Urdu Literature in the 20th Century

The literature of any language is deemed to be healthy only if it evolves. Of course the Urdu literature cannot be any different. The indicator of the health of this literature too is its evolution.

The Urdu literature has undoubtedly evolved a lot. The Indian sun continental society before was a closed agricultural society. Nothing much used o happen in the peoples live. The whole life was spent in the same circle. At that time the literature used to depict such lives.

Contemporary Urdu Literature

The Urdu literature is flourishing since 18^th century. Of course it has been evolving throughout. The different eras have been marked with different types f stories and novels. The themes of the stories and novels etc keep on changing.

The following are the current topics of the Urdu literature.

-Women rights

 In the Indian subcontinent the women are generally suppressed. Even the urban and metropolitan cities are male dominated. The state of rural areas is even worse. So the current Urdu storylines often revolve around the topics of the women rights.

In India the authors are also touching the sensitive topics of the widow rights and the remarrying of the widows.

-Feudal culture

In India the feudal culture is eradicated. However in Pakistan the situation is worse than ever. The gap between the rich and the poor is constantly increasing due to the feudal lords. The middle class is almost non-existent. So the Urdu writers in Pakistan are touching these topics now to create awareness.

Urdu literature plagiarism

One way to indicate the health of the literature of any language is the check the extent of plagiarism in it. Unfortunately, the Urdu literature is showing very bad trends of plagiarism.

The Urdu writers of both India and Pakistan are producing great pieces of work. However, it is really a shame that there are not enough laws and punishments to save the rights of these writers. Their work is constantly being plagiarized. Both countries are responsible for this trend.

Many literary works from India are published in Pakistan with different names and unfortunately, people never get to know about the original writer. The situation is just as bad in India. Pakistan produces some great popular fiction digests in Urdu language. One of such digests is called Pakeezah.

Urdu literature can tie India and Pakistan

India and Pakistan are two neighboring countries with an extremely interesting history. The two countries have been in war for more than once. However, the people of these two countries have very much in common. In fact, there are so many split families living gin both countries. It is extremely important for the families that their respective countries are on good terms. Without these, their interaction becomes too hard.

For the overall peace of the region too, the relations between the India and Pakistan should be of cordial nature. There have been many CBMs in the past, which worked. The Urdu language is common to both countries. Especially the urban population speaks in the Urdu language.

How to eliminate plagiarism from the Urdu literature

The condition of Urdu literature in terms of plagiarism is too bad. The genuine writers are producing great stuff consistently however the increasing amount of plagiarism everyday might discourage them. We cannot afford it. A language lives by its literature and we are an unfortunate bunch of people who are not doing anything for their great writers.

To make the Urdu literature thrive, measures must be taken to reduce the plagiarism. The government is responsible for not making clear copyright laws and not putting the people responsible for continuous plagiarism to task. However, we must also realize that for the Urdu literature the situation becomes tricky. The Urdu is the language of both India and Pakistan and the governments of both countries should be held responsible. There should be body to indicate the plagiarism and a body to punish the people who plagiarize the work of others.

The pioneers of Urdu literature

Urdu and Hindi may seem to be one language if we consider the style of speaking. However, the Urdu and Hindi literatures are different. The Urdu literature heavily draws its inspirations from the Persian literature and the Hindi literature is inspired from the Sanskrit scriptures.

The very first poetry in Urdu was by a Persian poet. His name was Amir Khusro. He wrote the Urdu verses in 13^th century. However, afterwards no Persian attempted at the Urdu poetry for nearly two centuries. Then poets of Deccan, Bijapur, and Golconda attempted at the Urdu poetry in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. 

Amir Khusro

Urdu literature - An Answer to Terrorism

The second annual Urdu conference was held in Karachi recently. It was a five-day event filled with literary fun activities and lots of music. The conference started from 17 November and ended on 21 November.

 One the 17^th of November, Jashan e Faiz was held. It was meant to celebrate the Urdu poetry of Faiz and to pay tribute to the great poet who never bowed before anyone. Poetry of Faiz was recited. Faiz daughter Salima Hashmi and people like Kishwer Naheed, Iftikhar Arif, and Shabnam Shakeel were invited to discuss the life of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. 

On 18 November, a discussion session was held on the Urdu novel writing in Pakistan. The discussions touched the topics of Modern day Urdu novels, Quratul Ain Haider’s novels and themes of Urdu and Sindhi novels.

The book called “Urdu literature”

“Urdu literature” is book written by an intelligent and intellectual trio. The names of the writers of this book are David J. Mathews, Christopher Shackle, and Shahrukh Husain respectively. The book is written by the experts of the Urdu language and is meant for the general Urdu speaking people. Anyone who is even slightly interested in the Urdu literature can enjoy the book.

David J. Mathews and Christopher Shackle are both from the school of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Shahrukh is an Urdu journalist with diverse experience in different fields of journalism. Shahrukh also has a special affinity for the modern Urdu poetry.

Can Urdu Solve Our Social Conflicts

Undoubtedly, Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and the national languages are supposed to untie the nations. So, by this theory the Urdu language should be able to solve the social conflict in Pakistan. But does it? Does Urdu solve social conflicts of Pakistan? The answer is no.

Another bitter piece of information is that the Urdu language is the source of many social problems in Pakistan. A great deal of resentment occupied the mind of the people of the newly born Pakistan when Urdu was declared its national language. Why is Urdu the national language of Pakistan? Eight percent of the population of Pakistan speaks Urdu. So why is it given so much importance? What was the vision of Quaid-e-Azam when he decided to do so? No one knows.

Can Urdu Play a Role in Development of Pakistan?

The successful evolution of Urdu language is the key to the development of Pakistan. Every developed nation of the world is relying on its national language for its consistent development. However, the case of Urdu as the national language of Pakistan is extremely complicated. 

 Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared Urdu as the national language of Pakistan. It created a lot of resentment and anger among most of the Pakistani. Another mistake was that Urdu was declared the national language of Pakistan in the capital of Bengal, Dhaka.

Urdu poetry topics, forms, and terminology

The poetry of any language is judged by various factors. The variety is the spice of the poetry of any language. Different factors, which are used to weigh the poetry of any language, are the topic diversity, forms, and terminology. The same is the case with the poetry in Urdu language.

The following is a brief overview of the topics, forms, and terminologies used in the Urdu poetry.

• Topic diversity of Urdu poetry

The topics of the Urdu poetry have varied with time. For example, the initial Urdu poetry was aimed to promote harmony between the people who spoke various languages. Gradually as the Urdu language developed, the poetry became romantic. However, most of the poems were about one-sided love and the stubbornness of the beloved. With passing time, the romance from the Urdu poetry waned a little. The new topics were current affairs, political situation, and the issues of social importance.

The pillars of Urdu literary world

By the Urdu literary world, I refer to all the elements, which contribute to the development, promotion, or enrichment of the Urdu language. There are five main categories, which are considered to be satisfying this definition.

Elimination or deterioration of even one of these can rapidly make the Urdu language stale and undesired. A brief description of each of the pillars of the Urdu literary world is as follows.

• Urdu poetry

The poetry of the Urdu language was the first to develop. It is nearly one thousand years old. The range of the topics of the Urdu language is enchantingly diverse. It conveys the messages of peace and harmony. It has romantic ballads. It touches current affairs and social issues. It played a huge role in the awakening of the Muslims of the subcontinent, which eventually lead to the ousting of the British.

The influences of Urdu poetry on the society

“Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words”.
Paul Engle

It is a fact that the poetry can greatly influence the society. The Urdu poetry is a perfect example of this statement. There are four dimensions, which are the most significant examples of the influence of the Urdu poetry on the society. These are briefly explained below.

Indian Pakistani Urdu heritage

The heritage of any country or culture is extremely important. The heritage is made up by many important things; however, the language remains the most important of all elements. Urdu is the language of the two major countries of the South Asia. These countries are the India and the Pakistan. The importance of language to a heritage can be realized by the following quote of Confucius.

“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence, there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything.”
-- Confucius

Urdu peace conference 2010 by Dr. Zakir Naik

Dr. Zakir Naik is known for his scholarly knowledge and arguments on Islam and comparative religion. He is an extremely intelligent man with great convincing powers. The way he can memorize even the reference number of the verses is truly a gift, which is very rare. Therefore, it was a relief to hear that Dr. Zakir Naik is going to hold an Urdu Peace Conference. In fact, the conference was rightly called “Urdu Peace Conference 2010: Misconceptions about Islam”.

There was a reason why Urdu was chosen as the language of the conference. Although, Dr. Zakir Naik is more fluent in speaking English as compared to Urdu, however in the Indian subcontinent, the Urdu language is spoken and understood by the masses. The English language does not have any penetration beyond the metropolitan of the Indian subcontinent.

Urdu play on Mirza Assad-ullah Khan Ghalib

Muslim Welfare Society organized an Urdu play on Mirza Assad-ullah Khan Ghalib titled Mirza Galib Ki Haveli, at Balgandharva Rangmandir, Pune India, on November 10^th, 2010.

Pune City First Sikh Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal was invited for viewing the play. Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal said “Urdu plays should be staged reqularly in the city. THis will help in exchange of culture of Hindi, Marathi and Urdu theatre industry,”

Conference to Seek Independent Panel for Urdu

A resolution was passed to establish independent Urdu Language Commission in the country in the International Urdu Conference in Pune on November 11^th, 2010. This was the 32^nd conference organized by Haji Gulam Mohammad Azam Trust, All India Urdu Educational Committee and Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society (MCES) in memory of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

The resolution urged government to form Urdu Language Commission for communication and development of Urdu Language and requested the Government of to provide revised version of national educational policy which provides equal opportunities, facilities and concessions to government and private Institues. It was also demanded, that an essay on the life of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad should be included in the text books. The conference also thanked the center for declaring the birthday of Maulana Azad as National Education Day.

Urdu Popular Fiction

Usually in the development of the language, all the credit is given to its poetry and prose. People conveniently overlook the contribution of popular fiction. The Urdu language has also always undergone this phenomenon.

It is a surprising fact that the critics and the literary figure have never recognized the services of popular fiction to the Urdu language. The most widely distributed Urdu popular fiction comes in the form of the monthly digests. These digests are published in Pakistan but they are widely distributed in India too. Other than that, these digests have a great following in the UK, Middle East, and the United States.

Urdu Poet Shaharyar felicitated In Lucknow (part 1)

There is a common perception in Urdu language native speaker that Urdu is losing its fame, elegance and acceptability. Urdu language is fading as number of Urdu litterateurs deteriorating, but Urdu Poet, pen name Shaharyar proved this perception wrong by wining Jnanpith Award.

Urdu Poet Shaharyar

Shaharyar is known for his lyrics in Film Daman “'Seene Mein Jalan Aankhon mein Toofan Sa kyon Hai”. He was felicitated Urdu Department of Lucknow University on Tuesday November 9^th,2010. He is alsi known for his remarkable ghazal of the Film Umrao Jan, “In ankhon ki masti key diwaney hazaron hai.”

Urdu Poet Shaharyar felicitated In Lucknow (part 2)

Urdu Poet Shaharyar

Shaharyar, talking about the people who says that Urdu Language is fading he said angrily “These people who clamor about the language dying down do not know it themselves. In fact they cannot even speak Urdu words properly.” He then stated, “Aaj ka din bahut achcha nahin taslim hai- Aane wale din bahut behtar hain meri rai hai” (Translation: It is accepted that today is not so bright but I am convinced that tomorrow will be better.)

Dr Wazir Agha- A great Urdu Linguistic

Dr. Wazir Agha is the name of a great man who was born in the British India of 1922. He was an Urdu critic, a prose writer, a poet and a philosopher. The Urdu language is alive and thriving due to great people like Dr. Wazir Agha.

Dr. Wazir Agha wrote an excellent biography of his life, which is a great read. When he was born his business man father got a janam patri for him to trace the journey of his life. however the man of principles, Dr. Wazir Agha never even opened that janam patri, not even to take a glance.

Urdu was not the only speciality of Dr. Wazir Agha. He was a great linguist who also knew Persian, English and Punjabi. He used to speak Urdu, English, Persian and Punjabi equally fluently. Dr. Wazir Agha’s father used to speak in Persian to his children, as Persian was considered the most respected language of the Muslims of the subcontinent. So this was the way he learned to speak Persian. His father used to speak Punjabi to his mother, who was of Punjabi ancestry. So, that was the way Dr. Wazir Agha learned Punjabi.

Razia Butt as a famous Urdu fiction writer

One of the very popular Urdu fiction writers is Razia Butt. Razia Butt has truly produced gems of the popular Urdu fiction. Most of her novels used to be bestsellers.

·         The childhood of Razia Butt

Razia Butt was a smart and charming child who was an avid Urdu reader. From her early childhood, she had a voracious appetite for reading. She even used to read the novels for adults in her childhood. Her elder sister used to sit with her while she was reading to explain to her about the novel. Her father motivated her to start writing.

·         The start of the Urdu writing

When Razia Butt started writing in Urdu her novels became immensely popular. The reason of the popularity was the carefully crafted characters of the novels. Razia Butt’s heroes used to become the heartthrobs of the women. Those heroes were handsome, loving, caring, and highly ethical. The heroines were simple and innocent girls.

Urdu Language - The daughter of Urdu culture

Anyone who knows only a little about the indigenous cultures of the subcontinent might also know about the distinctive Urdu culture. The Indian culture is amalgam of so many different and very distinctive cultures. In fact, this is the beauty of India and Pakistan. So many cultures flourish in these two countries.

Urdu language is one of the majorly spoken languages of these two countries. An interesting fact is that only 8 percent of the population of Pakistan has Urdu language as their mother tongue. However, the fact that Urdu is the national language of Pakistan has made it so rampant.

The Urdu language has a very distinctive history. It is not a very old language if compared to Persian, Arabic, or Sanskrit etc. It was formed by the soldiers of the British Army. Although the low ranked soldiers formed this language, however it clicked with the Mughal rulers of the subcontinent rather quickly.

Punjabi and Urdu is the Second Most common First Language in Edinburgh Schools

Total number people who speak English as a second Language in Edinburgh school is one out of 12.

According to the latest figures of 2010, round about a total number of 96 languages are spoken in United Kingdom capital’s primary and secondary schools, having 3373 children of foreign tongue

Polish is still the most spoken language after English, having 964 native speakers, an increase of 76 children from last year.

Punjabi and Urdu are on second place having 421 native speakers. While Arabic is the third most popular language. 

Edinburgh School

National Archive of India acquired about 20,000 Books, Mostly in Urdu Language, Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals.

Recently the National Archive of India has acquired about 20,000 books, Mostly in Urdu Language, Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals. In addition, there are large number of exchange of letter between the Urdu writers and Urdu Poets.

Al-Hilal, newspaper edited by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad received large number of photograph which includes photographs of Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit of the Aligarh Muslim University.

Academy of Professional Development of Urdu Medium Teachers, Jamia Millia Islamia to Organize Orientation Session for Madarsa teachers of Madhya Pradesh

The Academy of Professional Development of Urdu of Urdu Medium Teachers, Jamia Millia Islamia is organizing a Seven day Orientation session for the Madarsa Teachers of Madhya Pradesh on Monday, November 8, 2010.

Inauguration will be held on November 8, 2010 at 10:30 AM in the Nehru Guest House’s committee Room, Jamia Millia Islamia.

Director of the Academy of Professional Development of Urdu Medium Teachers, Prof. Ghazanfar Ali will deliver welcome address and Registrar S.M. Sajjid will inaugurate the program and the Chief Guest of the program shall be Prof. Khalid Mehmood, Head of Department of Urdu.

Urdu Poetry of Mirza Ghalib

Mirza Asad Ullah khan Beg Ghalib is a great contributor to the Urdu literature. He was a poet of the 18^th century. He was a trendsetter in the Urdu poetry.

Ghalib’s personal life had always been disturbed. He was married at a very young age. He never had a reliable source of income. He was a habitual alcoholic. His wife used to suffer due to his lack of attention. Mirza Ghalib have had children but most of them died at a very young age. Therefore, he was not a happy man. This combination proved to be excellent for some masterpieces of Urdu poetry.

Experiences of Urdu Literature Translators

The Urdu literature is very undoubtedly a very rich source of mental enlightenment. However, outside the Indian subcontinent nobody, not even the literature enthusiasts know much about it. The learned people already know that the experience of Urdu literature is worth sharing. So now, many people are trying to translate pieces from the Urdu literature.

The Urdu prose is not hard to translate. So many people are doing it. A good trend is that many writers themselves translate it. The best example of this trend is the famous writer Quratul Ain Haider. Quratul Ain Haider produced a plethora of novels while being in Pakistan. Afterwards she decided to shift back to India in 1960. There too she kept on producing excellent Urdu literature.

Why Urdu newspapers are in poor condition?

Urdu is a sweet, dynamic, and beautiful language. It is truly a sorry state of affairs that Urdu newspapers are constantly on a road of declining these days.

The experts and the Urdu language enthusiasts are surprised and alarmed by this trend. Why the Urdu newspapers are are in such a poor condition? Despite the beauty and the cultural history of the language why is it not flourishing? What is wrong with the Urdu journalism? These are some of the most pertinent questions of these days.