LEARN YOUR MOTHER TONGUE
THE Urdu language developed through a process of mutual contact between Muslims and Indian cultures.
The language is a form of Hindi language with a mixture of Arabic and Persian. Urdu was formerly referred to as Hindi. The word “Hindi” is Persian in origin. With the conquest of Sind and Multan by the Arab General Muhammad bin Qasim, the language and faith of the Muslims entered these territories.
The daily contact with the indigenous people led to the evolution of a new language, which continued to grow and spread.
Not only did this contact between Muslims and Hindus generate the growth of the language, but it also inspired many to become patronising scholars and men of learning.
Amir Khusroo, the father of Persian poetry in India used Hindi words freely in his Persian poems since Hindi possessed the beauty and eloquence. Urdu developed gradually thereafter. Some rulers of the Deccan tribe adopted it as the court language in place of Persian. Urdu was given patronage by Sultan Hassan Bahmani and his successors. Urdu observor Dr Sadiq had a flourishing literary career from 1590 to 1730.
Kwaja Banda Nawaaz wrote books and treatises on Urdu theology and mysticism. Mulla Muhammad Taki wrote verses in Persian ad Decconi. In the North, Urdu remained for centuries only as a language of businessman, travellers and soldiers. During the Mughal period, Urdu flourished under the reign of Akbar (1556-1606) whose love for learning and learned men was as great as that of Sultan Mohmud of Ghazni.
By the time of Shah Jehan, Urdu had developed and could be used for literary purposes. The Shah knew it and it was commonly spoken in Delhi. Urdu poetry, qasidas and ghazals now flourish throughout the world.
Before the beginning of the 19th century, there were a few books of Urdu prose because scholars preferred to write in verse.
With the founding of Fort William College by John Gilchrist in Calcutta in 1800, Urdu prose began to flourish. The publication of newspapers at Calcutta, Delhi and Agra played a major role in popularising Urdu poetry and prose.
The language will continue to grow because Islamic culture and Indian civilisation are inter woven in their texture. Urdu is an invaluable gift of the Islamic period handed down to the present generation of the sub-continent.
Today in India, Pakistan and all over the world, Urdu is spoken by over one billion people.