Urdu is solely the language of Muslims. It is the language of Pakistan. Muslims divided India. Pakistan could not make Urdu the language of its Eastern wing, therefore, why should Urdu be at all given any political lease? These are some of the broad accusatory tones against Urdu, used perennially, by the political masters sitting at the helm, since the beginning of the nation state of India. Thus, should it be consigned that Urdu, the best replica of cultural, social and civilisational linguistic synthesis, be left over to its own fate? And die a death, most abominable, that too, at a place of its own birth! Inside the India-Pakistan and Bangladesh conclave? Pakistan’s Eastern wing had become Bangladesh in 1971. Of course, history is witness to once Raees Amrohvi’s famous lament Urdu ka janaza hai zara dhoom se nikle (The funeral is of Urdu, therefore, it ought to be pompous). That was in West Pakistan! Surprised?
Primarily, Urdu is not the language of Muslims at all. This is no apologetic rhyme. In fact, Urdu is the vein and blood of Indianess. And despite every odd thrown by the political class, the Urdu attractiveness has refused to die. No court proceedings, no Bollywood cinema or theatre, can fathom to be even close to perfection, without the lavish use of Urdu expressions. Who can deny this reality. Yet, despite, all the benefits, Urdu has been denied, with not even attendant benefits! Thanks, to the present and potential, communally coloured political chess masters, aided-well and supported-by their straight-jacketed bureaucrats.
The pre-partition discourse of Hindi-Urdu rivalry was harvested/contested both by Indian National Congress and All India Muslim League. It was in 1934 that Congress decided Hindustani to be the language of future India, which was a suppose-to-be-solution to the Hindi-Urdu conflict. MK Gandhi’s project of making Hindustani popular in the country was all but fraught with contradictions, as very soon the question of the script for Hindustani arose, and it was thus, decided that Hindustani was to have a dressing-up in Devanagri script. So, the question of a Persian script for Urdu was laid to rest. That was Urdu’s first drubbing and which still continues unabated.
As predictable, Urdu was to be in doldrums, in post-independence India. The formula of Muslim=Urdu=Pakistan and Hindu=Hindi=Hindustan, was further entrenched, officially, and very soon Urdu became orphaned, in practically whole of the nation, and particularly, in its own heartland – Uttar Pradesh (UP), where Sampoornanad (UP’s First Education Minister) declared in UP Legislative Assembly that Urdu could not be recognised as even a regional language in UP – in 1958. Ironically, this came in the wake of a delegation meeting the President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, in 1954, and led by the then Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Vice Chancellor Zakir Husain, who himself later became President of India (1967-69), in which the President was made to be known about the grievances of Urdu, and a request was made under Article 347 of the Constitution of India, to recognise Urdu as a regional language in UP, Bihar, Punjab and Delhi.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, both English and scientific in his approach, however, continued to resist the Hindi lobbyists to centralise the Hindi language. He wanted regional states to continue with the mixed and multi-lingual administrative units and thus he could reach a consensus for ‘recommending a fifteen-year usage of English as the official language of the Union, and also extended recognition to other regional language.’ (“The Communalisation and Disintegration of Urdu” by Amina Yaqin, in Redefining Urdu Politics in India, edited by Ather Farouqui, Oxford University Press, Delhi 2006 pp-109).
The turn to actually hegemonise Hindi came in 1963 when the Official Languages Amendment Act gave Hindi the official language status and English thereafter became an associate or additional official language. There was no Urdu question in sight. The final bill, Official Language Amendment Bill-1967 included the historical (sic) three languages formula. It recommended ‘(a) the regional language and mother tongue when the latter is different from the regional language (b) Hindi, or in Hindi speaking areas another Indian language, and (c) English or any other modern European language.’ (Language Conflict and National Development: Group Politics and National Language Policy in India, by Jyotirindra Das Gupta, Berkeley, London, University of California, 1970 pp-243). The same formula was incorporated in the National Policy on Education in 1968.
The formula brought about a veritable downfall in the status of Urdu as it orientated Hindi to be as the only regional language, Sanskrit as the modern language and English as the foreign language. This is how the logic goes. Sanskrit being modelled as a modern language! The result; ‘there is not even a single primary or junior high school of Urdu medium in UP. The only two Urdu medium schools are run and affiliated to Aligarh Muslim University’ (“Urdu Education in India: Four Representative States”, Economic and Political Weekly, April 2, 1994, p. 782).
It is certainly worth pondering that the Constitution of India under Article 350-A enshrines facilities for instructions in the mother tongue at primary stage of education to children of linguistic groups. Hence, it is the responsibility of the state governments to let appoint Urdu teachers for the sake of imparting education through Urdu medium. But, what has come out, as an output is nothing more than a tall constitutional claim. The reality is a farce.
How the policies were implemented in order to establish Urdu medium schools is a long story of red-tapism as well as red-herring. Lack of financial support was given as a prime reason. Moreover, some euphemistic ‘numerical conditions’ was also put. ‘These numerical conditions came to be known as 10/40 because the state was to provide a Urdu teacher only if there were ten Urdu speaking students in class or forty in the primary school as a whole. What is worse, the conditions were applied not only strictly but fraudently, so that Urdu was virtually exiled from the school system particularly in UP and Bihar (“Urdu Education in India” by Ather Farouqui in Redefining Urdu Politics in India, Edited by Ather Farouqui, OUP, 2006 p.181)
Finally, some Urdu teachers (around 500) were appointed. This came almost after three decades, in 1974, by Congress UP Chief Minister HN Bahuguna. This was somehow, further put to practice, by another UP CM Narain Dutt Tiwari. The steps were no doubt commendable but owing to the vast mammoth Muslim population, in UP, the change was not visible even by a decimal standard. Very soon the Congress party got embroiled into Ram temple movement, and since the beginning of 1986, the Congress graph among Muslims, got eroded to no end.
Come 1994 and UP CM Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party leader, announced an appointment of fifteen thousand Urdu teachers and ten thousand Urdu translators. This came through a Government Order (GO) on March 24, 1994. The move made him gain prominence among Muslims. His stand gained him political upmanship as Muslims voted for him, en bloc, for the next two decades.
But, after the third time tenure of Mulayam Singh Yadav (2003-07) things fell apart. He spurned his own promises. It is yet to be cleared whether 7000 Urdu teachers and 3000 Urdu translators were appointed, during his second tenure (1994-97), or much less, and also, if the remaining slot was finalised. Perhaps, certainly not. It is also to be known that in 1994 he had got a GO passed on September 13 which made Muallim Urdu ( a certificate awarded by Jamia Urdu, Aligarh, UP) to be equal to that of Bachelor of Teaching Certificate (BTC) and hence, thousands were employed. This however came to an abrupt end on August 11, 1997, when UP CM and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, with the help of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), set aside the GO and termed all those employed thereby as untrained! Thus, setting them all unemployed and also with their salaries withheld.
The 10 years until 2004 found BSP and BJP combined or BJP alone forming government in the state. But, Mulayam Singh Yadav also did not do anything to revert the injustice during his stint to power in-between 2003-07. Likewise, after the 2007 elections BSP strode to power, all on its own, and there was no BJP for any more crutches. Yet, there has been no reference for the redress of the ills for those rendered jobless. Ironically, both SP and BSP are avowed secularists and depend heavily on Muslim vote. Muslims make 18.5 % of UP. Interestingly, both the parties contest each other on the issue of who being a better secularist!
What is therefore, the status of the minority-run institutions in this melee? No doubt, the safeguards for the minority institutions are well defined. Article 29 (1) of the Constitution of India, says that minorities have the right to preserve their distinct languages and script while Article 30(1) provides minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. All said and done. But, now let reality take a glance.
The UP Education Code 80(4) makes it mandatory for a recognised secondary school to have Hindi as the medium of instruction. Plus, the first subject prescribed in primary syllabus is Hindi and is called Matra Bhasha (mother tongue). So Urdu as mother tongue is not even fit for consideration. The result: Hindi has been made mandatory at the cost of Urdu. The Education Code of UP for higher secondary education, therefore, ought to be amended and provisions for teaching of general subjects through the Urdu language should be cleared. But, then, who cares? Are the likes of Mulayam and Mayawati listening? As long as Muslims vote for them, out of emotional issues, the secular politicians can just sit in merriment with no welfare plan for Muslims.
After the Hindi onslaught came the spanner of Sanskrit. The BSP-BJP (1997) Mayawati government made Sanskrit to be compulsory from class III to V. This was done obviously with the underlying idea of linking students of all religions with life, rituals and ceremonies of the majority community. No doubt, the injunctions, made then, are obnoxiously against the binding spirit of Articles 25 and 28 of the Constitution which say it in vocal-explicit terms for freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.
There seems to be no immediate-visible end to the inherent woes faced by the minority-run institutions. No doubt, there was some relief, on the same, by Mulayam Singh Yadav, who on October 6, 1994 stated that minority status would be accorded within a time-bound process to institutions seeking for the same. The minority-run institutions, by virtue of it, are allowed to fix the quota for students belonging to the minority community. The establishment’s one-eyed approach can be gauged, from the fact, that only 36 schools were declared minority with not a single high school or an intermediate college. This was until the fall of 2004. The latest figures, if any, are not as yet available.
How the UP government is impaired with an attitudinal problem can be well understood. An example of VMHS Rahmania Inter College, Maudaha, Hamirpur, UP is yet to get its minority status, despite Supreme Court ordering the UP government to take a decision in the light of its judgement on October 30, 2002. Its application has been pending since 1981!
Coming back on the issue of Muallim Urdu. It becomes necessary to state that Muallim Urdu were also given employment in newly formed Uttaranchal. Then, a part of UP and the High Court (HC) in Uttaranchal, had struck them off saying that Muallim Urdu is not mentioned, as a required qualification, in the Basic Education Teacher and Junior High School Teacher Service Rules, hence, they had to lose their jobs there as well.
The pertinent recourse now should be that the state government, under Mayawati, amend the rules and make it optional of either having a certificate of BTC or Muallim Urdu as the qualification criteria. This can be done very easily as Supreme Court and High Court cannot prescribe the qualification required for an appointment. Thus, it would start the ball rolling, as since 1995, when the HC had decided that those who were not BTC were not eligible for the appointment would also get the much desired reprieve. Would Mayawati do it? Of course once the general elections are over? Isn’t that a big question?
Experiences have however brought nothing. Zakir Husain, after he had become the President, did not do anything for Urdu. The same happened to the IK Gujral Committee (1975) recommendations, as he too chose to forget his own affiliations after he himself became the Prime Minister of the country (1997-98).