Shahabuddin's Letter to The Economic and Political Weekly, 28 May, 1998

Considering the high academic stature of Mr. Robin Jeffrey I would like to point that his analysis of the readership of the Urdu press, present or future, is based on two untenable assumptions :-

1. That the circulation figures published in the annual Press in India by the Registrar of Newspapers in India (NRI) reflect the actual state of affairs.

2. That the Muslim children on the rolls of the madrasas constitute a considerable segment of Urdu- speaking or Urdu-learning children.

Neither of these assumptions are correct.

The circulation figures of the RNI simply cannot be relied upon. These figures are by and large compromise figures worked out by the owner, publisher, printer and  editor of an Urdu newspaper and the Press Inspector. If Mr. Jeffrey were only to visit the places of publication he need not have to dig too deep to realise that the published circulation figures represent balance of financial interest. Perhaps as he has brought out, these figures also reflect the deliberate adoption by the establishment of a not very costly way of silencing the critics about quantum of state patronage and support to the Urdu press. No doubt Mr. Jeffrey himself questions the authenticity of these figures. Yet he builds his castle on this sandy foundation.

Secondly, there are no reliable figures on the number of Urdu students enrolling in madrasas in the Urdu-concentration States or in the country as a whole. Most madrasas are really 'maktabs' where children learn to read the Holy Quran and acquire some working knowledge of Basic Urdu. Urdu-literacy does not last very long once they go out of madrasa, unless they go on to study Urdu in primary, middle or high schools. Certainly it does not make them regular buyers or readers of Urdu press.

The number of Urdu-speaking students who receive the equivalent of secondary education in madrasa cannot possibly constitute even 10% of the total number of Urdu-speaking students who are receiving education at a given point of time. It is well know that the level of school enrollment of the Urdu-speaking students who largely belong to the Muslim community is much lower than the national average. Surely Urdu press cannot hope to prosper or even survive on such limited support.

Mr. Jeffrey acknowledges that unless Urdu language and the script have a place in administration and education which shall open the doors of employment opportunities, say, as teachers or clerks or translators, there is not much future for Urdu.

But, here he needs to be corrected. Urdu neither claims nor expects first language status in administration and education in any part of the country. Even in the State of J&K where it nominally has, it stands on a very brittle base which can be demolished by first surge of Kashmiriyat. Urdu expects recognition' as a subsidiary language (call it second official language) in States/ districts/blocks/gram panchayats where Urdu population forms at least 10 per cent of the total population. But even this is being denied except in Bihar and parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Universal introduction of Urdu as the medium of primary instruction for all Urdu-speaking children and as First Language under the Three Language Formula for them at the secondary level would alone make a difference. Both these measures will inject fresh blood into the shrinking veins of Urdu. One more point. The number of non-Muslims opting for Urdu as a Second Language in Hindi-speaking States or Urdu-concentration States is insignificant and negligible. On the other hand, Urdu readership may increase if the increasing demand for learning Urdu among the youth (and the middle-aged) through distance education is met. This demand is essentially generated by the appeal of Urdu poetry and of Urdu vocabulary used in films and other electronic media. Urdu press may continue to get a share of official advertisement on political ground. But it is likely to shrink. On the other hand, it is not likely to receive any substantial share of commercial advertisement in the near future. I wonder whether even a Murdoch or Citizen Kane can help!