Urdu is born in this land, it is finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb; we must rejoice in our diversity: SC

Urdu is born in this land the Supreme Court has said while describing it as the finest specimen of Ganga Jamuni tahzeeb and stating that considering it a language of Muslims is a pitiable digression from reality and unity in diversityDismissing a plea challenging the use of Urdu in the signboard of a municipality in Maharashtra a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran on Tuesday also said language is not religionLanguage is culture Language is the yardstick to measure the civilisational march of a community and its people So is the case of Urdu which is the finest specimen of GangaJamuni tahzeeb or the Hindustani tahzeeb which is the composite cultural ethos of the plains of northern and central IndiaWe must respect and rejoice in our diversity including our many languages the bench saidThe top court was hearing an appeal filed by Varshatai a former councillor of Patur in Maharashtras Akola district who challenged the use of Urdu along with Marathi on the name board of the municipal councilAccording to her the work of the municipal council can only be conducted in Marathi The use of Urdu in any manner is impermissible even though it may just be a writing on the signboard of the council she said in her pleaThe apex court court noted that the municipal council had retained Urdu on the name board because many local residents understood the languageAll the municipal council wanted to do was to make an effective communication it saidThe prejudice against Urdu stems from the misconception that Urdu is alien to India This opinion we are afraid is incorrect as Urdu like Marathi and Hindi is an IndoAryan language It is a language which was born in this land the judges saidUrdu developed and flourished in India due to the need for people belonging to different cultural milieus who wanted to exchange ideas and communicate amongst themselves the court statedOver the centuries it attained ever greater refinement and became the language of choice for many acclaimed poets the bench saidThe top court said the language used by the masses is replete with Urdu even if one is not aware of itIt would not be incorrect to say that one cannot have a daytoday conversation in Hindi without using words of Urdu or words derived from Urdu The word Hindi itself comes from the Persian word Hindavi the bench saidThe court said the fusion of Hindi and Urdu met a roadblock in the form of the puritans on both sides and Hindi became more Sanskritised and Urdu more PersianA schism exploited by the colonial powers in dividing the two languages on religion Hindi was now understood to be the language of Hindus and Urdu of the Muslims which is such a pitiable digression from reality from unity in diversity and the concept of universal brotherhood it saidThe court said a municipal council provides services to the local community and caters to their immediate daytoday needsIf people or a group of people residing within the area covered by the Municipal Council are familiar with Urdu then there should not be any objection if Urdu is used in addition to the official language ie Marathi at least on the signboard of the Municipal Council Language is a medium for exchange of ideas that brings people holding diverse views and beliefs closer and it should not become a cause of their division the court saidThe court said misconceptions and prejudices against a language have to be courageously and truthfully tested against the realityOur strength can never be our weakness Let us make friends with Urdu and every language If Urdu was to speak for herself she would say Urdu is my name I am the riddle of Khusrav Do not hold me for your prejudices I never considered myself a MuslimI too have seen happier times I feel like an outsider in my homeland today Urdu is my name I am the riddle of Khusrav the apex court said in a reference to famed medieval poet Amir KhusrauThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params