INTRODUCTION
The Government of India constituted by Resolution dated February 15, 1990 a Committee of Experts to examine implementation of the Recommendations of the Gujral Committee for Promotion of Urdu. The composition of the Committee was as follows:
1. Shri Ali Sardar Jafri, Chairman
Bombay.
2. Dr. Raj Bahadur Gour, Member
Vice-President,
Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu,
Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh.
3. Prof. Shakeel-ur-Rahman, Member
Member of Parliament,
Formally Vice-Chancellor of
Muzaffarpur University as
well as of Mithila University,
Bihar.
4. Prof. Qamar Rais, Member
Head of Department of Urdu,
Delhi University,
Delhi.
5. Dr. Mohd. Hassan, Member
Retired Chairman of the School of
Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru
University-President of All India
Urdu Teachers Association.
6. Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi, Member
Formerly Vice-Chancellor of
Taraqqui-e-Urdu Board.
7. Prof. Gopi Chand Narang, Member
Professor of Urdu,
Delhi University,
Delhi.
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8. Shri Anand Sarup, Member
Formerly Education Secretary,
Government of India.
9. Shri Kashmiri Lal Zakir, Member
Novelist-Writer, Secretary,
Haryana Urdu Academy,
Chandigarh.
10. Ms. Amrita Pritam Member
Member of Parliament,
New Delhi.
11. Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed, Member
President,
Al Ameen Education Society,
Bangalore.
12. Shri Ram Lall, Member
Member,
U.P. Urdu Academy,
Lucknow.
13. Prof. Namwar Singh, Member
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi.
14. Dr. Khalique Anjum, Member
New Delhi.
15. Shri K.K. Khullar, Member-
Consultant and former Director Secretary
(Language), Department of Education,
Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Govt. of India.
2. Dr. Mohd. Hassan did not accept the membership of the Committee. Prof. Shakeel-ur-Rahman could not attend the meetings.
The terms of reference for the Committee were:
(i) To examine the recommendations of the Gujral Committee and to assess the present status of their implementation; and
(ii) Keeping in view (i) above, to advise regarding implementation of the Gujral Committee recommendations.
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3. The Committee was requested to submit its report within period of three months from the date of its first meeting.
4. A copy of the Resolution dated February 15, 1990 is placed at Annexure I.
5. Immediately after the formation of the Committee of Experts, the Member-Secretary of the Committee addressed letters to all the States/Union Territories, and the concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India requested them to send brief status Reports on the implementation of the recommendations concerning them.
6. The Committee observed that, since there were different versions regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Gujral Committee, the representatives of the Expert Committee should establish contract with the State Governments as well as Voluntary Organisations engaged in the Promotion of Urdu, to assess the up-to- date position on-the-spot. The Committee constituted four Sub- Committees for this purpose, with the following composition:
Sub-Committee No. I (States: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal)
(i) Dr. Qamar Rais
(ii) Shri Ram Lall
(iii) Dr. Khalique Anjum ... Convenor
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Co-opted Members: (i) Shri Ali Jawaz Zaidi, Lucknow;
(ii) Prof. S.S. Dasnavi, Patna;
(iii) Shri Shanti Ranjan Bhattacharya, Calcutta
Sub-Committee No. II (i) Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi
(ii) Shri Kashmiri Lal Zakir ...... Convenor
Co-opted Members: (i) Prof. S.R. Kidwai, J.N.U., New Delhi;
(ii) Shri Hira Nand Soz, 271, Sector 7-A, Faridabad-121006.
Sub-Committee No. III (i) Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi;
(ii) Shri Kashmiri Lal Zakir;
(iii) Prof. Gopi Chand Narang. ... Convenor
Co-opted Members: (i) Shri Rehmat Amrohi, Ahmedabad;
(ii) Akhtar Sayyad Khan, Advocate, Inside Itwara, Bhopal.
Sub-Committee No. IV (States: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra)
(i) Shri Ali Sardar Jafri
(ii) Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed
(iii) Dr. Raj Bahadur Gour ... Convenor
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Co-opted Members: (i) Shri B.N. Raman, ex-Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, "Visakha", Road No.12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500034.
(ii) Dr. Abdul Sattar Dalvi, Head, Urdu Department, Bombay University, Bombay.
(iii) Sayeed Manzoor Ahmed, Head, Urdu Department, J.S. College, Mysore.
Prof. Gopi Chand Narang, because of his foreign assignment expressed his inability to function as Convenor of Sub-Committee No. III. This was agreed to. Consequently, Dr. Khallique Anjum, Convenor of Sub-Committee No. I was requested to accept the convenorship of Sub-Committee No. III for the States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and the membership of Sub-Committee No. II. The State of Gujarat was, however included in Sub-Committee No. IV of which Dr. Raj Bahadur Gour was the Convenor. These SubCommittees visited Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. However, it was not possible to visit the State of Madhya Pradesh.
7. A letter was received from the Government of India on March 14, 1990 requesting the Committee to advance the submission of the Report to April 30, 1990 or if this was not feasible, an Interim Report on some of the vital recommendations may be given to the Government by this date.
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8. Responding to the letter of March 14, 1990 from the Government of India, the Committee took up the preparation of an Interim Report by April 30, 1990. However, it requested the Government by a Resolution at Annexure II that, in the meanwhile, it should immediately set up an inter-ministerial Empowered Committee on the usual pattern followed in such cases to take substantive decisions on Gujral Committee's recommendations and also write an urgent letter to the State Governments to set up similar Committees for deciding on issues falling within their purview. The Committees urged that the Government of India should ensure that the Empowered Committee would complete its Report within a month so that the Committee of Experts would be enabled to finalise practical recommendations for implementation after taking into view the substantive decisions of the Government of India and State Governments. The Committee was of the view that immediate appointment of the Empowered Committee would go a long way in generating confidence in the Committee and the public about Government's determination to implement the recommendations of the Gujral Committee.
9. In its 1st meeting, Prof. Namwar Singh was unanimously elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Committee.
10. The Committee deliberated on March 20-21, 1990, and April 910, 1990 and also considered the Three Language Formula in a SubCommittee on 2nd April 1990. Later its Drafting Committee met on April 17, 1990 to finalise the draft for the Interim Report for consideration of the Committee. The names of the members of the
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Sub-Committee on Three Language Formula and the Drafting Committee are as follows:
I.Sub-Committee on Three Language Formula (i) Prof. Namwar Singh,
(ii) Prof. Qamar Rais,
(iii) Prof. Gopi Chand Narang,
*(iv) Dr. Khalique Anjum,
(v) Dr. (Mrs.) D.M. de Rebello, Joint Secretary (Schools), Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
(vi) Shri K.K. Khullar.
II. Drafting Committee (i) Prof. Qamar Rais,
(ii) Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi,
(iii) Dr. Khalique Anjum,
(iv) Shri K.K. Khullar
The draft was considered and finalised in the meeting of the Committee held on April 19-20, 1990.
11. The Interim Report was submitted to the Government on April 20, 1990. its recommendations were confined to Education, Constitutional Safeguards and Legislation. So far as Education is concerned, in consonance with Article 350-A of the Constitution) (* Special Invitee)
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the Committee recommended the teaching of Urdu at the primary stage and also the setting up of State-level committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers to monitor the arrangements. The Committee reiterated the Gujral Committee's recommendations regarding the setting up of Urdu medium primary schools where there are 10% or more Urdu speakers and, the provision of bilingual Urdu teachers where Urdu speaking population constitutes less than 10% of the population. At the secondary stage also, a similar pattern was recommended on the criterion of 10% Urdu-speaking population. It was also proposed that one Urdu medium higher secondary school should be opened for groups of 810 primary schools in cities, having concentration of Urdu speakers. In addition, the Committee recommended that the Three language Formula may be modified by making special provision for teaching of Urdu as one of the modern Indian languages.
12. After the submission of the Interim Report, the Committee took stock of the quantum of work required for the formulation and submission of the Final Report in its meeting held on June 68, 1990. It was clear that the Committee would have to examine a large number of recommendations concerning the Central and the State Governments and also organise the visits of its SubCommittees to various states to interact with eminent individuals and organisations engaged in the promotion of Urdu. It also needed consultation with the Committee set up by the Government to review the National Policy on Education-1986. Accordingly, the Government was requested by a Resolution of June 7, 1990 at Annexure III to extend the tenure of the Committee by three
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months. Initially the Government granted extension of only one month but subsequently, following a Resolution adopted by the Committee on July 6, 1990 at Annexure IV, and a letter of the Chairman of the Committee addressed to the Prime Minister) the Government extended the tenure of the Committee upto September 19, 1990.
13. In wider national interest and in view of the fact that the review of the National Policy on Education-1986 was already underway, it was felt that it will be fruitful if this Committee is enabled to interact with the Review Committee on issues associated with and arising from the recommendations of the Gujral Committee for Promotion of Urdu. These issues include place of mother tongue in primary education (Article 350-A of the Constitution), Secondary and university education, Three Language Formula and the place of Urdu therein, safeguards for linguistic minorities guaranteed in the constitution of India under Article 29(1), 30(1), 350-A and 350-B, provision for educationally backward minorities as envisaged in para 4.8 of the National Policy on Education-1986 and the chapter XIV entitled "Minorities' Education" in the Programme of Action-1986. Other connected issues are non-availability of Urdu text-books, Adult Education and Non-Formal Education literature in Urdu, Correspondence Courses in Urdu and provision for research in Urdu language. The Department of Education was requested to make arrangements in this regard. A copy of Resolution adopted by the Committee on the subject is placed at Annexure V.
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14. The Committee held ten meetings in all. After the submission of the Interim Report, the Committee held meetings on June 6-8, 1990; July 6, 1990; July 19-20 1990; August 7,8 and 10, 1990; September 3-4, September 11, and September 18, 1990. In its 6th meeting held on July 19-20, 1990, the Committee of Experts constituted a Drafting Committee for preparing a draft for the Final Report on the basis of the evidence of the official and non-official representatives of the Government in the Centre and the States, findings of the Sub- Committees, interaction with various organisations and individuals, the material received from various sources and the deliberations of the meetings of this Committee. The composition of the Drafting Committee is as under:
(i) Dr. Raj Bahadur Gaur,
(ii) Prof. Qamar Rais
(iii) Dr. Khalique Anjum; and
(iv) Shri K.K. Khullar.
It was also decided that Dr. Namwar Singh, Vice-Chairman of the Committee will attend the meetings of the Drafting Committee whenever possible
15. On June 6, 1990 the Committee held detailed discussion with Shri Saiyid Hamid, President, Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind), on different aspects of promotion of Urdu in the background of Gujral Committee Report. On June 7, 1990, the Committee made a courtesy call on Shri Chimanbhai Mehta, Minister of State for Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development in his chamber in Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. On July 6, 1990, the Committee called on Minister of State for Education again. On
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August 8, 1990, the interaction of the Committee of Experts with the National Policy on Education Review Committee (NPERC) took place at National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA). A brief report of the interaction is placed at Annexure VI.
16. The Drafting Committee held its meetings on August 21-24, 1990, and prepared the draft of the Report which was duly circulated to all the Members and placed before the Committee on September 3-4 and September 11, 1990 for consideration and finalisation.
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