Culture and The Role of Language

• Culture includes higher achievements of group life and human products in a specific area and time.
• Language is considered a human product of paramount importance.
• Language allows people to express feelings, emotions, and aspirations.
• Language preserves cultural heritage for future generations.
• All knowledge is acquired and imparted through language.
• Words, syntax, idioms, and other speech instruments reflect a society's origin.
• 'Muhawarah' is the Urdu equivalent of the English term 'Idiom', meaning a set of words with special meaning.
• Language reflects a society’s experiences, social sciences, and ethical norms.
• Experiences are transferred to future generations through language.
• Language is described as the "living history of a culture".
• Allama Muhammad Iqbal called history the memory of a nation, which relies on language for its preservation.
• Physical and social sciences influence language, which in turn affects academic life.
• Vibrant and civilized societies have rich academic traditions in their languages.

Urdu as National Language of Pakistan

• Urdu is a product of the cultural interactions between the Hindu and Muslim communities of India.
• It was identified as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
• Hindus became alienated from Urdu at a particular point in history.
• Cracks began to appear in the Indian culture built on Hindu-Muslim unity.
• Linguistic differences led to the separation of the two nations.
• Urdu was a major issue in the Indian Muslims' struggle for national identity.
• Independence was a blessing for Urdu's future.
• Quaid-e-Azam (RA) stated that the State language of Pakistan would be Urdu.
• Western-educated elites attempted to hinder Urdu's establishment as the official language and medium of instruction.
• Urdu did not achieve its deserved status due to obstacles.

Reasons Urdu Should Be National Language

• Urdu has a close resemblance to all regional languages of Pakistan.
• Urdu has many words in common with other regional languages and uses the same script.
• Urdu is the lingua franca spoken and understood throughout Pakistan.
• The adoption of Urdu reflects national solidarity.
• Urdu symbolizes national unity and is a common national heritage, not associated with any specific region or group.
• Urdu is vast and beautiful, having assimilated many words from other languages.
• With Arabic, Persian and Turkish words, Urdu has a close affinity with other languages of the Muslim world.

Development of Urdu

• Urdu has a rich vocabulary due to its ability to absorb and adopt words and phrases from other languages.
• Urdu has the potential to develop into a perfect language of science and technology.
• Islam, Pakistan, and Urdu are closely related in the history of South East Asia.
• Urdu has a rich treasure of Islamic literature.
• Achieving the ideological objectives of Pakistan requires that Urdu be given the status it deserves.
• Urdu's shape as a distinct language, and its origin, have been subjects of discussion among researchers and scholars.
• In Sayyid Suleiman Nadavi's opinion, Urdu developed from Sindhi.
• Hafiz Mahmood Shirani traced its origin to Punjabi.
• Dr. Naseer-ud-Din Hashmi believed South India was its first homeland.
• Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad traced its origin to Persian.
• Other linguists believed Brij Bhasha spoken near Delhi gave birth to Urdu.
• Urdu likely did not originate from a single source, with many factors playing a role in its formation.

Formative Phase of Urdu

• Urdu's origin can be traced to the advent of Islam in the subcontinent.
• Arab settlements existed on the southern shores of India before the time of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).
• Muslim conquerors from the west and northwest brought Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages.
• A grafting between their languages and the indigenous dialects took place where they settled.
• These mixed languages formed the raw material for Urdu.
• In the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, European settlers and traders contributed new words and phrases.
• Local dialects of the Punjab, Sindh and Decan contributed richly to Urdu.
• In South India, Muslim preachers wrote tracts in simple dialects, likely the first written Urdu works.
• Muhammad Ali Qutab Shah (1581-1611), founder of Hyderabad (Deccan), is the author of the first published poetry collection (Diwan) in Urdu.
• Wali Dakkani is generally considered the first modern Urdu poet.
• The first work in Urdu prose is Mulla Wajhi's "Sab Ras," a translation of a Persian book.
• Literary masterpieces appeared in North India during the same period.
• Urdu was adopted as the language of religious literature.
• Shah Ismail Shaheed's and Shah Abdul Qadir's translations of the Holy Quran are excellent pieces of fluent Urdu.
• Fort William College Calcutta was established by the British in 1800, hiring Urdu writers to create books in standard Urdu.
• These books played an important role in the enrichment of Urdu literature and were taught to British officers.
• In the mid-19th century, Mirza Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib introduced a new trend in Urdu prose.
• In the late 19th century, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and his companions enriched the tradition.
• Shibli Nomani made valuable additions to Urdu literature.
• In the 20th century, religious scholars like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, and Maulana Abul-Ala Modudi produced rich religious literature.
• Poets like Iqbal, Hali, and Akbar composed excellent poetry and used their writing for national regeneration.

Urdu Through History

• By the end of the 18th century, Urdu had replaced Persian as the language of Muslim culture in India.
• In 1837, Urdu was first recognized as the language of civil courts of the British Government.
• In states like Hyderabad Deccan, Urdu was adopted as the official and court language.
• Urdu was first adopted as the medium of instruction for higher education at Hyderabad University in 1920.
• Urdu was emerged as a symbol of the Muslim nationhood.
• Independence of Pakistan created a golden era of Urdu.
• Quaid-Azam said that the State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu, and without one State language, the Nation cannot function.