"it is the language of India!"
Javed Akhtar is making news once more after expressing his opinions on the Urdu language and its origins, claiming that it belongs to India.
According to reports, Javed made the declaration at the launch of Dr Satinder Sartaaj’s Urdu poetry album Shayarana – Sartaj.
At the event, he claimed Urdu does not belong to Pakistan or Egypt but to “Hindustan”.
The lyricist said: “Urdu hasn’t come from any other place…it is our language.
“It isn’t spoken outside of Hindustan… 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…
“Punjab has a big contribution towards Urdu and it is the language of India!
“But why did you leave this language? Because of partition? Because of Pakistan? Urdu should be given attention.
“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.”
Javed Akhtar further shared that a language is based on a region, not a religion.
He said: “If language was based on religion, then the whole of Europe would have one language.
“That’s why the language is not of religion, but of the region.”
Javed Akhtar’s trip to Lahore for the 7th Faiz Festival in recent weeks generated a lot of attention on social media.
In addition to professing his affection for the renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and his appreciation for all languages, his controversial comments regarding the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the perpetrators being free to wander around Pakistan infuriated many.
He had said: “That won’t solve issues.
“The ongoing political turmoil needs to cool down.
“I am from Mumbai and all of us witnessed the attack on the city.
“The attackers weren’t from Norway or Egypt. They are still present in your country, so you should not be offended if an Indian complains about this.”
Throughout the years, Javed has been outspoken on social media about his dislike of the Pakistani government and has tweeted several times about different situations.
The ‘Jee Le Zara’ lyricist recently said that while Pakistan has never welcomed Lata Mangeshkar, Indians have catered several occasions for Pakistani influential figures like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan.
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