Urdu an integral part of Indian history and culture : Governor Heptulla

Imphal, Oct 7: Urdu which is an integral part of Indian history and culture has become the language of the masses, said Dr Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur, while addressing a function to inaugurate an interactive session with the centre in charges of Urdu Arabic , CABA, MDTP centres of Manipur here today at Hotel Imphal. She said it is a mixture of various languages and through the passage of time it has incorporated words of various other languages. Urdu words have also been used by other languages she added. Language and religion are different things as people of different faiths speak the language of the area where they live, she added. She further said she was a little apprehensive when she was informed that such an interaction organized by National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, will be held at Imphal where the Muslims speak Manipuri. Governor Heptulla said she was happy to see such a large gathering and listen to people including young girls speaking fluently. She further said Urdu has a long history and is widely spoken. The Indian cinema has also contributed to the growth of the language, she observed. The Governor spoke about the growth, beauty , depth of Urdu language in the Indian sub continent. Prof. Syed Ali Karim, Director, NCPUL said he was overwhelmed by the response in spite of the election held today the Council has decided to organize Urdu conference in Manipur. He welcomed the Governor and the representatives of the different centres and gave a brief introduction about the various schemes run by the Council for the promotion of Urdu and Arabic languages across the country. He said the Council is trying to provide the schemes, languages, use of computers at the door steps. Mohd Afzal, social activist urged the participants to learn the modern techonology to propagate Urdu language. The main thrust of the programme was to have an interaction with the representatives/Centre In charges to understand their problems . According to the organisers 10 per cent of the sanctioned budget must be utilized in the specified areas. The participants included large number of women. UNI