Hindi or Urdu

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I recently sent this post in a group on the subject of purity of Hindi, which so many of us mistakenly support......

No spoken language can be purified artificially.

In and around Delhi, a spoken form started emerging some eight hundred years ago, developing basically on the Khadi Boli.

The Grammar remained inherently akin to Khadi Boli (retaining the distorted words from Sanskrit which already existed);  words from Persian, Arabic and Turkic languages kept getting assimilated.

This spoken language was variously called Rekhta, Hindi, Urdu, Hindustani etc.

 There was no such individual language as Hindi in eighteenth century of Meer Taqi Meer, when the language started getting literary inputs.

(the languages of Tulsi and Sur are taught as Hindi today but these were basically Avadhi and Braj.  Khadi Boli, by the way,  did not have a strong literary tradition and Braj was the language of choice for lettered people)


Later, with the advent of Bhartendu H., Hindi, in it's present form,  started making way as a separate language from the then "Rekhta, Hindi, Urdu, Hindustani....."

Early writings in today's Hindi was distinguishable from "Rekhta, Hindi, Urdu, Hindustani....." mainly in the script used...Devnagari instead of modified Arabic.

Subsequently writings with more Persian and Arabic words (and traditions in poetry) became Urdu and that with Sanskrit influence (both natural and artificial) became Hindi.

Although the spoken language has also changed due to respective influences, it has largely remained the same.........both Hindi and Urdu, as spoken, are not much different.


So a word like zaroorat is more popular even today instead of avashyakta due to a natural development over centuries. Why change it? Who says zaroorat is not a Hindi word?

The problem is not in it's useage but the way it's pronounced.........such a large no. would still say "jaroorat"

Can you imagine purging modern English of its Germanic origin (and influences) or Germans clearing their language of English modifications!!

 And the tragedy is the death of "Rekhta, Hindi, Urdu, Hindustani.....", or let's say Urdu in India, the mother country.

The mohajirs took it away from us and imposed it on Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis and Pathans.

And we are on the brink of losing a beautiful language. 

Let me end today with these beautiful lines from shair Iqbal Ishhar:

Kyun    mujhko   banate  ho   tassub*   ka  nishana
Maine  to  kabhi  khud  ko musalman  nahi  mana
Dekha tha kabhi maine bhi khushiyon ka zamana
Apne    hi   watan   mein   hoon  magar aaj akayli

Urdu hai  mera naam, main  Khusro  ki  paheli
Main  Meer  ki humraaz  hoon Ghalib ki saheli

* bigotry, hatred

Listen to the full nazm at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__YvQj7J-Uw

Comments

  1. JaideepMay 3, 2023 at 8:39 AM

    Excellent points. It is indeed sad that artificial wedges are being driven between Hindi and Urdu, when in reality they are like the Siamese twins, joined at the hip.

    ReplyDelete

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