24 July 2004	Saturday	06 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, July 23: Dr Muzaffar Hanafi, a visiting researcher and critic from India, said that despite cultural diversity and political ups and downs, Urdu is still one of the popularly spoken languages in India.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the Urdu department, University of Karachi on Friday. Noted critic Dr Farman Fateh puri presided over the sitting, which was attended by a good number of teachers and final year students of the department.

Dr Muzaffar pointed out that there was no problem with Urdu in states where it had been accepted as a second language due to full patronage of respective governments. Urdu academies and textbook corporations had been established in some states, including the UP, Bihar, Maharashtar, while some states also observed Urdu as the medium of instruction in schools.

He said the popularity of Urdu could be realized from the fact that state-run television and radio as well as the private electronic media presented programmes in Urdu. On the other hand, daily newspapers and periodicals were also published by government and private concerns from many cities, which made there presence felt by maintaining a standard both in respect of content and presentation, he added.

He observed that till 1960s, the situation was not very bright for Urdu in India and the language received a set back when some states, where Urdu being the main language, reviewed their position and decided to implement Hindi as the state language.

However, things are changing now with the passage of time, he added, saying that in comparison to Hindi poetry, Urdu poets and poetry were liked more by the masses. There are many schools for primary education in Urdu in some states, while departments of Urdu at various universities on the other hand were also making efforts to promote Urdu, he remarked, and maintained that on the whole, the language's future in India was bright.

Responding to questions from students, he said that in addition to muslims, a large section of non-muslims, including the enlightened and secular ones, liked Urdu and termed it as an easy language of communication.

Dr Farman Fatehpuri remarked that the lecture given by Dr Muzaffar was surely a source of credible information for students of the Urdu department. He urged the department to ensure holding of such events in future as well, as poets and writers were the representatives of society and its values.

Head of the Urdu department Dr Moinuddin Aqil, and Prof Sehar Ansari also spoke. Dr Muzaffar, who had held the Iqbal Chair at Kolkata University for many years, and wrote his doctorate thesis on the poet, Shad Arfi, also recited some of his ghazals.