CHENNAI — Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) president and MLA Prof. M. H. Jawahirullah on Friday urged the Tamil Nadu government to include Urdu in the list of languages eligible for the state’s newly announced Classical Literature Award. MMK is an ally of the ruling DMK.
In a statement, Jawahirullah welcomed Chief Minister M. K. Stalin’s announcement of a Classical Literature Award carrying a prize money of ₹5 lakh for outstanding literary works published in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali and Marathi. However, he said the exclusion of Urdu overlooked a language with a rich and composite cultural legacy.
“Urdu is one of the 22 languages recognised under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Yet, there is a deliberate attempt by some sections to portray it as the language of Muslims alone. This is a false and misleading narrative,” Jawahirullah said.
He pointed out that Urdu literature has been significantly enriched by several non-Muslim writers and poets. “The short stories of Munshi Premchand have earned worldwide recognition, while the poetry of Raghupati Sahay, popularly known by his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, continues to enjoy immense popularity. These contributions reflect the inclusive and pluralistic nature of the Urdu language,” he said.
Tracing the historical evolution of Urdu, the MMK leader noted that for nearly 800 years prior to British rule, large parts of India were governed by Mughal rulers, during which Persian served as the official language of administration. “Over time, through interaction with Persian and Arabic, Urdu gradually evolved as a distinct and refined language,” he explained.
Jawahirullah also highlighted the linguistic distinctions between Hindi and Urdu. While both share a common cultural space, he said Hindi draws largely from Sanskrit along with Persian influences, whereas Urdu has evolved primarily from Persian with strong Arabic influences. “Urdu follows the Persian-Arabic script and grammatical structure, while Hindi uses Devanagari. These differences underscore Urdu’s unique linguistic identity,” he said.
Emphasising its widespread usage, Jawahirullah said Urdu is the fifth most spoken language in India, with nearly 200 million people identifying it as their mother tongue. “Its reach extends across regions, communities and cultures,” he added.
The MMK president also drew attention to Urdu’s deep imprint on Indian arts and popular culture. “In Hindi cinema, while dialogues are largely in Hindi, film songs are predominantly written in Urdu. Globally admired traditions such as Hindustani classical music, ghazals and qawwali have flourished through the medium of Urdu,” he said.
He further noted that Urdu is one of the languages printed on Indian currency notes and continues to be used as an official language of administration in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, reflecting its constitutional and administrative significance.
“Considering the antiquity, literary excellence and composite cultural heritage of Urdu, it fully deserves recognition alongside other classical languages,” Jawahirullah said, urging the Tamil Nadu government to include Urdu in the Classical Literature Award.
He expressed hope that the state government would take a “broad-minded and inclusive” decision in keeping with Tamil Nadu’s long tradition of linguistic pluralism and cultural harmony.
