The Status of Urdu and Dilemmas of Nation-State Building of India
Urdu,a language originated in North India,is closely related to Hindi.It is also strongly influenced by Islamic culture and largely considered as a language of Muslims.Both before and after independence,the status of Urdu has consistently posed to the nation-state building of India.Prior to India's independence,the crisis of Urdu along with the crisis of Islam were both important weapons for the Muslim League to mobilize Muslims in the movements of founding Pakistan.As a result,the Indian National Congress considered adopting Hindustani,which includes both Urdu and Hindi,as the national language.However,after the Partition,the political situation in India changed dramatically,and the possibility of Urdu as the national language vanished.Under the insistence of Nehru and other Indian leaders,the Indian Constitution formulated a series of protective provisions for Urdu,granting it a special status akin to that of Sanskrit.Nevertheless,in the practical political operations of post-independence India,Urdu has been viewed as a foreign or even enemy language,and it has been harshly suppressed,often being blamed for the Partition.Since the 1970s,with the successive changes in the policies of the Indian National Congress,the Bharatiya Janata Party,and others towards Urdu.However,Indian society's deep-seated hostility towards Urdu persists,and the status of Urdu will remain a long-term challenge in building a nation-state of India.
National Language of IndiaHindustaniUrduLanguage StatusNation Building
万方数据
维普
