Learn The Hindi Controversy

Man is said to be one of the more curious creations in this world. This is why he strives hard in order to find questions about the very nature of his existence as well as that of the environment wherein he lives. This curiosity also tends to lead into arguments with other fellow human beings as to which or what should be followed or believed in. Let’s take a look at one of the long standing disputes around the Indian world and learn a certain Hindi controversy.

The Hindi controversy is actually rooted with its relationship with Urdu which is another major language in the country of India. The dispute as to which should be established as the sole standard language in specific north and north western regions dates back during the 19th century. Even though the government was able to stabilize the issue in 1950 there is still some friction between arguing parties.

Let’s take a look at the tale of the tape. Hindi is actually part of a family of Indo-Aryan language which is utilized by around 41 percent of Northern and Central India constituents. Urdu also belongs to the same family of Indo-Aryan language. Its place in the history of South Asia came into being during the rule of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206 up to 1526 AD and extended up to the reign of the Mughal Empire in 1526 towards the end of 1858 AD. It was the British East India company that decided to put Urdu on the spot as official language of the Hindi-speaking Northern provinces of modern India as a replacement for Persian.

Moving on, it was in the late stages of the 19th century that the Hindi-Urdu controversy entered the picture particularly in the provinces of the North-Western part of India and Oudh. Supporters of each language made efforts in order to establish their choice. Hindi loyalists arranged for the usage of Hindi along with Nagari as the official script while Urdu pros worked their way into emphasizing the presence of Urdu with Persian script.

Divisions were made clear when Hindi movements propelled the development of the said language in areas of Northern India. The prominent figures in the movement included the likes of Madan Mohan Malaviya and Babu Shiva Prasad. Urdu supporters did not waste any time to establish their very own movements. Syed Ahmed Khan led the way for Urdu advocates.

Government decision to stop the argument received opposite reactions from both parties. It was in 1900 when the Indian authorities put into action a certain decree which allowed symbolic equality to Hindi and Urdu. The Hindi movement received it with open arms while their Urdu counterparts continued opposition.

Still, the development for both Hindi and Urdu continued. Hindi picked out words from Sanskrit while Urdu grabbed a few good ones from Turkish, Arabic, and Persian. Slowly the controversy began to subside as the Muslims embraced the usage of Urdu while the Hindus took Hindi. Gandhi did not agree with Hindu-Muslim division thus he proposed a merge between Urdu and Hindi which took shape in the term Hindustani.

Education can be more than just concepts and ideas. More can be learned by observing and studying the movements and efforts of various groups and individuals in order to pursue what they believe in. Hindi and Urdu might have had quite a controversy during those times but with proper communication and arrangement things can be settled and stabilized.