The Case for an Urdu State

The state of Hyderabad was divided on linguistic lines in 1956. Telugu, Kannada and Marathi speaking population of the erstwhile state got their own states. A great injustice was committed, however, when the Urdu speaking population was denied a state of their own. Fifty years since the creation of Andhra Pradesh the movement for a separate Telangana is gaining ground but once again the Urdu speaking population is being deliberately kept out of the debate. The militant tendencies of the current Telangana movement and its constant warnings of bloodshed should be a cause of concern for all citizens of the country. It is imperative that the government and civil society counter such forces while at the same time correct historical injustices.

Urdu was and continues to be a language spoken by the large proportion of the population of the erstwhile state cutting across religious lines. Hyderabad city, Rangareddy district in Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining Karnataka districts of Bidar and Gulbarga have a shared linguistic and cultural history dating back to four centuries. Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs of these areas speak Urdu effortlessly and are representative of the composite culture of the region. This harmony is now under threat by the rise of TRS and its call for a separate Telangana.

When TRS was first launched it received considerable support from the Urdu speaking Muslim community as they hoped that the new state will pull them out of their miserable plight in the fields of education and economic conditions. TRS leaders gave them all kinds of assurances and reminded them of their glorious past. But such promises turned out to be short lived and exposed the true face of TRS with its inclusion of several communal leaders from RSS backgrounds like union minister A.Narendra and K.Umakant, former Vibhag Pramukh of RSS in Hyderabad. Despite enthusiastic support from the Muslim community the TRS did not bother to allot a single seat for any Muslim candidate in the last Assembly and Parliamentary elections. To add insult to injury many Muslim members of TRS were sidelined and they quit the party in disgust.

Under these circumstances it is but natural for the Urdu speaking community to demand a Urdu state as has been done by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. Ideally the state should include Hyderabad merged with the Rangareddy district and the Gulbarga and Bidar districts. But due to the time consuming complications in such an endeavor MIM has limited itself to demand Union Territory or state status for Hyderabad alone.

To discredit this movement communalists charge that such a state will be tantamount to creating a second Pakistan. If only these people would look at the facts and the map they would radically change their position. Contrary to the false perception Urdu is not an exclusive language of Muslims but is spoken by a wide majority of people belonging to diverse communities. This is attested to by fact that several non-Muslim students study in Urdu medium schools and the region has produced many non-Muslim poets, writers and academics of the language. The Muslims of Hyderabad are staunch believers in Indian democracy and sovereignty and there has never been any Muslim separatist movement in the region ever since its inclusion in the Indian Union in 1948. Hyderabad’s landlocked location, in any case, would never allow for such tendencies to emerge.

The demand for an Urdu state is one of pluralism, civility and shared ganga-jamuni culture of 400 years old. It is for a state that endorses shared values, common interests and goals, and ongoing relationships that bind groups of people together. This legitimate demand should be given a sound hearing. It will only strengthen India and empower all its citizenry.