The Crossbill Team
In a significant ruling upholding linguistic diversity, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 15) backed the use of Urdu on the signboard of a municipal council building in Maharashtra, stating that language is a facet of culture and must not become a tool for division.
The court described Urdu as “the finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb” and firmly rejected the notion that the language is alien to India.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran dismissed a petition filed by a former councillor challenging the use of Urdu on the Patur Municipal Council building in Akola district. The court upheld the Bombay High Court’s finding that no law, including the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022, prohibits the use of Urdu in such contexts.
Justice Dhulia, writing for the bench, underscored that “Language is not religion. Language does not even represent religion. Language belongs to a community, to a region, to a people; and not to a religion,” reported The Indian Express.
He said language is intrinsic to culture and a measure of civilisational progress, noting that the primary purpose of any language is communication.
The court said the move by the municipal council to include Urdu alongside Marathi aimed to ensure effective communication with local residents.
“We must respect and rejoice in our diversity, including our many languages,” the judgment said, referring to the country’s linguistic richness, which includes over a hundred major languages and hundreds of dialects and mother tongues.
Addressing prevalent misconceptions, the court observed that Urdu, like Hindi and Marathi, is an Indo-Aryan language born in the Indian subcontinent.
“The prejudice against Urdu stems from the misconception that Urdu is alien to India. This opinion, we are afraid, is incorrect as Urdu, like Marathi and Hindi, is an Indo-Aryan language. It is a language which was born in this land. Urdu developed and flourished in India due to the need of people belonging to different cultural milieus who wanted to exchange ideas and communicate amongst themselves. Over the centuries, it attained… greater refinement and became the language of choice for many acclaimed poets,” the court said.
The bench also delved into the historical debate over national language, noting that prior to Partition, many leaders had accepted Hindustani—a blend of Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi—as the common language. However, Partition and Pakistan’s adoption of Urdu as its national language ultimately derailed that vision, reported The Indian Express.
The court also emphasized Urdu’s continued presence in Indian society, pointing out its heavy influence on everyday speech, legal parlance, and its adoption as a second official language in various states and union territories.
“Even today, the language used by the common people of the country is replete with words of the Urdu language, 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’. This exchange of vocabulary flows both ways because Urdu also has many words borrowed from other Indian languages, including Sanskrit,” the court said.
Concluding its judgment, the court cautioned against reducing language to a communal issue.
“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. Language is a medium for exchange of ideas that brings people holding diverse views and beliefs closer and it should not become a cause of their division,” the court said.
The court described Urdu as “the finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb” and firmly rejected the notion that the language is alien to India.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran dismissed a petition filed by a former councillor challenging the use of Urdu on the Patur Municipal Council building in Akola district. The court upheld the Bombay High Court’s finding that no law, including the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022, prohibits the use of Urdu in such contexts.
Justice Dhulia, writing for the bench, underscored that “Language is not religion. Language does not even represent religion. Language belongs to a community, to a region, to a people; and not to a religion,” reported The Indian Express.
He said language is intrinsic to culture and a measure of civilisational progress, noting that the primary purpose of any language is communication.
The court said the move by the municipal council to include Urdu alongside Marathi aimed to ensure effective communication with local residents.
“We must respect and rejoice in our diversity, including our many languages,” the judgment said, referring to the country’s linguistic richness, which includes over a hundred major languages and hundreds of dialects and mother tongues.
Addressing prevalent misconceptions, the court observed that Urdu, like Hindi and Marathi, is an Indo-Aryan language born in the Indian subcontinent.
“The prejudice against Urdu stems from the misconception that Urdu is alien to India. This opinion, we are afraid, is incorrect as Urdu, like Marathi and Hindi, is an Indo-Aryan language. It is a language which was born in this land. Urdu developed and flourished in India due to the need of people belonging to different cultural milieus who wanted to exchange ideas and communicate amongst themselves. Over the centuries, it attained… greater refinement and became the language of choice for many acclaimed poets,” the court said.
The bench also delved into the historical debate over national language, noting that prior to Partition, many leaders had accepted Hindustani—a blend of Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi—as the common language. However, Partition and Pakistan’s adoption of Urdu as its national language ultimately derailed that vision, reported The Indian Express.
The court also emphasized Urdu’s continued presence in Indian society, pointing out its heavy influence on everyday speech, legal parlance, and its adoption as a second official language in various states and union territories.
“Even today, the language used by the common people of the country is replete with words of the Urdu language, 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’. This exchange of vocabulary flows both ways because Urdu also has many words borrowed from other Indian languages, including Sanskrit,” the court said.
Concluding its judgment, the court cautioned against reducing language to a communal issue.
“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. Language is a medium for exchange of ideas that brings people holding diverse views and beliefs closer and it should not become a cause of their division,” the court said.
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