Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today lamented the erosion of importance of Urdu language, but expressed happiness over renewed public interest in it after her government declared it as second language.
"We lost a lot due to the erosion of Urdu's importance and the way its legacy kept declining, it was a big loss for Delhi. We were taught during our childhood that Urdu is like 'mishri' and I am very happy that this newspaper will be published from here in Urdu.
"I can say today that after Delhi government identified Urdu as the second language, interest in it is increasing which is evident by the huge turnouts we see at Urdu mushayras," she said at a function for relaunch of Urdu paper 'Qaumi Salamati'.
The paper is edited by Mohd Ahmad Kazmi who was arrested and released on bail in the Israeli embassy car bomb attack case.
The function was attended among others by LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan and NCP spokesperson D P Tripathi.
