PRESS NOTE ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DATED JULY 14, 1958, CONTAINING STATEMENT ON LANGUAGE
 

A number of representations have been received from the Anjuman-e-Tarraqi-e-Urdu Hind urging that Urdu should officially be recognised in various territories where it is prevalent among considerable sections of the population. In particular, various proposals have been made for the encouragement of Urdu and the grant of facilities for instruction and examination in the Urdu language. As it appears from these representations, as well as from other sources, that there is considerable misunderstanding on this issue, it is desirable that this misunderstanding should be removed and the position of Urdu as laid down in the Constitution and in various announcements made by the Government and by the Provincial Education Minister's Conference, be re-stated and clarified.

2. Urdu and Hindi are very closely allied and may be considered as basically the same language. But it is true that Urdu has certain distinctive features, apart from the script in which it is usually written, and differs not only in literary style but to some extent in its vocabulary from Hindi, being influenced by various cultural currents that came to India from other countries. But it is essentially a language of our country, and its homeland is India. The Constitution has recognised this basic fact by including Urdu among the national languages, and the various provisions that apply to these languages, apply to Urdu also.

3. While Urdu is spoken by and is considered as their mother-tongue by a very considerable number of persons in India, more especially in North India, it is not a language used by the majority of people in any State in India or in any large region within a State. In the State of Jammu & Kashmir, it is recognised as one of the State languages, the principal one being Kashmiri. In the Telengana area of Andhra Pradesh it has also been recognised as an additional language for that region, although the principal language of the State is Telugu. In Northern India, more especially in Delhi,Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the use of the Urdu language has been wide spread, though it is confined to a minority chiefly living in towns. In the past, the principal cultural centres of the Urdu language have been Delhi city and Lucknow.

4. As a language of India which has literary distinction and vitality, it should be encouraged, in addition to other reasons from literary point of view. In regard to facilities for instruction and examination, the Provincial Education Minister's Conference has laid down certain rules for its use, with which Government are in full agreement.

5. In the areas and regions where the Urdu language is prevalent, the following facilities should be especially provided :

(1) Facilities should be provided for instruction and examination in the Urdu language at the primary stage to all children whose mother tongue is declared by the parent or guardian to be Urdu.

(2) Arrangements should be made for the training of teachers and for providing suitable text books in Urdu.

(3) Facilities for instruction in Urdu should also be provided in the secondary stage of educations.

(4) Documents in Urdu should be accepted by all courts and offices without the necessity of translation or transliteration in any other language or script, and petitions and representations in Urdu should also be accepted.

(5) Important laws, rules and regulations and notifications should be issued in the Urdu language also in areas where this language is prevalent and which may be specified for this purpose.

It is not necessary that laws should be passed by the Legislatures in Urdu or that every law should be issued in Urdu. But in order to give publicity to important laws as well as rules and regulations and notifications, these, or a substance of them should be issued in the Urdu language in specified areas. In the same way, where any border area between two States is con-bilingual, it is necessary to give publicity to important Government announcement in both the languages.

6. Hindi has not only been given pride of place in our Constitution, but is also the State language of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as well as some other States in India. There can be no question of any rivalry between Hindi and Urdu. Hindi necessarily occupies the dominant position in such States. But in accordance with the provision of the Constitution and the desirability of encouraging an important language of India, spoken and used by considerable numbers of the people, it is desirable to encourage and facilitate the use of Urdu by those who have been in the habit of using it and those who consider it as their mother-tongue. This would apply especially to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as well as to Delhi, which has been for hundred of years, one of the principal centres of the Urdu language.

114

7. In the Punjab, the two State languages are Hindi and Punjabi and regional formula has been accepted in regard to their use. Urdu cannot, therefore, have the same place as Hindi or Punjabi, in the Punjab, but it is a fact that Urdu is widely known and used in the Punjab. It is, therefore, necessary and desirable to give it the facilities mentioned in para 5 above in the Punjab also.

8. While the policy of Government in regard to various languages and in particular Urdu, has been repeatedly stated and is clear, there appears to be some justification for the complaint that it has not always been fully implemented. It is necessary, therefore, for full publicity to be given to this policy and for every effort to be made to implement it. Government regret that the question of language has sometimes been considered from a communal point of view or looked upon as one of rivalry between languages. All the principal languages in India are the rich heritage of our country and each of them has drawn abundantly from the others. The growth of any one of them helps others to grow also. The question, therefore, should be considered from the point of view of developing all our national languages and bringing about as large a measure of understanding and cooperation between them as possible.