Uske Kad se uska andaza nahin lagaya jaa sakta…
Woh aasmaan hai… Magar jhuk ke chalta hai…
The personification of elegance of expression is what describes Urdu language to the best. A zillion poets and writers have chosen Urdu to speak their heart out. India has a history written in the language of grace. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has it as its official language. But the soul of language is withering away gradually because people are no longer keen to learn the language.
Urdu was made the official language of Jammu and Kashmir in the year 1889 under the reign of Maharaja Pratap Singh and flourished in Maharaja Ranbir Singh’s regime. Both the rulers, despite being Dogra, chose to propagate Urdu language because people had embraced the language. Then, Maharaja Hari Singh took the beacon ahead and took measures to teach language in schools. It was Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who gave it the status of official language constitutionally. The language was used for the purpose of documentation in all government departments. For a long time, Urdu enjoyed the stature of being the language of masses. However, from last two decades, the deterioration of the language began.
Urdu language was the thread that joined the hearts of leaders of nationalist movement with the people. Poets, writers & journalists expressed love for their motherland which evoked patriotism in hearts of people longing for freedom. After the partition, Pakistan declared Urdu as its national language. This is the point from where Urdu was stereotyped as a ‘Muslim’ language. As a matter of fact, Writers like Prem Chand, Dushyant Kumar, Upendra Nath Ashk, Rajinder Singh Bedi do not belong to Muslim community and have been great writers of Urdu. The language, which flourished from Jammu, is being abandoned from the area because of the misleading notion prevailing in the minds of people. A greater role in this has been of the negative propaganda run by the different political outfits.
The greatest apathy of the erosion of language lies in the fact that the governments are being indifferent towards the promotion of language. “After partition, no policy was framed by any government to protect Urdu language”, Said Shohab Inayat Malik, Head of Urdu Department, University of Jammu. In schools Urdu is being taught not as a language but as a subject that students need to pass the examination. Therefore, students are not able to speak even the elementary Urdu. Those who know it a little, are not able to write it in its script.
Urdu is the language that unites all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Many words of Urdu language are still a part of spoken language today because they provide people ease of usage. The government needs to promote the language so that its essence could be brought back. The state has no Urdu academy to impart the language to people in right manner. Urdu, which holds a civilization in itself, which is called the language of love and harmony should not lose its sanctity. It has to be promoted as a medium of expression not as a language belonging to a religion.
The Delphic Sagacity 
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