Two Centuries of Urdu Journalism: Past, Present, Future

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Syed Khalique Ahmed

NEW DELHI—What was the role of Urdu journalism in the making of India?

 This was the topic of discussion organized by the Press Club of India here on March 27, 2022. 

 The subject matter, however, seemed to be incomplete. It should have incorporated the issues about the present state of Urdu journalism in India and abroad, its future, and strategies needed to restore its past glory. Furthermore, the discussion should have covered the reasons that brought laurels to Urdu journalism in the past and the reasons responsible for its downfall in contemporary India.

One of the prominent speakers, Shahid Siddiqui, opined that Urdu journalism owed its glory to its role in the freedom movement. According to Siddiqui, India’s freedom movement and Urdu journalism are synonymous with each other. 

 Many other Urdu journalists from across India took part in the discussions. All of them were obsessed in their talks about the glorious past of Urdu journalism. None of them, not even Siddiqui, discussed the reasons for the professional degeneration and downfall of Urdu journalism and why it has lost its pre-eminent position?

Hindi journalism no better than Urdu journalism

In fact, the situation of Hindi journalism is no better than Urdu journalism as far as the falling professional standard is concerned. Both suffer from the same ailment: professional standard and credibility though Hindi journalism may be in a slightly better position than its Urdu counterpart particularly with regard to readership because of the state patronage of Hindi, which is not available to Urdu. Moreover, Hindi became the national language after 1947, and hence, it got linked with people’s livelihood. This helped Hindi media to widen its reach. But the critical issue is quality and professional standard, which is at the same level as Urdu journalism.

Urdu journalism: Pioneer of investigative journalism

In short, let’s discuss what gave Urdu journalism credibility during pre-1947. From the accounts available in books and other literature on Urdu journalism, it is evident that Urdu journalists during the freedom movement focused primarily on the spot report of the developments, besides investigative reports.

 So, Urdu journalism in undivided India can rightly claim to be the pioneers of spot reporting and investigative journalism. The twin aspects brought glory to Urdu journalism and credibility to Urdu journalists among the readers at that time.

 One thing that needs to be pointed out is that Urdu journalists achieved the highest standard of professionalism before 1947 despite severe odds. They worked like adversaries of the government. They played the role of opposition to the then British government. And hence, the British government made them their targets of attack.

Unlike English journalism, which was favoured and supported by the British government, Urdu journalists were suppressed. Their publications were banned, their premises sealed, and their owners and editors jailed in many cases. One example is Maulvi Muhammad Bakar, who was blown into the smithereens by tying him in front of a large gun for writing against the policies of the British government. He was punished without trial.

 However, one thing in favour of Urdu journalists was that Urdu was lingua franca, a common language read and spoken by a large majority in united India at that time.

 So, the newspapers brought out at that time in the Urdu language were read by all sections of the population, irrespective of religion. However, Urdu was unofficially declared the language of Muslims in India after its Independence in 1947. As a result, Urdu disappeared from government offices. Schools and colleges gradually stopped teaching Urdu, thus reducing the population of Urdu-knowing people. So, Urdu media gradually became reduced to ‘Muslim media’ practically. Its readership became restricted to Muslims only. While Hindi got official patronage because it was made the official language, Urdu faced this disadvantage. It was not linked with livelihood. 

Causes of downfall of Urdu journalism in present-day India

This is one of the primary reasons for the decline in the readership of Urdu media. Urdu got step-motherly treatment, including in states like UP, having the largest concentration of Muslims. In contrast, Urdu journalism in neighbouring Pakistan is either at par with English journalism or a point above: in terms of quality of its content, professional standards, and credibility.

 But the questions remain: why has Urdu journalism’s standard fallen in India, and why has it lost its credibility or readership among the people? Why don’t the policymakers refer to the news items and opinion pieces appearing in Urdu newspapers? Why this decline in Urdu journalism?

 We cannot frame any concrete strategy to regain its glory unless we look for answers to these questions. Just basking in our past glory will not help us achieve our aims. We must try to find out the reasons behind the current decline of Urdu journalism.

 We are time and again told that Urdu media do not have the resources. It neither has the official language status nor is linked with livelihood. There is hardly any government school in North India teaching Urdu to its students. Its teaching has shrunk to a few Muslim-run schools and Muslim ‘madrasas’. This has affected the circulation of Urdu newspapers and periodicals.

 While much of journalism has changed over the years owing to technology and other developments, the core or fundamentals of the profession remains the same, that is on the spot reporting, stories from the field, investigation, and original writing.

The way forward

Urdu journalists during the freedom movement practiced investigative journalism, published stories from the field, and on-the-spot reports. However, it may not be the same way we practice it today. Urdu journalists need to ponder over this most crucial aspect of their profession. Are we publishing stories from fields, carrying investigative articles and original write-ups? Do we publish something that the English or mainstream media can follow? I am sure that mainstream media will lift stories and follow up from Urdu media or the Muslim media if they come out with good on-the-spot stories and investigative reports. I say with grief that we have failed on the professional requirement. Most of us are publishing news items and articles lifted from English media.

 We cannot hide our weaknesses by saying that the Urdu media houses don’t have enough resources and there is governmental bias against them. Urdu journalists faced the same problem during the freedom movement, and yet, they were the most popular and very effective mode of communication.

 The government feared them, and people trusted them because of the originality of their news and ideas. So, if Urdu journalists could perform under adverse circumstances and earn name and fame during the freedom struggle, why can’t they do the same now? But Urdu journalists during the freedom movement had taken journalism as a mission that may be the reason for their success. However, this is not the case now.

Many people may disagree with this analysis. But I have a fundamental question to ask: How many Urdu journalists, including senior reporters and top Urdu editors, have read the judgment delivered by Karnataka’s High Court in the Hijab case? The issue has attracted international headlines and has now moved to the Supreme Court for adjudication. Reports and opinion pieces in major Urdu daily and weekly newspapers that I have read indicate they have not read it. Their opinion pieces and news items would have been different had they gone through it. But even an intelligent person cannot do justice to his work if he lacks correct information, which is the raw material for any journalist to work upon. The write-ups in Urdu newspapers are based on only operative portions of the judgment reported by news agencies and English media. The requirement of news agencies and English newspapers is not the same as that of Urdu newspapers. Moreover, English newspapers and news agencies do not have the kind of staff with them who can adequately understand the Hijab issue and remarks and observations made by the judges with quotes from the Quran and Hadith. So, it was the additional responsibility of the Urdu media to come out with stories and articles, informing the readers how the judges have arrived at their judgment based on the personal opinion of the translators and commentators of the Quran and not the commands of the Quran. Did the judges go by the commandments in the religious texts like the Quran and Hadith while deciding the case, or with the personal opinion of the commentators in footnotes to the verses of the Quran on the issue of Hijab? And whose translations and commentaries does the court rely on to reach its conclusion? Why did the court reject other translators and commentators of the Quran? And whose translation they relied on and why? These and many other questions would have enlightened our readers about important issues on Hijab. Unfortunately, Urdu media have, to date, not written about it. And the reason is that they have not read the judgment. Call it their lethargy or lack of professionalism, but the fact is that they have not done justice to their readers and their profession itself.

The technology has highly reduced the cost of media publications. So, the alibi for inadequate resources advanced by Urdu media does not seem reasonable. The invention of digital platforms has made things easy. Online news portals can be accessed by people all over the world. If our stories are of a high standard and about relevant subjects, they will undoubtedly attract readers. 

Let’s put ourselves in readers’ shoes and ask: Why shall I read a story that has appeared in Urdu media? We will certainly get the answer to why Urdu-knowing people in India ignore the Urdu and Hindi media and prefer the English media if they happen to know the English language.

Do we really want to revive the old glory of the Urdu press? Then there is no alternative but to work hard the same way Maulvi Bakar and others did. We will have to produce original stories on all issues and give up the habit of lifting from the English media or compiling them from the mainstream media. Let’s do only a few stories in a week or a month but ensure that they are original, spot reports, based on investigation, and follow the best professional standards as humanly possible. This will guarantee our survival and help us compete with the best of the media in our country. It will ensure credibility, increase readership, and boost the revenue to meet the financial requirements.

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