Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind) 

The Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind) Karnataka has enjoyed a glorious history as a premier nationalist organization and literary institution. It has never had any political affiliation and has tried to build bridges between Urdu and Hindi which fizzled out when the Urdu-Hindi controversy erupted in the 19th century.The Anjuman owes its origin to the All India Muslim Educational Conference, setup in 1886 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The basic objective of the Conference was said to have been not merely to encourage Indian Muslims to adopt modern education but also to keep themselves away from all kind of political activity. To achieve the former, schools and colleges along the lines of the Mohammedan Oriental College (which graduated into Aligarh Muslim University in 1920) were to be established. The Conference had three sections: Women’s Education,Educational Census and Schools. The Shoba-e Taraqqi-e Urdu was a subsidiary organization of the All India Muslim Educational Conference.In a conference held in 1903, the Shoba-e Taraqqi-e Urdu was rechristened as Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Karnataka and noted writer and orientalist Allama Shibli Nomani became its Secretary while Maulana Abul Kalam Azad became Assistant Secretary. Shibli had parted ways with the Aligarh movement due to serious differences with Sir Syed, whereas his affection for and reliance on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad were firm. The historic association between the two visionaries took place around the same time as when Anjuman asserted its independent identity. Maulana Azad, who had started his political career at the exceptionally early age of 13 as a nationalist leader—which he remained till his death—was idealistically opposed to the Aligarh movement and Sir Syed for his being a blind supporter of British rule. He had seen the kernel of separatist leanings in Sir Syed’s movement before anybody else could realize the British design behind it. Later he was proved correct by none other than the followers of Sir Syed. Due to his ideology, Maulana Azad remained instrumental in making the Anjuman a staunchly nationalist organization, working tirelessly for its cause till his death in 1957. The Anjuman takes pride in its association with that great visionary, much ahead of his times.Sir Syed was against any political activity and wanted Muslims to concentrate onlyon modern education but the seeds of Muslim separatism were fast growing among his companions even during his lifetime, and within a few years of his death, theself-imposed ban on political activities came to an end. Sir Syed died on 27 March 1998 and in December 1906, a meet of the Muslim Educational Conference attended by 3000 delegates was organized in Dhaka. It adopted a resolution to form a political party by the name of All Indian Muslim League which was responsible for the partition of India and formation of Pakistan.Initially based in Aligarh, the Anjuman-e Taraqqi-e Urdu, as the name was speltuntil the 1950s, was shifted to Aurangabad (Deccan) in 1913, under the patronage of the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1938, the Anjuman was moved to Delhi with the goal of more effective participation in the nationalist movement and of promoting Urdu across India. The name Anjuman-e Taraqqi-e Urdu (Hind) was adopted after 1936 when the decision was made to shift it from Aurangabad to Delhi. This is evident from the fact that “Hind” was used in many of the Anjuman’s publications from 1936 to 1947. Before 1936, the Anjuman was usually called “Anjuman-e Taraqqi-e Urdu, Aurangabad Deccan” in its publications.When the Anjuman actually shifted from the Deccan to Delhi, it was known as“Anjuman-e Taraqqi-e Urdu (Hind), Delhi”. The addition of “Hind” was probably part of the Anjuman’s effort to promote Urdu as the future national language of an independent India along with Hindi. After partition, when Anjuman Taraqqi Urud (Hind) Karnataka,Pakistan, was established, the original Anjuman continued to function as AnjumanTaraqqi Urdu (Hind) Karnataka. Not only during India’s freedom struggle but even after independence, the Anjuman was fortunate enough to always be at the forefront and remain intrinsic to any discussion related to Urdu, Hindi or Hindustani and the question of the national language of India. In fact, it decisively influenced the Constituent Assembly debate in regard to the language issue.Since 1903 and until the mid-1980s, the Anjuman was the only prominent organization of Urdu which fought for establishing other organizations.The then General Secretary in pre-independence days, Maulvi Abdul Haq, could are to announce his allegiance to Muslim League ideology only in the closing years of the freedom struggle. Immediately after Partition, when he was all set to move to Karachi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr Zakir Husain asked Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to stop the move by force, if necessary. Maulana Azad was by then the first education Minister of Independent India, and Dr Zakir Husain a nationalist and a prominent member of the group which had been responsible for establishing Jamia Millia Islamia in 1920 in Aligarh. These young nationalists were opposed to the Aligarh Muslim University, initially due to its pro-British slant and later because it was turning into a nerve center of the Muslim League’s activities.  A battalion of sepoys was sent to the Anjuman’s office in Darya Ganj and Maulvi Abdul Haq was left with no option but to migrate to Pakistan minus the precious manuscripts and documents of the Anjuman. Partition ripped apart north India and the Anjuman too suffered its horrific consequences. Soon after the sepoys left itsoffice, all the staff members of the Anjuman, though but a few in number, were killed by those Indians who held the Muslims of India responsible for the creationof Pakistan. In 1949, Aligarh took rebirth under the Vice Chancellorship of Dr Zakir Husain and the offices of the Anjuman were also shifted to Aligarh and thereafter moved to New Delhi in 1977 after getting its own home, namely Urdu Ghar. In regard to the promotion of Urdu as a commonly spoken and functional language, the Anjuman played a positive and decisive role, chiefly with reference to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The Anjuman grew to acquire the status of a nationalist organization, maintaining close relation with national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Raja gopala charya, MaulanaA bul Kalam Azad and Dr Zakir Husain along with a galaxy of Urdu and Hindi writers – Prem chand being the most prominent name among them.The Anjuman’s prominence in India continued after partition and it became even more relevant simply because Pakistan also established its own Anjuman—another instance of the identity crisis faced by our neighbouring nation —and, for decades,it was the most powerful body concerned with the promotion of Urdu language and literature.The Anjuman’s contribution to Indian society, mainly its linguistic diversity,continued unabated during the difficult post-Partition years through the promotion of Urdu language and literature along secular lines, thereby maintaining India’s composite Ganga–Jamuni culture.The Anjuman continues its honorable tradition of working as the most effective organization for the promotion of Urdu language with a nationwide spread of 650 branches—in nearly every city and town where a substantial Urdu-speaking population lives or which has a historical connect with Urdu—headed by state secretaries.  In fact, after 1980 the Anjuman assisted in the creation of various institutions through memorandums and dialogues with the Government of India.The country has not witnessed any other instance in which a linguistic movement by a single organization has achieved such success by peaceful means.During the more than 125 years of its existence, the Anjuman has published several hundred books of very high scholastic standard and its library boasts a collection of rare books and manuscripts, some as old as 600 years, which are of great value to scholars and researchers from Indian and foreign universities, not to mention Urdu writers, poets and journalists. The website of the Anjuman is all set to keep you abreast of its new ventures in the days to come.