1) Language plays a key role in shaping individual and group identity. For nations, a shared language is important for cultural unity and domestic/foreign policy.
2) In India, the Hindi-Urdu controversy highlighted how language became tied to religious identity among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century under British rule.
3) The Bengali language movement emerged in response to Pakistan declaring Urdu as the sole national language, threatening the identity of Bengalis in East Pakistan. Mass protests in 1952 led to the eventual recognition of Bengali.
1) Language plays a key role in shaping individual and group identity. For nations, a shared language is important for cultural unity and domestic/foreign policy.
2) In India, the Hindi-Urdu controversy highlighted how language became tied to religious identity among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century under British rule.
3) The Bengali language movement emerged in response to Pakistan declaring Urdu as the sole national language, threatening the identity of Bengalis in East Pakistan. Mass protests in 1952 led to the eventual recognition of Bengali.
1) Language plays a key role in shaping individual and group identity. For nations, a shared language is important for cultural unity and domestic/foreign policy.
2) In India, the Hindi-Urdu controversy highlighted how language became tied to religious identity among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century under British rule.
3) The Bengali language movement emerged in response to Pakistan declaring Urdu as the sole national language, threatening the identity of Bengalis in East Pakistan. Mass protests in 1952 led to the eventual recognition of Bengali.
1) Language plays a key role in shaping individual and group identity. For nations, a shared language is important for cultural unity and domestic/foreign policy.
2) In India, the Hindi-Urdu controversy highlighted how language became tied to religious identity among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century under British rule.
3) The Bengali language movement emerged in response to Pakistan declaring Urdu as the sole national language, threatening the identity of Bengalis in East Pakistan. Mass protests in 1952 led to the eventual recognition of Bengali.
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LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY
HINDI-URDU CONTROVERSY IDENTITY Identity may be defined as a distinctive characteristic of an individual or a
particular group of individuals. For one’s survival in this world it is very
crucial to maintain his identity. If we expand the criterion of ‘identity’ to national level it is of utmost importance because it is nation’s identity which distinguishes its people from the rest of the world. The importance of national Identity can be better analyzed by the fact that it is the base of all the policies, i.e. domestic and foreign policy and hence the social. Language is a central feature of human identity. When we hear someone speak, we immediately make guesses about gender, education level, age, profession, and place of origin. Beyond this individual matter, a language is a powerful symbol of national and ethnic identity. (Spolsky, 1999, p. 181)
Arnold Toynbee observed -- unhappily -- soon after the First World
War that "the growing consciousness of Nationality had attached itself neither to traditional frontiers nor to new geographical associations but almost exclusively to mother tongues." WHY IS LANGUAGE A KEY FACTOR IN IDENTITY? (JANDA FORTHC) Vehicle for culture Vehicle of transmission for “wordless” media (dance, cuisine, handicrafts) If language is lost, access to culture is also lost Cultural concepts are embedded in language Language and culture co-evolve, are continuously tailored to each other The advent of British rule and modernity in India made language an important symbol of identity;. “ it is the interaction of people that creates a sense of identity.” and much of this interaction, either the oral or printed word is through language. Hence language becomes a major determinant of identity after religion. HIND-URDU CONTROVERSY
The use of language for the creation of
identity- specifically Hindu and Muslim identities in the nineteenth century – is intimately related to politics. This phenomenon, called the Urdu- Hindi controversy. According to Linguists, Hindi and Urdu are ‘two styles of the same language….both have same inflectional system and a common core basic vocabulary…’ URDU– developed under Persian, Arabic, Turkic influence. URDU--Persianized HINDI-- Sanskritised
Both are the registers of KHARI BOLI Dialect.
BACKGROUND During Muslim rule Persian was the well developed language Sanskrit associated to Hindus. Persian to Muslims Urdu became the language of courts of Muslim rulers.
Paul R. Brass, in his book, Language, Religion and Politics in North
India,
“ The Hindi-Urdu controversy by its very bitterness demonstrates
how little the objective similarities between language groups matter when people attach subjective significance to their languages. Willingness to communicate through the same language is quite a different thing from the mere ability to communicate.[ CONTROVERSY British language policy
Hindi and Urdu movements
Gandhi's idea of Hindustani
Muslim separatism SIR SYED AHMED KHAN Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan had never been opposed to the idea of having both communities live alongside each other, sharing the same land and a common destiny. Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s noncommunal tendency was the opening of the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College to all communities of India, including the Hindus he set up an organization named ‘The Central Committee, Allahabad’, whose objective was to make the Hindus aware of the fact that Urdu was not an alien language. For Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, the Urdu-Hindi language controversy played, in effect, a crucial role in making him reconsider his outlook on Hindu-Muslim unity in South Asia. THE BENGALI LANGUAGE MOVEMENT
Vernacular Proto-elite Urdu Speaking • Atrap (Working class) Ashrafs(Aristocracy) • Modern educated & West Pakistani Bengali Speaking middle Muslim elite Class • Students The question about the issue of state language was raised immediately after the creation of Pakistan. The central government of Pakistan forcedly declared “Urdu” as the only state language. The intellectuals & people of all classes started to raise their voice & it soon converted into a mass movement. DEMAND FOR BENGALI IN EAST PAKISTAN BY TAMADDUN MAJLIS (TM) IN 1947
Bengali as Medium of Instruction The language of the courts The language of administration The language of mass communication It should be one of the national languages of Pakistan along with Urdu “if Urdu is made our state language than the educated people of East Pakistan will become illiterate overnight and they will also become disqualified for government service. (TM 1947) THE BENGALI LANGUAGE MOVEMENT (THE BHASA ONDOLAN) Demand for Bengali in East Pakistan by Tamaddun Majlis (TM) in 1947 The 1948 language Movement- Issue raised in Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The 1952 language Movement – Khwaja Nizamuddin declared Urdu as the State language 20th February 1952, Section 144, banning all processions & meetings for the next 30days. 21 February 1952 (Ekushe)- Protest Demand for recognition of Bengali as the State language in 1953 Demand Accepted in 1956 constitution MAJOR CAUSES BEHIND THE MOVEMENT Social & Culturalcauses: Languageis the crucial part of any culture. “Urdu” Failed to represent our culture. PoliticalCauses: Bangla must be lifted to achieve freedom in real sense. Domination of any alien language is the worst kind of domination. The mistake became a weapon CONSEQUENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE - February 29, 1956: - Recognition made on the constitution that “The state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali.” 214 (1).
- This movement laid a major foundation of our liberation
war. Finally, 17 November, 1999, the UNESCO General Convenience recognized 21 February as International Mother Language Day. URDU The language policy according to the constitution of Pakistan is: 1) The national language of Pakistan is Urdu and arrangements shall be made for it being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencement day. 2) The English language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu (Article 251 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973). http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/1-12-2000/Art6.htm www.wikipedia.org http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers7/paper675.html
