Please refer to my letter of 28 June, 1997 regarding the refusal of permission by the Speaker of the UP Legislative Assembly to 2 members to take oath in the mother tongue Urdu. My letter remains unacknowledged.

I understand that the UP Assembly adopted its Rules of Business and Conduct of Business in 1958 which lays down that, subject to provision of the Constitution, the business of the Assembly shall be transacted in Hindi.

The Rules can and should be changed to allow the use of other National Languages, with prior notice, by a Member whose mother tongue is a National Language other than Hindi, to bring it in line with the corresponding Rules for the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

It is not a question whether these MLA's know Hindi. Hindi is not their Mother Tongue. Their Mother Tongue is Urdu and there is no logic or reason in denying their request to take oath of office in Urdu. Such denial only reflects the bias against Urdu in the place of its birth. So it is not cussedness or obstinacy on their part but a principled stand.

If you are convinced that Urdu, the Mother Tongue of over 15% of the population of the State, should have its due place, I request you to initiate a move to amend the Rules before you demit the office of the Chief Minister.

Urdu: Number Of Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly And Monthly Newspapers/Periodicals

**(as on 31.12.1996)**

| Language | Dailies | Weeklies | Fortnightlies | Monthlies |

|----------|---------|----------|---------------|-----------|

| English | 320 | 751 | 557 | 2384 |

| Hindi | 2004 | 7799 | 2441 | 2631 |

| Urdu | 473 (2nd) | 1198 (2nd) | 340(4th) | 472(7th) |

| Total | 4453 | 13628 | 5340 | 10920 |

*(Source: LSUQ No.264 dated 24 July, 1997)*