Javed Akhtar, an Indian lyricist, doesn’t seem to be able to stop making offensive remarks against Pakistan, its people, and its culture.
While everyone believed the Zanjeer screenwriter had stopped making derogatory statements against Pakistanis, he later expressed the view that Pakistan does not have its own language, Urdu.
Following his attendance at the 7th Faiz Festival in Pakistan last month, actor Akhtar and his wife Shabana Azmi released an album of Urdu poetry titled Shayarana — Sartaj. The Zamana screenwriter allegedly said during the album’s release that Hindustan, not Pakistan or Egypt, is the rightful home of the Urdu language.
“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].”
The 78-year-old poet spoke on how younger generations are moving away from Hindi and Urdu in favour of English as a language of communication. He asserted that Hindi must be used since it is our native tongue and that language is determined by location rather than religion. If religion were the determining factor in language, then Europe as a whole would speak a single language. Because of this, the language is regional rather than religious.
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.
