective of a kind of hypocrisy also found in North Indian Muslim circles, came not as a surprise either. One is always on one’s best behaviour in English in India. Or so was the case, I thought. But today’s web-edition of the English language Siasat carries an unsigned statement concerning the incident that tells me that things have indeed changed radically. The statement is headlined, ‘Barking dogs never bite!’, and reads as follows:
‘It is said that 30 minutes are enough either to make or break anybody’s career, reputation or life. In the wake of the incident of attack on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreeen [sic] at press club on Thursday, it is indeed unbelievable that MIM MLAs got more than thirty minutes and instead of using this time to its maximum damage, they simply wasted it in chanting useless slogans and hurling flower bouquets knowing fully that they would get badly needed political mileage.
‘They could not lift even a chair lying near by to attack her with strong impact though only a few persons were present there. It is nothing but a political gimmick played on her.
‘The suicide bombers in Iraq are the best example to eliminate not only their targets but also themselves. And they are doing so with an eye blinker. Imagine, what could they have done if they had 30 minutes. Religious sentiments are totally different from the political ambitions.
‘If you are religiously hurt, no might on this earth be able to prevent you to eliminate a person or organization that is involved in blasphemy of prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It clearly indicates that whatever MIM people have on their tongue, it is missing from their hearts as the proverb goes that barking dogs never bite.
‘Now, according to Times of India and The Hindu, they are trying to add one more ‘feather’ to their cap by showing an intention to organize a campaign against Taslima to oust her from the country.
‘When they could not utilize those thirty minutes to oust her from this world itself, what is the use to organize a campaign now? It is just like an embarrassed cat is scratching the pole. Religion is second to none to Mr. Asad.’
To my knowledge, the Munsif does not have an English language edition. Its issue today, however, carries an editorial, which deserves some notice. Titled, ‘The Accursed Gustakh-e-Rasul Taslima Nasrin,’ it begins by raising a question: ‘What would a true Muslim do if he came face to face with a GR woman and there is no “security” to protect her?’ While it explicitly recommends ‘beating with shoes’ and ‘blackening the face,’ it also uses innuendo and ‘historical’ references to suggest more severe actions. For Munsif, any ‘protest’ must be ‘punitive.’ It further points out that if the protesters were hesitant to attack a woman, they could have brought some of their own women with them—the MIM has its own ‘women force’ and women ‘corporators’—and the latter could have made Taslima a target of their wrath.
Munsif, incidentally, is owned and edited by someone who long lived in Chicago, made his money here, and might still be an American citizen. That may explain why Munsif has no English website—it could get its owner in trouble with the American security hotheads. Siasat, on the other hand, seems to have some ambitions to reach out to both Urdu and non-Urdu readers on the web. As one reads the reports and editorials in the two newspapers one understands the true significance of the incident and its deep links to local political rivalries. One also sees how violently radical the so-called Muslim-Urdu opinion-makers have now become, and how blatantly they go about radicalizing the public discourse in the worst way. As Barkha Dutt, in a passionate and hard-hitting analysis in the Hindustan Times (August 10), points out, the incident at Hyderabad must be taken most seriously by every Indian. The MIM MLAs are indeed as reprehensible as any Pravin Togadia or Bal Thackeray. They should indeed be condemned equally forcefully and widely. In addition to public condemnations of the incident at Hyderabad and its perpetrators, it is most urgent for the state and press authorities themselves to examine the reports and editorials mentioned above and determine if any violation of India’s secular laws has also occurred. Similarly, Urdu intellectuals in Hyderabad and elsewhere should undertake a more active role in exposing and challenging the violent and extremist views that are seemingly becoming more acceptable in Urdu journals and newspapers with every passing day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
