By TCN Staff Reporter,
Patna: Former chief minister of Bihar Dr Jagannath Mishra has stressed the revival of the Urdu movement of the 1980s which culminated in the language getting the status of second official language of the state. Mishra was speaking at Urdu Bachao Conference here in Patna on Sunday (9th October). The conference was organized by Danish Markaz, a registered eminent literary group.
Dr Mishra expressed concern at the poor state of Urdu in Bihar. “To give the language its due position and rights, there is a need for the revival of the Urdu movement once again,” he said and also urged the Urdu community to get aware for the development of the language. He urged the state government to take positive steps for the language.
L-R: Anil Sulabh, Dr Jagannath Mishra, Prof Wahab Ashrafi, Sanaul Huda Qasmi, Dr Syed Shah Shamimuddin Ahmed Munami
Like the regimes of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, the current regime of Nitish Kumar has done little for Urdu. The latest evidence of JDU-led NDA government’s apathy towards Urdu is the case of appointment of Urdu teachers pending before the Supreme Court. More than 12000 Urdu teachers were to be appointed in schools but the state government has curtailed the number gradually as the case progressed in the apex court.
In his keynote address, Dr Syed Shah Shamimuddin Ahmed Munami, Sajjada Nasheen, Khanqah Munamiya, Mittan Ghat, Patna City, said the condition of Urdu language has worsened in the last 30 yeas in the state and to resolve the issue there is a need of an organized movement and strong pressure on the government. He also demanded that Urdu Advisory Board should be made active.
The conference was presided over by eminent critic and educationist Prof Wahab Ashrafi. Besides Ashrafi, other eminent figures who spoke on the occasion included Husn Ahmed Qadri, General Secretary, Jamiat Ulama Bihar, Shamael Nabi, ex-minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Qasmi, Principal, Madrasa Shamsul Huda, Patna, Raihan Ghani, Managing Editor, Urdu daily Pindaar, and Kamaluz Zafar, patron of Urdu Tehreek and Maulana Sanaul Huda Qasmi, Asst Secretary, Imarat Shariah. Maulana Qasmi was representing Ameer-e-Shariat Maulana Syed Nizamuddin.
Audience
At the end of the conference a charter of demands was put before the state government. The major demands included:
*Compulsory education of Urdu in school, college and university
*Constitution of Urdu Commission for development of Urdu
*Nameplates of officers in government offices in Urdu along with Hindi
*Names of roads, institutions, parks and public places in Urdu along with Hindi
*Recruitment of Urdu translators, assistant Urdu translators, typists and teachers in Dept of Raj Bhasha and schools
*Making Urdu an official language of the state Legislative Assembly
On the occasion, Anwarul Hasan’s book Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Vaishali ki Khidmaat was launched.