Urdu Does Not Only Belong to Muslims: Says Javed Akhtar

During an event, Javed Akhtar, Bollywood’s renowned lyricist, debunked misconceptions about Hindi and Urdu. He emphasized that categorizing one as the language of Hindus and the other as the language of Muslims is incorrect.

Akhtar, per The Indian Express, emphasizes language’s regional roots over religious ties. He asserts Urdu as a Hindustani language like Hindi. He criticizes cultural custodians for failing to pass on Urdu knowledge to the youth, debunking blame on Indian governments for its decline.

At the India International Centre, he discussed the interconnectedness of Hindi and Urdu, likening them to “Siamese twins,” and shared the conversation on the foundation’s YouTube channel. This isn’t the first time Akhtar has expressed his thoughts.

“Hindi and Urdu were equals until about 200 years ago, when, for political reasons, they were separated,” he said. “You would not be able to tell if certain poems were written by a Hindi poet or an Urdu poet. This was done by the Britishers to create a cultural difference in north India.”

Akhtar challenged the notion, asking, “Is Urdu exclusively a Muslim language? Do Bengalis in East Pakistan, Malayalam writers like Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, or Arabs in the Middle East speak Urdu? Urdu is confined to the Indian subcontinent – yes, we were divided 70 years ago, but it was all Hindustan.”

Urdu and Hindu are Linked to Certain Religions

Like Urdu doesn’t solely belong to Muslims, he said that it is equally incorrect to say that Hindi is the language of Hindus. “They say Hindi is the language of Hindus. Why don’t you go and tell that to the people in Tamil Nadu? Let’s see what happens. All this is nonsense. Languages cannot belong to a religion. They belong to regions. Can English be the language of Christians? No. Do Christians in France and Italy speak English?” He said that Urdu is a north Indian language, but while land can be divided, language cannot. “You can’t say we’ll have the nouns, you can have the verbs, can you?”

Also Read: Mahira Khan, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, to Attend Urdu Literary Festival in Dubai