Language is an integral part of culture; and if a language dies, it simply means that a culture comes to an impasse. The Jews, when they thought of their renaissance, tried reviving their language i.e. Hebrew at the very first hand because they knew that in absence of their traditional language, their dreams and aspiration would never have come true. These views were expressed by Mohammad Adeeb, Member of Parliament, while speaking in a symposium on “Problems and Issues Related to Arabic and Persian” at Ghalib Academy in the national capital on 31 August. He added that Arabic and Persian are deeply rooted in the composite culture of India. And the government’s move to exclude the two languages from the list of Indian Civil Services examinations is aimed at disconnecting the newer generation from its past which is far from being complete without the two languages.
The symposium was organised by All India Association of Arabic Teachers and Scholars (AIAATS) in collaboration with All India Persian Scholars Association. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Nomaan Khan, president AIAATS, claimed that Arabic is a part of curriculum in around 22 colleges and universities nationwide and most of the colleges, including the University of Delhi, have placed it among classical Indian languages.
Prof. Chandra Shekhar of the University of Delhi, while addressing the gathering, said the Union Public Service Commission had removed Arabic and Persian along with other foreign languages from the list citing the insufficient number of students opting for the same for their examinations. He asked whether the commission would remove the languages like Oriya, Manipuri and others that attract even lesser aspirants than Arabic and Persian. Today the UPSC has removed the two languages and tomorrow other institutions will exclude them. This seems a planned conspiracy to devalue the importance of the two languages.
Resolutions passed at the end of the symposium include that Arabic and Persian are not foreign languages but these are classical Indian languages like Sanskrit and Pali and excluding them from the list means washing off a remarkable part of Indian culture. Among those who spoke on the occasion are Prof. Zubair Farooqi and Prof. S Khalid Hamidi of Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof. Ainul Hasan of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr. Hasnain Akhtar of University of Allahabad and Dr. Sharif Hussain Qasmi of the University of Delhi.