New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the use of Urdu on a signboard of Maharashtra municipal council. The Apex Court, while dismissing a petition challenging the use of Urdu on the signboard of a municipal council in Maharashtra, said that it is wrong to associate language with religion. Along with this, the court also made it clear that considering Urdu as the language of Muslims is like moving away from reality and unity in diversity.
The bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K. Vinod Chandran made this statement while hearing the petition of Varshatai Sanjay Bagde, former councilor of Patur in Akola district of Maharashtra.
“This is not an occasion to have an elaborate discussion on the rise and fall of Urdu, but this much can be stated that this fusion of the two languages Hindi and Urdu met a roadblock in the form of the puritans on both sides and Hindi became more Sanskritized and Urdu more Persian. A schism exploited by the colonial powers in dividing the two languages on religion. Hindi was now understood to be the language of Hindus and Urdu of the Muslims, which is such a pitiable digression from reality; from unity in diversity; and the concept of universal brotherhood,” the Court stated.
Bagade had challenged the use of Urdu along with Marathi on the signboards or nameplates of the Municipal Council. He argued that the work of the Municipal Council should be done only in Marathi and the use of Urdu, even on the nameplate, is not right. Earlier, the Municipal Council and the Bombay High Court had rejected his petition, after which he approached the Supreme Court.