'Urdu born in this land': Supreme Court upholds its use on signboard in Maharashtra

The Supreme Court bench said that Urdu and Marathi have the same status under the Constitution.

Amid the ongoing language row across the country, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the use of Urdu on the signboard of a municipal council building in Maharashtra.

The top court said that language is culture and must not become a cause for dividing people. The top court said that Urdu “is the finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, or the Hindustani tehzeeb”.

It also dismissed a petition challenging the Bombay High Court’s judgment which allowed the use of Urdu on the signboard of the new building of the Municipal Council, Patur in Maharashtra’s Akola district.

According to Bar and Bench, the Supreme Court bench said that Urdu and Marathi have the same status under the Constitution.

The bench added that it is a “misconception that Urdu is alien to India”, stating that “it is a language which was born in this land”.

The court also said Urdu, despite its Indian origin, have been associated with Muslims which was far from reality, blaming colonial powers in associating Hindi with Hindus and Urdu with Muslims. Urdu finds its roots in India and cannot be tied to any particular religion, the court underlined.

“Our misconceptions, perhaps even our prejudices against a language, have to be courageously and truthfully tested against the reality, which is this great diversity of our nation: our strength can never be our weakness. Let us make friends with Urdu and every language,” the Supreme Court said. “Coming to the present case, it must be stated that a Municipal Council is there to provide services to the local community of the area and cater to their immediate day-to-day needs. If people or a group of people, residing within the area covered by the Municipal Council are familiar with Urdu, then there should not be any objection if Urdu is used in addition to the official language i.e. Marathi, at least on the signboard of the Municipal Council,” the bench was quoted as saying.

The plea was raised by a former member of the Municipal Council, stating that the use of Urdu language in any manner is impermissible. She first approached the Municipal Council, which rejected her plea, and clarified that the use of Urdu in addition to Marathi language on a signboard is justified.

The court said that the language used by the masses is replete with Urdu even if one is not aware of it. "It would not be incorrect to say that one cannot have a day-to-day conversation in Hindi without using words of Urdu or words derived from Urdu. The word 'Hindi' itself comes from the Persian word 'Hindavi'," it said.