Book on history of Urdu by Dr Tariq Rehman
LAHORE, May 3: A book titled ‘From Hindi to Urdu: A Social and Political History’ by Dr Tariq Rehman was launched at the Oxford Bookshop, Mini Market, Gulberg, on Thursday.
The book was on the socio-political history of Urdu and the first of its kind. It analysed the historiography of the language, narratives about its names, linguistic ancestry, place of birth and relates to the politics of identity construction among the
Hindus and Muslims of India during the last two centuries.
More importantly, a historical account of the use of Urdu in social domains such as employment, education, printing and publishing, radio, films and television etc has been provided for the first time. These accounts are related to the expression
of Hindu and Muslim identity –politics during the two centuries.
Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Waseem from Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Lahore School of Economics, appreciated the author’s attempt and said that the book engaged one due to its novelty. He took the audience on book’s journey throwing light on its various aspects.
He said one generally knew that Urdu was a Muslim Language but the point was that it was developed in Hindu dominated areas. He said Urdu and Hindi kept growing separately as Hindu and Muslim languages.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui, Center for Humanities and Social Sciences head, LSE, empathised with the power of language when it came to its socio political role. He said in the past language was considered a mere tool of communication but with the
passage of time people realised that language was not only restricted to a mere communication tool but it was involved in the construction of social reality. He said language had an equally important role when it came to social and political history. He said through the course of history one could see that even marginalised groups became stronger through
language and literature.
He said Tariq Rehman in his book had challenged the stereotypes and looked for scientific solutions.
Dr Rehman also threw light on different aspects of the book and shared with the audience how he wrote the book and how he collected original references and sources.
The author is an HEC distinguished National Professor and Professor Emeritus and Dean School of Education, Beaconhouse National University. He has been a recipient of several awards including the national Pride of Performance and the Lifetime
Achievement Award.
(Dawn)