The Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 15, observed that Urdu is not an alien language and “is the finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (culture), or the Hindustani tehzeeb.”
Refusing to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s order stating that Urdu should not be prohibited under the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022, or in any provision of law, the top court pointed out that the “language was born in this land (India).”
A division bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran was hearing a petition challenging the use of Urdu on signboards in the Akola district of Maharashtra.
“Language is not religion. Language does not even represent religion. Language belongs to a community, to a region, to a people, and not to a religion,” the Supreme Court noted.
The apex court further stated that languages have always been a tool for communication throughout Indian history. “The purpose here for the use of Urdu is merely communication. This is the primary purpose of a language, which the Bombay High Court has laid emphasis on,” the court observed.
According to the 2001 census, India had a total of 122 major languages, including 22 scheduled languages, and 234 mother tongues.
Stressing that India is more than a language, the Supreme Court said the citizens should respect India’s diversity. “Urdu was the sixth most spoken scheduled language of India. In fact, it is spoken by at least a part of the population in all states and Union Territories, except perhaps in our North-Eastern states,” the court said.
The court also recognised Urdu’s strong influence on Indian legal language, noting that terms like “adalat,” “halaf nama,” and “peshi” clearly reflect the language’s deep imprint on the country’s judicial vocabulary.
Update: This copy has been updated following a change. ‘Interfer’ has been changed to ‘interfere’
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