tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20989892.post1023561711076987699..comments2024-01-14T00:24:34.640-08:00Comments on Moments of Tranquility: Urdu in DelhiFawad Zakariya http://www.blogger.com/profile/16008069828182560496noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20989892.post-36185095415752354472012-04-25T12:49:07.768-07:002012-04-25T12:49:07.768-07:00hi
in case you have any information, please coul...hi<br /><br /><br />in case you have any information, please could you let me know about any books/memoir in urdu written after the partition about the city of delhi, for example the changes in the city post-partition written by any dilliwala? thankssanyuktanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20989892.post-36667041613915431042008-04-15T09:21:00.000-07:002008-04-15T09:21:00.000-07:00@ readerswords, thanks for your comment. It is sad...@ readerswords, thanks for your comment. It is sad to hear your observations on the state of Urdu in India. I have reflected on this before but for all the ills of partition one big benefit has been the preservation and thriving of Urdu as a living language in the state of Pakistan. Urdu suffers from many issues in Pakistan as well (particularly a lack of a hearty embrace from the younger elites) but it is now truly a lingua franca across the provinces with no controversy about the script (since Bangladesh's independence). Everybody who is literate learns to read and write it. The best evidence is the private media channels where you see everyone from politicians to people on the street from even alienated corners of the country communicating in fairly decent Urdu.<BR/><BR/>I believe that in a united India Urdu's fate would have been close to what it is in India today. The Urdu heartland (Delhi, UP, Bihar and further away Hyderabad) would have had Muslims in a minority and no state would have had Urdu as its first language. Punjab, which was the other center of Urdu writing and journalism would have likely given greater prominence to Punjabi which was the linguistic link between Hindu, Muslim and Sikh Punjabis. Of course, these are all speculative what ifs but interesting to ponder.Fawad Zakariya https://www.blogger.com/profile/16008069828182560496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20989892.post-33704249352975810072008-04-14T14:46:00.000-07:002008-04-14T14:46:00.000-07:00For all practical purposes, Urdu is now a ghetto l...For all practical purposes, Urdu is now a ghetto language. A few nostalgic adherents from the elites also continue to patronize it reciting classical Urdu poetry. Even Hindustani- something between Urdu and Hindi and upheld mostly by the cinema folks, is getting dissolved in Hinglish- a mix of Hindi and English.<BR/><BR/>In this bleak scenario, the silver lining is revival of Urdu newspapers especially in UP/MP. A few years ago, newspapers in Urdu were stagnant or declining, this has now fortunately changed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com