The time period Urdu derives from a Turkish word ordu meaning camp or army. The Urdu language developed between the Muslim soldiers of the Mughals armies who belonged to various ethnicities like Turks, Arabs, Persians, Pathans, Balochis, Rajputs, Jats and Afghans. These soldiers lived in close contact with one another and communicated in different dialects, which slowly and gradually evolved into current day Urdu. It’s for this reason that Urdu can also be referred to as Lashkari Zaban or language of the army.
Throughout its development Urdu language also assumed varied names like the time period Urdu-e-Maullah which means the exalted military which was given by Emperor Shah Jahan and the term Rekhta that means scattered (with Persian words) which was coined by the scholars for Urdu poetry.
History and Evolution of Urdu Language
Evolution and development of any language is dependent on the evolution and development of a society where that language is spoken. Varied invasions and conquests on a place affect the development of its language. Urdu isn’t any exception as it also underwent varied stages of development.
Urdu belongs to the Indo-Aryan household of languages. Urdu by origin is considered to be a descendent of Saur Senic Prakrit. The time period Prakrriti means root or basis. It is a later version of Sanskrit. As Prakrit language began to develop, it was influenced by Western Hindi dialects of Khari Boli, Brij Bhasa and Haryanvi.
With the coming of Insha’s Darya-e-Latafat*, a necessity was felt to differentiate Urdu with other languages especially Hindi. It grew to become a Hindi-Urdu controversy and in consequence Khari Boli and Devanagari grew to become the identity of Indians while Urdu and Persian of Muslims. In this context, Persian and Arabic words replaced with Sanskrit served the aim of differentiating Hindi from Urdu.
Urdu emerged as a distinct language after 1193 AD – the time of the Muslims conquest. When the Muslims conquered this part of the continent, they made Persian the official and cultural language of India. As a result of the amalgamation of local dialects and the language of the invaders – which was either Persian, Arabic and Turkish, a new language advanced which later became Urdu. In the course of the Mughals reign, Urdu was spoken in palaces and court and till the end of the Mughal rule; Urdu was the official language of most of Mughal states. This was the time when Urdu had turn into Persianized and enriched with Persian words, phrases and even script and grammar. With the approaching of the British, new English words also turned part of the Urdu language. Many English words had been accepted in their real form while others were accepted after some modifications.
At present, Urdu vocabulary contains approximately 70% of Persian words and the remaining are a mixture of Arabic and Turkish words. However, there are additionally traces of the French, Portuguese and Dutch language in Urdu. But these influences are little.
Urdu was taken to different parts of the country by soldiers, saints and sufis and by the common people. As a result of the political, social and cultural contacts amongst the folks of different speech and dialects, a mixed form of language formed called ‘Rekhta’ (Urdu and Persian in mixed form). Quickly people started to use the new language of their speech and in literature which resulted in the enrichment of Urdu language and literature.
Urdu Literature
The origin of Urdu literature dates back to the 13th century in India during the Mughal rule. One of the eminent earliest poets who made utilization of Urdu in his poetry is Amir Khusro who may be called the daddy of Urdu language. In literature, Urdu was usually used along side Persian. Mughal kings have been the nice patrons of art and literature and it was under their rule that Urdu language reached its zenith. There used to be a tradition of ‘Sheri Mehfils’ (poetic gatherings) in the kings’ courts. Abul Fazal Faizi and Abdul Rahim Khankhana have been the well-known Urdu poets of Mughal court. Likewise, Mirza Ghalib, Allama Iqbal, Hakim Momin, Ibrahim Zauq, Mir Taqi Mir, Sauda, Ibn-e-Insha and Faiz Ahmed Faiz have contributed to the evolution of Urdu language by means of their literary works.
It’s indeed true that Hindi and Urdu are descendents of the identical language i.e. Prakrit, but where the Hindi took affect from Sanskrit and adopted Devanagri script of writing, Urdu absorbed words from Persian, Turkish and Arabic languages and adopted Persian-Arabic script and Nastaliq calligraphic type of writing and emerged as a separate language. However beside common ancestry, the 2 languages are as completely different as can be. There are marked grammatical, phonological and lexical variations in each languages.
Urdu was also used as a tool by the Muslims for freedom battle and for making awareness among Muslim communities in South Asia to unite under the banner of Independence from British Raj. For this, providers of Maulana Hali, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal usually are notable, who through their poetry and prose provoked the required spark in the lives of the Muslims. Urdu was chosen to turn into the national language of Pakistan on the time of Independence from British. Urdu is now the national language of Pakistan, spoken and understood totally by mainity of the population.
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