India, with its rich soil and abundant manpower, has historically been a magnet for invaders from around the world. As various groups, including Arabs, Persians, and Turks, conquered and settled in the region, they brought their languages and cultures with them. The resulting cultural exchange led to the emergence of a new language, Urdu, which was forged through the interaction of these foreign languages with the local dialects. The name "Urdu" itself reflects the language's origins, meaning "the language of the troops" or "the language of the camp", highlighting its role as a lingua franca for the military and administrative classes.
Although Urdu originated during the Mughal era in India and was initially associated with the Muslim community, its growth and development were a collective effort of people from all walks of life. The language, initially known as "Musalmani", soon evolved into a lingua franca, spoken and used by individuals from diverse backgrounds and faiths. As Urdu gained popularity, it became a medium for literary expression, with a plethora of works being written in the language across various regions of India, including Deccan, Lucknow, Mysore, and Delhi. The contributions of writers, poets, and scholars from different communities helped shape the language, making it a unique blend of cultural and literary traditions that reflected the diversity of India.
The collective efforts of various communities had paved the way for Urdu to become the court and state language in 1837, replacing Persian, without any significant opposition. However, with the decline of the Mughal Empire, a shift in perception occurred, and Hindus began to view Urdu as the language of the Muslim invaders. The British, with their bias against Muslims, also adopted a similar stance, and both groups started to work towards eliminating Urdu as the language of the Muslims. Notable figures such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Raja Shiv Prasad, Lakshman Singh, Harish Chandra, and Bankim Chatterjee, among others, played a significant role in this effort to discredit and replace Urdu.
In the early 19th century, a new language called Hindi was created by removing Arabic, Persian, and Turkish words and replacing them with Sanskrit words. The first notable work in this language was the novel "Prem Sagar", written by a Hindu in 1809. Although this initial effort was unsuccessful, and the language fell into disuse, the idea of promoting Hindi as a rival to Urdu was revived after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. As the British Empire cracked down on the Muslim community, Hindus saw a chance to advance their own language and culture, and began to actively promote Hindi as a replacement for Urdu.
The mid-19th century saw a surge in organized efforts to supplant Urdu with Hindi. In 1867, Hindus in Banaras petitioned the government to replace Urdu with Hindi and adopt the Devnagri script instead of the Persian script. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a proponent of Hindu-Muslim unity, was alarmed by this development and warned that if a nation's language is not protected, it would be foolish to continue living with other nations. This incident led Sir Syed to shift his focus towards promoting Muslim interests. His publication, the Scientific Society Gazette, featured articles emphasizing the significance of Urdu, while Muslim newspapers like Noor-ul-Absar and the Banaras Gazette also joined the effort to preserve their language. Despite these efforts, the anti-Urdu movement gained traction, with the Lt. Governor of Bengal, G. Campbell, issuing a ban on the use of Urdu in 1871 in all spheres, including government, courts, and education, in the Bengal province.
The ban on Urdu in Bengal province emboldened Hindus in other regions, such as NWFP, Punjab, Bihar, UP, Sindh, and Oudh, to launch a counter-campaign against Urdu. Mass meetings were held, where thousands of Hindus signed petitions supporting the elimination of Urdu. In 1882, during the visit of the Hunter Commission, a British government-appointed panel tasked with assessing the spread of modern English education in India, Hindu organizations seized the opportunity to attack Urdu. They met with the commission's chairman, Dr. Hunter, and attempted to persuade him to declare Urdu a foreign language and promote Hindi as the native language for educational purposes. However, their efforts were thwarted by the tireless advocacy of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and his colleagues. The situation became even more challenging for Muslims and their language when Anthony MacDonnell took office as the governor of UP in 1900, marking a new era of hostility towards Urdu.
So, Anthony MacDonnell, the governor of UP, was clearly biased towards Hindus and against Muslims. As soon as he took office, he abolished Urdu as the official language of UP, which is pretty shocking considering UP was the hub of Urdu language and culture. Instead, he declared Hindi the official language of the province. This move was met with resistance from Sir Syed's successors at Aligarh, particularly Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, who was the Secretary of the Aligarh Trust at the time. Mohsin-ul-Mulk called for a massive gathering of Urdu supporters at Aligarh, where he openly condemned the governor's decision. He even founded the Urdu Defense Association, which aimed to take action against the governor's moves. However, MacDonnell was not having it, and he threatened Mohsin-ul-Mulk that if he continued to oppose the government's decisions, Aligarh would lose its government grants. This was a clear attempt to silence the opposition and maintain the governor's pro-Hindu agenda.
So, Mohsin-ul-Mulk was in a tough spot - he needed to save Aligarh College, but he couldn't abandon his passion for defending Urdu. He decided to resign, but his colleagues and students loved him so much that they convinced him to take back his resignation. This didn't stop him from continuing to fight for Urdu, and eventually, the language was declared an official language of the province, alongside Hindi. However, Mohsin-ul-Mulk wasn't satisfied with this outcome and kept pushing for more. After MacDonnell was gone, he founded the Anjuman-e-Tarraqi-e-Urdu association to protect Urdu from future threats. This dedication to Urdu by Indian Muslims ultimately inspired the founders of Pakistan to make it their national language, symbolizing Muslim unity and independence in the region