Governments have a very limited role in developing or degrading any language, Urdu included. It is the speakers and students of the language who can take it to new heights or ensure it plunges into oblivion
Languages always play a vital role in shaping society and developing understanding between communities. The history of humankind shows that every language its own culture and background which has an important effect on future generations. It is believed that if you have to destroy any community or country, first target its main language. In this backdrop, if we analyse the status of Urdu in India today, we will find that Urdu is at not only at the receiving end from opponents of the language but also from them who claim to be its promoters and lovers.
Research is an important component in the development, acceptability and viability of any language. The same stands true of Urdu also. Large sections of Urdu-speaking people accuse the Government for the language's but the truth is that Governments have very limited role in developing or degrading any language, Urdu included. It is the speakers of the language who can take it to heights or ensure it plunges into oblivion. Urdu is one of the 22 Scheduled languages in our Constitution. It has official language status in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir. No doubt Urdu is a morphologically rich language. It is also the language of our freedom struggle which has given such slogans as Inqilab Zindabad. Considering its contribution in developing our composite culture and national freedom struggle, Urdu should be accorded a high status without any grudge. But this can be achieved only when Urdu-speaking people do justice with it before seeking favours from others.
As far as research in Urdu is concerned, nearly every university in India has an Urdu department where every year a large number of research scholars take admission and conduct research. Apart from them, professors of the respective Urdu departments not only publish books and research papers but also contribute to a better understanding of the nuances of the language through seminars and conferences. Let us take up first an analysis of the standard of research in the Urdu departments of various universities. It is a well-known fact that original sources are the best medium for conducting research. Where original sources are not available, secondary sources gain great importance.
But what is going on in the research field, is that now professors and researchers are not using any sources at all! They just collect, compile and edit extant material and get published, which has no value at all academically. For example, a close scrutiny of some current research publications in Urdu reveals a new trend among scholars -— pick up the work of a poet, tag to it already published reviews of the poems and compile the whole to present as 'research'. Another trend is to pick any two Urdu poets and compare them on the pretext of research. Is this really academic research? Another worrying trend that has emerged in Urdu academia is of influential professors, writers and poets getting their students and/or well-wishers to undertake research on themselves during their own lifetime. This is pure and simple self-promotion and cannot be academically justified.
There are Urdu bodies like National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) with access to huge public funds. For a sustainable analysis, their role should also be taken into account. Although these organizations were founded with the aim of encouraging research and popularizing Urdu as a language, what is really going on within them? Well, to be charitable, they have become just a meeting place for gup-shup between a few Urdu writers and poets. Grants are used for achieving interests of the various lobbies at work instead of chalking out any plan or programme to develop Urdu. Such bodies have not encouraged or undertaken serious research for years and are, in fact, fast-becoming White Elephants which are just a waste of tax-payer money.
Urdu academies, on the other hand, have long since been functioning as personal fiefdoms of those in charge. Instead of promoting the Urdu language they are prisoners to lobbies and busy bestowing awards to the chosen few. We should not forget that in this vast country there are many Urdu writers and poets who are unrecognized because they do not have access to any lobby. This is not service to Urdu, rather it is an onslaught on the language. Madarsas play an important role in the use and spread of Urdu. Why don’t bodies like the NCPUL or various Urdu academies flush with Government grants over decades play a positive role by backing these Madarsas to promote Urdu (and by implication an inclusive, syncretic India)? Obviously, because these schools for the poor cannot give them any under-the-table benefit or political clout!
It is not true that Urdu is lagging behind in adapting to the modern world. It is used by a large number of users on the Internet. Not only individuals, but companies and even Government agencies are analysing user-generated online Urdu content. There are many websites which provide information in Urdu. But the burning question is how much have our researchers and Urdu bodies contributed to these websites? The University Grants Commission (UGC) also promotes research compilations. So many Urdu scholars just compile and collect material and take an ISBN numbers from others. This has damaged the interest of Urdu. The UGC should demand authentically researched books and must constitute a Committee to scrutinize any book submitted as well as its ISBN number.
If we are true lovers of Urdu then we should accept our shortcomings. Urdu language must be freed from the trap of a shayari-mushaira mentality and begin the process of adopting modern research parameters to do serious academic work too.
(The writer is former Media Adviser, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh)