Javed Akhtar says Urdu belongs to India, not Pakistan

Days after his anti-Pakistan remarks during the visit, Indian poet/lyricist Javed Akhtar claimed that Urdu is an Indian or ‘Hindustani’ language and does not belong to Pakistan.

Launching his Urdu poetry album ‘Shayarana – Sartaj’ with his wife Shabana Azmi earlier this week, Akhtar spoke about the importance of the language and declared that it belongs to his country.

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“Urdu hasn’t come from any other place…it is our own language. It isn’t spoken outside Hindustan,” the veteran stated at the event.

He added, “Pakistan also came into existence after partition from India, earlier it was a part of India only. So, the language isn’t spoken outside Hindustan.”

Moreover, he spoke about the role of Dr Satinder Sartaaj in keeping the language alive in the region. “Punjab has a big contribution towards Urdu and it is the language of India!” Akhtar claimed.

“But why did you leave this language? Because of partition? Because of Pakistan? Urdu should be given attention.”

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“Earlier it was only Hindustan – Pakistan later separated from Hindustan. Now Pakistan said that Kashmir is ours…will you believe that? I think ‘No’! Likewise, Urdu is a Hindustani language and it remains (so). Nowadays, new generation youths speak less Urdu and Hindi in our country. Today more focus is on English. We must speak in Hindi because it’s our national language,” Akhtar said at the event.

It is pertinent to mention here that Javed Akhtar hurt the patriotic sentiments of the countrymen with his anti-Pakistan remarks during his visit to Lahore, for the 7th international Faiz festival, last month.