‘The remarks are not just about a language; they target the intellectual, political, and cultural legacy of Muslims, which is deeply embedded in Urdu’
Team Clarion
HYDERABAD — Hundreds of students of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) on Tuesday staged a protest against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s anti-Urdu remarks made recently in the state assembly.
Addressing the assembly, Adityanath had called the promotion of Urdu education ‘Kathmullapan.’ He also criticised the Samajwadi Party for taking up the cause of Urdu and described it as the party’s “appeasement” policy.
“They send their children to English medium schools but when the government wants to extend this opportunity to other children, they (SP leaders) say ‘teach them Urdu’… they want to make these children maulvis. They want to take the country towards fanaticism (kathmulla-pan),” Adityanath had said.
Reacting to Yogi’s remarks, Talha Mannan, a research scholar at MANUU, stated, “The anti-Urdu remarks by Yogi Adityanath should not be seen in isolation. It is a manifestation of deep-rooted anti-Muslim hatred.”
He further emphasised that Urdu is an integral part of India’s linguistic and cultural heritage. It holds a special place among Indian Muslims due to their vast religious and intellectual literature in the language. “Yogi’s remarks are not just about a language; they target the intellectual, political, and cultural legacy of Muslims, which is deeply embedded in Urdu,” he added.
Addressing the protestors, Mateen Ashraf, outgoing president of the MANUU Students’ Union, highlighted Urdu’s historic role. “Urdu is the language of Mahatma Gandhi, Premchand, Chakbast, and many other luminaries. It played a crucial role in India’s freedom movement. Yogi’s remarks not only undermine and insult this legacy but also expose deep-seated hatred against an indigenous language,” he said.
The protesting students also urged MANUU faculty and staff to raise their voices against such statements, given that MANUU is the only central university dedicated to Urdu. The demonstration witnessed a large number of students united in defence of their language and cultural heritage.
The chief minister’s remarks came in for severe criticism by opposition leaders including former state chief minister and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
“Our chief minister does not know anything about Urdu. He was opposing Urdu because it’s Urdu. The truth is that Urdu is an Indian language originating from the region around Meerut,” he said.
“The chief minister does not know anything. He just listens to ghazals alone. I heard that once he became very emotional,” he added.
The chief Minister himself has repeatedly used Urdu words such as ‘badnaam’, ‘bakhsha nahi jayega’, ‘paida’, ‘gunahgaar’, ‘maut’, ‘paaydaan’, and ‘sarkar’. Are these not Urdu words? he asked in an official statement referring to Yogi’s speeches.
“What he speaks naturally is infused with Urdu, yet he opposes it. Even his budget speech could not be completed without Urdu,” he said.
