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Nov

Call to Protect Urdu, the ‘Most Beautiful Language’

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Syed Khaleeq Ahmad

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New Delhi | Friday | 7 November 2025

At the 105th Foundation Day celebrations of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiran Rijiju struck an unexpected but welcome note. His warm tribute to Urdu, describing it as “the most beautiful language in the world,” drew appreciation from across the country.

Among those who responded was Mumbai-based senior journalist Mohammed Wajihuddin, who wrote an open message lauding the Minister’s remarks — while urging him to go beyond words and act to protect a language that has, over time, fallen victim to India’s communal politics.

“Urdu is the most beautiful language in the world”

Wajihuddin, a noted commentator on Urdu culture and education, said Rijiju’s acknowledgment of Urdu’s beauty had touched countless admirers of the language. “Like millions of Urdu lovers in India and abroad, I immensely liked your recent speech at Jamia. It gladdened my heart,” he wrote, commending the Minister’s humility in admitting that he could not speak Urdu fluently but still felt drawn to its sweetness and literary richness.

The journalist reminded readers that Jamia Millia Islamia, where Rijiju delivered his speech, has deep roots in Urdu’s intellectual and freedom-fighting traditions. One of its founders, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, was not only a political leader but also a distinguished Urdu poet and journalist.

Article at a Glance
At Jamia Millia Islamia’s 105th Foundation Day, Union Minister Kiran Rijiju praised Urdu as “the most beautiful language in the world,” earning admiration from Urdu lovers nationwide. Journalist Mohammed Wajihuddin welcomed the Minister’s words but urged real action to revive Urdu, which he said has suffered from political prejudice and neglect.
He reminded readers of Urdu’s deep ties to India’s freedom struggle and composite culture, noting figures like Maulvi Mohammad Baqar and the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad.” Wajihuddin lamented that Urdu, once India’s cultural bridge, now struggles for institutional support, especially in education.
Citing Maharashtra’s scrapped Urdu Learning Centre project, he appealed for government intervention to restore it. His message ended with a poetic tribute to Urdu’s beauty, calling on leaders to transform admiration into policies that preserve and promote the language as a living symbol of India’s diversity and unity.

“History records that the first Indian journalist martyred in the freedom struggle was an Urdu journalist,” Wajihuddin noted, referring to Maulvi Mohammad Baqar, editor of Delhi Urdu Akhbar, who was executed by the British in 1857. “Does official India remember him?” he asked pointedly.

The language of freedom and fusion

Urdu, he reminded, is not merely a linguistic heritage but a part of India’s composite culture and struggle for independence. It gave India the immortal slogan “Inquilab Zindabad.” For centuries, Urdu served as the bridge between diverse communities, embodying the country’s spirit of syncretism and shared identity.

“India’s beauty lies in its diversity,” he wrote. “Our multiple languages contribute to this celebrated diversity. Every language in India, including Urdu, deserves patronage from the Centre and state governments.”

A victim of prejudice

While acknowledging Rijiju’s praise, Wajihuddin drew attention to what he called a troubling paradox — the marginalisation of Urdu in its own homeland.

“The truth is that a section of India sees Urdu as the language of a particular community,” he wrote. “In its animosity towards that community, this section hates Urdu. The same Urdu which you rightly hail as ‘the most beautiful language of the world.’ This group has tried everything to strangulate this beautiful language and make it a stranger in its own country.”

He observed that Urdu, once a lingua franca of India’s cultural and political discourse, is today struggling for institutional support, especially in education. “No language can survive and flourish if it is not allowed to be taught,” he warned.

The Maharashtra example

Citing a recent case in Maharashtra, the journalist pointed out how even modest efforts to promote Urdu meet resistance. The state government had earlier sanctioned an Urdu Learning Centre in Mumbai aimed at encouraging both Urdu learning and cultural exchange between Marathi and Urdu speakers.

However, despite 40% of the building being complete, the project was abruptly scrapped following objections from certain legislators. “Please look into it,” Wajihuddin appealed to Rijiju. “The least that is expected from you is to write to the Maharashtra government and the BMC to rollback its decision to scrap the Urdu Learning Centre project.”

A call for action

The message concluded on a poetic note, quoting an Urdu couplet that captures the essence of the language’s beauty and gentleness:

Woh kare baat toh har lafz se khushboo aaye,

Aisi boli wahi bole jise Urdu aaye.

(Every word gives fragrance when he speaks; such speech is spoken only by one who knows Urdu.)

Wajihuddin’s open letter is both an appreciation and a challenge — to turn the government’s verbal admiration for Urdu into tangible support. His appeal underlines a larger question: Can India truly celebrate its linguistic diversity if one of its most lyrical, historical, and inclusive languages continues to be sidelined by prejudice and politics?

As Rijiju’s remarks rekindle affection for Urdu among its admirers, voices like Wajihuddin’s remind the nation that love for a language must go hand in hand with policies that ensure its survival — in classrooms, in public spaces, and in the hearts of those who speak and cherish it.( India Tomorrow News Desk | Mumbai )

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