News Desk
NEW DELHI — In a scathing rebuke of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of peddling Islamophobia and ignorance about Urdu, a language he hailed as a cornerstone of India’s pluralistic heritage and freedom struggle.
Speaking at the 67th revival anniversary of AIMIM on Saturday, Owaisi’s remarks came as a direct response to Adityanath’s recent comments in the UP legislative assembly, where the chief minister derided Urdu education as a tool to turn children into “Maulvis”—a statement critics say reeks of prejudice and cultural chauvinism.
Adityanath’s remarks, delivered during a heated exchange with the Samajwadi Party (SP), have ignited a firestorm of criticism, with Owaisi and Urdu advocates decrying what they see as a deliberate attempt to vilify a language that has enriched India’s literary and cultural tapestry for centuries. “Urdu is not the language of Muslims alone—it is the language of this country’s freedom,” Owaisi declared, emphasizing its constitutional protection under India’s linguistic diversity framework. “The UP CM doesn’t even know that Urdu is woven into Uttar Pradesh’s culture. This is the intellectual bankruptcy of the BJP and RSS.”
Owaisi’s defense of Urdu—a language born in the Indian subcontinent and celebrated for its poetic elegance—underscored its secular legacy. He pointed to luminaries like Raghupati Sahay ‘Firaq,’ a renowned Urdu poet from Adityanath’s own Gorakhpur, who was not Muslim, as evidence of the language’s broad appeal.
“Urdu transcends religion,” Owaisi said. “It is a bridge between communities, a testament to India’s syncretic soul. Yet the BJP wants one language, one religion, one ideology, one leader—a monochrome vision that stifles our diversity.”
The controversy erupted after Adityanath, in a jab at the SP’s support for Urdu education, accused the opposition of opposing “every good work” and suggested that promoting Urdu was a ploy to limit children’s prospects to religious vocations.
“These people will send their own children to English-medium schools, but for others, they push Urdu—they want them to become Maulvis,” he said in the assembly. The comment, dripping with condescension, has been widely condemned as a dog whistle that equates Urdu with backwardness and reinforces anti-Muslim stereotypes.
Critics argue that Adityanath’s rhetoric betrays a deeper agenda rooted in the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent, which Owaisi accused of having no role in India’s freedom struggle.
“The UP CM comes from an ideology that stood aloof while others fought for this nation’s liberty,” he said. “Urdu, on the other hand, was the voice of that struggle—its verses inspired millions.”
Urdu, a language of exquisite beauty, has long been a symbol of India’s composite culture, blending Persian, Arabic, and indigenous tongues into a medium that produced literary giants like Mirza Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. In Uttar Pradesh, it has been a vital part of the state’s identity, from the courts of Awadh to the streets of Lucknow. Yet Adityanath’s remarks reflect a troubling pattern of marginalization, aligning with the BJP’s broader push for Hindi dominance—a move linguistic scholars warn could erode India’s rich mosaic of languages.
Owaisi’s rejoinder was as much a celebration of Urdu’s resilience as it was a critique of Adityanath’s worldview. “The UP CM doesn’t know Urdu, but why didn’t he become a scientist?” he quipped, mocking the chief minister’s apparent disdain for intellectual pursuits beyond his saffron-clad persona. The audience roared in approval, a reminder of Urdu’s enduring popularity among those who see it as a cultural treasure, not a communal marker.
As India grapples with rising polarization, Adityanath’s comments—and the BJP’s tacit endorsement—raise urgent questions about the fate of linguistic diversity in a nation that prides itself on unity in difference. Urdu, with its mellifluous cadences and revolutionary spirit, deserves better than to be a political punching bag. For its defenders, the language remains a vibrant thread in India’s secular fabric—one that no amount of Islamophobic posturing can unravel.
