Linking Urdu with One Religion is Wrong: Supreme Court’s Historic Observation

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the use of Urdu on signboards of the Patur Municipal Council in Maharashtra’s Akola district, firmly asserting that language should unite people, not divide them. The court ruled that Urdu, a language born on Indian soil, cannot be associated with any particular religion and is a vibrant example of India’s cultural syncretism.

A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran dismissed a petition filed by former councillor Varshatai Sanjay Bagde, who had challenged the use of Urdu signboards under the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Language) Act, 2022. The court observed that both Marathi and Urdu hold constitutional validity and that Urdu has been in local use since 1956, with residents well-acquainted with it.

Justice Dhulia emphasized that language is not the property of any religion but a reflection of a region’s people and culture. He called Urdu a shining symbol of the “Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb,” the syncretic cultural heritage of India. The court added that the perception of Urdu as solely linked to the Muslim community is a colonial legacy and far removed from reality.

Quoting an Urdu couplet to conclude the judgment, Justice Dhulia added poetic weight to the ruling:

“Urdu is my name, I am Khusro’s riddle... I too have once seen a time of happiness, I am in my own country but today I am alone.”

The court highlighted that Urdu is the sixth most spoken scheduled language in India and is found across nearly every state and union territory. It noted that the core function of language is communication, not division, and called on society to embrace linguistic diversity and harmony.

The judgment not only affirms the place of Urdu in India’s cultural landscape but also sets a precedent for preserving the country’s multilingual heritage in public life.