Plight of Urdu language

It is quite disheartening to see the plight of Urdu language in India. It is high time the lovers of this language highlighted its importance among the general masses. We need to revive this language. Urdu does not belong to a particular region, religion or race as it is generally made out to be by those who do not want to see the growth and progress of this language.
As a matter of fact Urdu’s glorious period seems to be a thing of the past. Urdu is a secular language and boasts of a literature that has been enriched by literary greats from the Muslim community and people from other faiths as well. The interesting thing is that when Urdu was the predominant language in undivided India, anti-Urdu forces, some of whom later campaigned for Hindi nationalism, used the Urdu script to oppose Urdu.
Another fascinating fact is that Urdu was the major language of Christian missionaries in north India in pre-independence days. It is true that liberalization has overhauled the entire social fabric of India leaving indelible impacts on the linguistic landscape of the country. This has been good in a way, for politics in the name of Urdu and Hindi has come to an end, but at the same time it is even more tragic that both languages are directly linked with the Fascist agenda of atavistic forces, and this is far more dangerous than the preceding trend of language politics.
Of course, technology has played a decisive role, particularly in the case of Urdu. Now, with the revolution of Internet technology anyone can learn the Urdu script and, as a result, a new version of Urdu has emerged. This is a welcome development. I appeal to all Urdu-lovers to do something to revive this language. — Anees Lokhande, Alkhobar