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 varied 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 developed into present day Urdu. It’s for this reason that Urdu is also referred to as Lashkari Zaban or language of the army.
Throughout its development Urdu language additionally assumed varied names like the time period Urdu-e-Maullah that means the exalted army which was given by Emperor Shah Jahan and the time period 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 depends on the evolution and development of a society where that language is spoken. Various invasions and conquests on a spot have an effect on the development of its language. Urdu isn’t any exception as it also underwent various stages of development.
Urdu belongs to the Indo-Aryan family 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 approaching of Insha’s Darya-e-Latafat*, a necessity was felt to distinguish Urdu with different languages particularly Hindi. It became a Hindi-Urdu controversy and in consequence Khari Boli and Devanagari turned 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. Because of the amalgamation of native dialects and the language of the invaders – which was either Persian, Arabic and Turkish, a new language developed which later became Urdu. In the course of the Mughals reign, Urdu was spoken in palaces and court and till the tip of the Mughal rule; Urdu was the official language of most of Mughal states. This was the time when Urdu had become Persianized and enriched with Persian words, phrases and even script and grammar. With the approaching of the British, new English words also became part of the Urdu language. Many English words have been accepted in their real form while others were accepted after some modifications.
Currently, Urdu vocabulary accommodates approximately 70% of Persian words and the remainder are a mix of Arabic and Turkish words. However, there are also 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 people of different speech and dialects, a blended form of language formed called ‘Rekhta’ (Urdu and Persian in combined form). Quickly individuals started to use the new language of their speech and in literature which resulted within the enrichment of Urdu language and literature.
Urdu Literature
The origin of Urdu literature dates back to the thirteenth century in India in the course of the Mughal rule. One of the most eminent earliest poets who made usage of Urdu in his poetry is Amir Khusro who could be called the daddy of Urdu language. In literature, Urdu was usually used alongside side Persian. Mughal kings have been the good patrons of artwork and literature and it was under their rule that Urdu language reached its zenith. There was a tradition of ‘Sheri Mehfils’ (poetic gatherings) in the kings’ courts. Abul Fazal Faizi and Abdul Rahim Khankhana had been the famous 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 way of their literary works.
It is 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 both languages.
Urdu was additionally used as a software by the Muslims for freedom battle and for creating awareness amongst Muslim communities in South Asia to unite under the banner of Independence from British Raj. For this, services of Maulana Hali, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal should notable, who by means of their poetry and prose provoked the necessary spark in the lives of the Muslims. Urdu was chosen to become the nationwide language of Pakistan at the time of Independence from British. Urdu is now the nationwide language of Pakistan, spoken and understood completely by mainity of the population.
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