Publishing Urdu Magazines and Journals Today is an Extraordinary Achievement: Dr. Syed Ahmad Khan
New Delhi: An important meeting of the Urdu Development Organisation (UDO) was held in Daryaganj here, under the chairmanship of Dr. Syed Ahmad Khan. The meeting included a detailed discussion on the role of Urdu academies in the promotion of the Urdu language and literature. The Delhi Urdu Academy, once counted among the most active academies in the country, is currently passing through a very critical phase. The long-standing absence of permanent staff and delays in appointing a Vice-Chairman are said to be the major reasons for this decline. Nearly the same situation persists in the Urdu academies of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and several other states.
Urdu is one of India’s most influential languages and is counted among important languages of communication in the country and across the world. The attitude of state governments toward the Urdu language, which expresses the sentiments of the people, is disappointing and incomprehensible.
In the meeting, it was unanimously proposed that the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), as a nodal agency for the nationwide promotion and institutional strengthening of Urdu, should take steps for the revival, guidance, and supervision of state Urdu academies.
On this occasion, the monthly magazine Rahnuma-e-Ta‘leem Jadeed was also launched. Dr. Syed Ahmad Khan noted that the publication of Urdu newspapers is steadily decreasing, and the printing of Urdu newspapers, magazines, and journals is becoming increasingly difficult. In such circumstances, he appealed to Urdu-speaking people to extend generous support. He further stated that publishing Urdu magazines and journals in the present era is an extraordinary achievement, and those engaged in this work truly deserve praise.
Prominent journalist Zafar Anwar Shakarpuri attended the event as the chief guest. Others who shared their views included Alhaj Irfan Ahmad Azmi, Dr. Mufti Javed Anwar Dehlavi, journalist Muhammad Owais Gorakhpuri, Tahseen Ali Asarvi, Abu Noman Bastawi, Jalal Ahmad Khan Khalilabadi, and others. Important participants in the meeting included Advocate Shah Jabeen Qazi, Israr Ahmad Ujjaini, Mabsoot Ahmad, Dr. Khurshid Alam, Akmal Azmi, Muhammad Hanif, Nadeem Arif, and Muhammad Imran Kannauji. A vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Faizan Ahmad Siddiqi.
