History of Urdu language
Urdu is a major language of South Asia, and it has been gaining in popularity since the independence of the Indian sub-continent. It is one of the eighteen national languages of the Union of India as well as the declared national language of Pakistan. Although influenced by Arabic and Persian, but quite unlike Arabic and Persian, Urdu is an Indo-Aryan, language akin to Hindi, which originated and developed in the Indian subcontinent. Both Urdu and Hindi belong to the new Indo-Aryan sharing the same Indic base. At the phonological and grammatical level, they are so close that they appear to be one language, but at the lexical level they have borrowed so extensively from different sources (Urdu from Arabic and Persian, and Hindi from Sanskrit) that in actual practice and usage each has developed into an independent language. This distinction is most marked at the orthographical level, where Hindi uses Devanagari, and Urdu uses the Arabo-Persian script indigenously modified to suit the requirements of an Indo-Aryan speech. According to a general estimate, Urdu and Hindi taken together form the third largest speech community in the world today.
In Pakistan, Urdu is the official language used in instruction at government schools, at the district level administration, and in the mass media. According to the Census of Pakistan, 1981, the number of Urdu speakers in Pakistan has been estimated at almost 11 million with the largest concentration in the metropolitan city of Karachi, and in the Punjab. The Urdu speakers in India number almost 44 million (Census of India, 1991) with the largest numbers in the state of Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, which together account for 85% of the national Urdu-speaking population. Delhi still enjoys to be the major centre of Urdu literature and publishing. Urdu is also spoken in countries surrounding India and Pakistan, such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Practically, Urdu has become the culture language and lingua franca of the South Asian Muslim diaspora outside the sub-continent, especially in the Gulf and the Middle East, Western Europe, Scandinavia, U.S.A. and Canada.
Historically, Urdu developed in the post-12th century period under the impact of the incoming Muslims as a linguistic modus vivendi from the sub-regional apabhramshas of north-western India. Its first major folk poet is the great Persian master, Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), who is known to have composed dohas (couplets) and riddles in the newly-formed speech, then called ‘Hindavi’. Through the medieval time, this mixed speech was variously called by various speech sub-groups as ‘Hindavi’, ‘Zaban-e-Hind’, ‘Hindi’, ‘Zaban-e-Dehli’, ‘Rekhta’, ‘Gujari’. ‘Dakkhani’, Zaban-e-Urdu-e-Mualla’, ‘Zaban-e-Urdu’, or just ‘Urdu’. There is evidence to establish that the name ‘Hindustani’ was in vogue in the late 11th century, which later became synonymous with Urdu. Literally, the word ‘Urdu’ (originally Turkish) means camp, or the royal camp. It also stood for the city of Delhi which was the seat of the Mughals for centuries. Nonetheless, major Urdu writers kept referring to their speech as ‘Hindi’, or ‘Hindavi’ till as late as the beginning of the 19th century
Urdu literature made its beginning away from Delhi, in Deccan, in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. As the Mughal rulers in the north generally patronised Persian, court patronage came to the new speech in South India, i.e., Golkunda (present Hyderabad) and Bijapur, where for literary pursuits the new speech was used in the first place by the Sufi saints and folk poets. Hence the name Dakkhani. The earliest work extant is a verse narrative, Kadam Rao Padam Rao by Nizami (1421-1434). Sabras, an allegorical tale by Wajhi (d.1635) is considered the first prose classic. The major Dakkhani poets include Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah (d.1626), Gawwasi (d.1631), Nusrati (d.1674), Ibn-e-Nishati (d.1655) and Wali Aurangabadi (d. 1707). Inspired by Wali's example, the Delhi poets adopted their speech for poetry, considering it as elegant for poetic creation as Persian. This virtually proved the turning of the tide in favour of Urdu.
The 18th and 19th centuries are considered to be the golden period of the classical Urdu poetry, when language reached its highest degree of sophistication and excellence. The great masters include Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Sauda (d.1781), Khwaja Mir Dard (d.1784), Insha (d.1817), Mushafi (d.1824), Nasikh (d.1838), Aatish (d.1847), Momin (d.1852), Zauq (d.1854) and Ghalib (d.1869). They were mainly poets of the Ghazal (lyric). For masnavi writing the highest honour is given to Mir Hasan (d.1786), Daya Shankar Nasim (d. 1844) and Nawab Mirza Shauq (d.1871). Nazir Akbarabadi of Agra (d.1830) is considered the folk poet par excellence of Urdu. In Marsiya (elegy) writing no one surpassed Anis (d.1874) and Dabir (d.1875) of Lucknow. Ghalib who was a contemporary of the last Mughal ruler, Bhadur Shah Zafar, is considered to be the last of the classicals as well as the first of the moderns.
Though prose had made its beginning in the 18th century, Ghalib's letters set the standard for modern prose, followed by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (d.1898), Mohd. Husain Azad (d.1910), Hali (d.1914) and Shibli (d.1914). During the 19th century, the cyclic tales running into thousands of pages and several volumes like Tilism-e-Hoshruba and Dastan-e-Amir Hamza (1881-1917) gave way to shorter prose tales, such as Bagh-o-Bahar (1802) and Fasana-e-Ajaib (1831) by Rajab Ali Beg Suroor. The beginning of the novel, however, was made by Nazir Ahmad (d.1912), Ratan Nath Sarshar (d.1902) and Mohd. Hadi Ruswa (d.1931). The 20th century saw the rise of the Urdu novel with Premchand (d.1936), whose Godan is considered to be a classic. The other modern classics include short fiction by Saadat Hasan Manto (d.1955), and novels like Aag ka Darya (1960) by Qurrat-ul-ain Hyder, Udas Naslen (1963) by Abdulla Husain, Ek Chaadar Maili Si (1962) by Rajinder Singh Bedi, and Basti (1979) by Intizar Husain.
Allama Iqbal (d.1938) is considered to be the most outstanding Urdu poet of the 20th century followed by N. M. Rashid (d.1975), Miraji (d.1949), Josh Malihabadi (d.1982), Firaq Gorakhpuri (d.1982), Faiz Ahmed Faiz (d.1984), Makhdoom Mohi-ud-Din (d.1969) and Akhtar-ul-Iman (1996). The notable essayists, non-fiction prose writers, literary critics and scholars include Baba-e-Urdu, Maulavi Abdul Haq (d.1961), Abul Kalam Azad (d.1958), Patras Bukhari (d.1958) Mahmood Shirani (d.1946), Sheikh Mohd. lkram (d.1973), Syed Mohd. Abdulla (d.1986), Masood Hasan Rizvi Adib (d.1975), Abid Husain (d.1978), Kalimuddin Ahmad (d.1983), Ehtisham Husain (d.1972), Mohd. Hasan Askari (d.1978), Imtiyaz Ali Khan Arshi (d.1981), Qazi Abdul Wadood (d.1984), Malik Ram (d.1993), Kanhaya Lal Kapoor (d.1980), and Rashid Ahmad Siddiqui (d.1977).
Well-known Urdu Short Fiction (AFSANA) writers of the century are:
Premchand
Rajinder Singh Bedi
Saadat Hassan Manto
Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi
Ashfaq Ahmed
Bano Qudsia
Bhupendra nath Kaushik"fikr"
Ghulam Abbas
Mumtaz Mufti
Masaud Mufti
Mansha Yaad
Rashid Amjad
Qisar Tamkeen
Sajid Rasheed
Musharaf Alam Zauqi
Khalid Javed
Asif Farrukhi
Mubeen Mirza
A. Khayam
Tahira Iqbal
Nelofer Iqbal
Muhammad Ilyas
Khakan Sajid
Hamid Saraj
Baig Ehsas
Urdu poetry originated from Indian soils but the structural forms it adopted were all Persian because it was the language of the court and the higher strata of society. That is why, Ghazal, Qaseedah, Masnavi, Rubai, Mukhammas and Musaddas entered from Persian into Urdu poetry. Ghazal and Qaseedah have almost the same form while other genres are distinctly different from each other. A brief information of each kind is given below.
SHER: A couplet or two lines of equally measured metrical lengths not necessarily rhymed.
GHAZAL: At least four couplets make a ghazal. Unity of thought among them is not an obligation. The first couplet of the ghazal, " Matla" is usually rhymed while the second line of every other couplet is rhymed with Matla. The last sher of the ghazal is called " Maqta" wherein a poet uses his pen name.
NAZM:- A poem, written on a single topic. It may or may not be in rhyme or a combination of the two. Nazm may be further sub-divided into following kinds.
1.PABAND NAZM: -This kind of poem strictly observes the rules of metrical length and rhyme- scheme. Its structural form is defined at the outset of the poem e.g. If it is a Musaddas (a poem divided in stanzas of six lines each), it will continue to be Musaddas till the end. Similarly, Mukhammas, Murabba, etc acquire their names according to the number of lines in each stanza.
2.AZAD NAZM: It has no regular meter or line length and depends on natural speech rhythms and the counterpoint of stressed and unstressed syllables.
3.NASRI NAZM: or prose poem, printed as prose but distinguished by elements common in poetry such as rhythms, internal rhyme and startling images etc.
Some other shorter forms of Nazm are as under:
1.QATAA: or quatrain embodies an idea in four lines, rhymed or unrhymed but closely connected with each other. In its commonest shape, the second and the fourth lines are rhymed.
2.RUBAI: It is also a four-lined poem having a prescribed metrical length with first, second and fourth lines rhymed. Thus, its rhyme scheme is aaba.
3.DOHA: Basically, it is a Hindi form but well fitted in Urdu poetry also. It is a couplet with a specific line length.
4.MUSALLAS or SULASI: Three lines of equal length make a Musallas or Sulasi.
5.MAHIYA: A short poem of three lines wherein first and third lines are rhymed. Its subject matter, usually romantic and pastoral, is more important than its structure. It has also been assimilated into Urdu from Punjabi.
Besides, Haiku, Triveni, Tanka, Sonnet etc have also been widely used as forms of poetic expression in Urdu. Geet, Marsiah, Hamd, Naat and Salam may have any of the structural form already described but their subject matters are quite different from each other.
It is a fact that Urdu acquired most of its poetic genres from Persian, it also accepted all the trends and traditions of Persian poetry in the beginning. Ghalib changed the course of Persian love poetry to reason and philosophy; Hali gave it a purpose and Iqbal prosody. In fact, Ghalib was the pioneer and Iqbal the revivalist of modern trends in Urdu poetry.
The post partition era saw a change in role models of Urdu poetry from Persian to English. It was, perhaps, the result of the marks left by British rulers on Indian society. Consequently, many foreign poetic forms were adopted and several political, social and literary movements influenced Urdu poetry. Progressives and conservatives wrote on parallel lines and handed their literary assets down to the next generation.
The most modern and latest tendency in writing Urdu poetry combines all the trends of previous generations and the current conditions of human life on earth. Issues like scientific advancement, political uncertainty, economic instability, social insecurity, valuelessness of human life, poverty, chaos, love, sex, wars, myths, religion etc-------all are voiced in modern poetry.
Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, particularly in areas with a historically strong Muslim presence, such as southern Pakistan, and parts of North India. The style is rare, though not entirely absent, in North and West Pakistan, Bangadesh, and Kashmir. It's a vibrant musical tradition that stretches back more than 700 years. Often listeners, and even artists themselves, are transported to a state of wajad, a trance-like state where they feel at one with God, generally considered to be the height of spiritual ecstasy in Sufism, and the ultimate goal of the practice.
Originally performed mainly at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it has also gained mainstream popularity. Qawwali music received international exposure through the work of the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, largely due to several releases on the Real World label, followed by live appearances at WOMAD festivals. Other famous Qawwali singers include Pakistan's Sabri rothers.
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century pre-Islamic Arabic verse. It is derived from the Arabian panegyric qasida. The structural requirements of the ghazal are similar in stringency to those of the Petrarchan sonnet. In its style and content it is a genre which has proved capable of an extraordinary variety of expression around its central themes of love and separation. It is one of the principal poetic forms which the Indo-Perso-Arabic civilization offered to the eastern Islamic world.
The ghazal spread into South Asia in the 12th century under the influence of the new Islamic Sultanate courts and Sufi mystics. Although the ghazal is most prominently a form of Persian and Urdu poetry, today it is found in the poetry of many languages.
Ghazals were written by the Persian mystics and poets Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (13th century) and Hafez (14th century), the Azeri poet Fuzuli (16th century), as well as Mirza Ghalib (1797–1869) and Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), both of whom wrote ghazals in Persian and Urdu. Through the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), the ghazal became very popular in Germany in the 19th century, and the form was used extensively by Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866) and August von Platen (1796–1835).
At least four couplets make a ghazal. Unity of thought among them is not an obligation. The first couplet of the ghazal, " Matla" is usually rhymed while the second line of every other couplet is rhymed with Matla. The last sher of the ghazal is called " Maqta" wherein a poet uses his pen name.
The State Academies working for Urdu in India
Andhra Pradesh Urdu Academy (11-4-637, AC Guards, Hyderabad - 500004)
Bihar Urdu Academy (Urdu Bhawan, Ashok Rajpath, Patna - 800004)
Delhi Urdu Academy (B-Block, 1st Floor, 5, Shyam Nath marg, DElhi-110054)
Gujarat Urdu Sahitya Academy (Old Assembly Building, Sector - 17, Gandhi Nagar - 382017)
Haryana Urdu Academy (Kothi No. 516, Sector - 12, Panchkula - 134 112)
Himachal Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (Shimla, H.P.)
Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Arts, Culture and Languages (Lal Mandi, Srinagar/Canal Road, Jammu)
Madhya Pradesh Urdu Academy (Sanskriti Bhawan, Ban Ganga Road, Bhopal - 462 003)
Maharashtra State Urdu Academy (D.D. Building, 2nd Floor, Old Custom House, Shaheed Bhagat SinghRoad, Mumbai - 400 023)
Orissa Urdu Academy (Paryatan Bhawan, Museum Complex, Bhubaneshwar - 751 014)
Rajasthan Urdu Academy (J 3, Subhash Marg, 'C' Scheme, Jaipur - 302 001)
Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy (Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow)
West Bengal Urdu Academy (75/2-A, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg, Calcutta-700 016)
Karnataka Urdu Academy (14/3, Nrupathunga Road,. Bangalore - 560 002)
Tamil Nadu Urdu Academy (3 Santhome High Road, Chennai-600004)
Urdu Libraries
Libraries in India rich in Urdu collections are at the Aligarh Muslim University; Delhi University; Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; Osmania University, Hyderabad; and Kashmir University, Srinagar.
Besides, The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library (Bankipur, Patna) and The Raza Oriental Library (Fort, Rampur) are designated as libraries of national importance, and maintained by the Union Government.
Karnataka Urdu Academy
Charter of Autonomy for the Karnataka Urdu Academy
1. The name of the Academy shall be Karnataka Urdu Academy (Hereinafter referred to as the Academy) It shall be affiliated to the Central Sahitya Academy.
2. The Head-quarters of the Academy shall be at Bangalore.
3. The Academy shall have the following aims and objects namely:
* to encourage Urdu language in all its aspects in this State,
* to promote exchange of creative ideas between the State language Kannada and Urdu through translation and other literary pursuits,
* to initiate, assist or undertake the publication of papers, monographs, books and journals in Urdu,
* to initiate, assist or undertake the implementation of projects or schemes which may further the cause of Urdu.
* to provide financial assistance to writers and poets resident in Karnataka for publication of their literary works, if approved by the Academy,
* to provide financial assistance to Urdu Literary Societies and Urdu Literary Activities,
* to initiate, assist or organise Seminars, Conferences, Symposiums or Exhibitions for the encouragement of Urdu in the State.
* to give awards for excellence in Urdu in different literary fields to writers and poets, resident in the State;
* to raise resources, funds, donations and or contributions from the public by such means as may be approved by the State Government and to utilise the same for the activities of the said Academy.
* to keep the State Government informed, from time to time of the activities of the Academy and the needs of the Urdu speaking people and,
* to advise Government in formulating its policies in the matter of development of Urdu in the State and to assist the Government in their implementation.
4. Officers of the Academy
The following shall be Officers of the Academy, namely;
The President Registrar Finance Member
Following is the list of Chairmen who have held charge of The Karnataka Urdu Academy after its inception.
1. Mr. Habib Tanvir 1977-79
2. Mr. Mahmood Ayaz 1979-80
3. Dr. Fahmida Begum 1980-82
4. Mr. Mahmood Ayaz 1983-86
5. Dr. Laiq Qadija 1987-90
6. Mr. Mahmood Ayaz 1991-95
7. Prof. Abdul Gaffar Shakee 1995-2001
8. Mr. Wahab Andleeb 2001-2004
9. Dr. M.N. Sayeed 2005-2008
10. Mr. Khaleel Mamoon 2008
*
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