There seems to be no stopping for Indian lyricist Javed Akhtar when it comes to giving problematic statements regarding Pakistan, its culture, and its people.
While everyone assumed that the Zanjeer screenwriter is done and dusted with spewing anti-Pakistani remarks, another one of his disparaging opinions surfaced where he dismissed the idea of the Urdu language belonging to Pakistan.
After Akhtar attended the 7th Faiz Festival in Pakistan last month, he and his wife actress Shabana Azmi launched an Urdu poetry album called Shayarana — Sartaj. According to Indian Express, during the album’s launch, the Zamana screenwriter suggested that the Urdu language doesn’t belong to Pakistan or Egypt but Hindustan.
“Urdu hasn’t come from any other place… It is our own language. It isn’t spoken outside 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…” explained the Prem writer.
Talking about the historical context of the language and the contribution of Punjab, Akhtar expounded, “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,” he said.
“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 Hindustan[i] language and it remains [so].”
Discussing the inclination of the future generations towards English as a medium of communication and their deviation from Urdu and Hindi, the 78-year-old poet said. “We must speak in Hindi because it’s our national language,” he said, adding that language is not based on religion, but region. “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.”
Adding onto his previous statements at the literary fest about the terrorists responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks “roaming freely” in Pakistan, Akhtar stated, “The truth is that blaming each other is not going to work. We need to reduce tensions in the region. We’re from Mumbai, we saw how our city was attacked. Those people weren’t from Norway, were they? Nor did they come from Egypt. They are still roaming around in your country. If these complaints are in a Hindustani’s heart, you shouldn’t take offence.”
On the work front, Akhtar’s recently contributed his genius to films including Mohenjo Daro, Raees,
Dil Dhadakne Do, Rock On 2, Paltan, Namastey England, Gully Boy, and Panga.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/03-Mar-2023/javed-akhtar-sparks-another-controversy-soon-after-pakistan-visit
