Fighting for Urdu

Among languages spoken by 10 million or more people, Urdu was the only one that registered a decline - falling below 4.2 per cent of the population.

On Monday, December 2, lovers of Urdu in the national capital were surprised to find that Rekhta Foundation, organisers of Jashn-e-Rekhta — a popular festival celebrating the language every winter, had dropped “Urdu” from its posters. Instead, the three-day festival beginning on December 13 at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium sent out posters that read: “Jashn-e-Rekhta: The Biggest Celebration of Hindustani Language & Culture.” This prompted several writers and historians — as well as lovers of Urdu literature — to lodge protests through an online campaign till Rekhta Foundation, which did not issue any statement on the matter, to revise