Urdu students must shed inferiority complex: Experts

Bhopal: A ten-day UGC sponsored career counselling workshop under XI Plan entitled “Urdu Ka Ta’alluq Rozgar Se” (Urdu’s connection with employment) got under way here on Monday under the aegis of Urdu Department of local MLB Autonomous College. The career counselling workshop would conclude on March 10.

The inaugural function was presided over by Urdu litterateur Prof. Afaq Ahmad. Dr. Mukhtar Shameem, a retired Principal and former Professor of Urdu, was the chief guest while Dr. Mahtab Alam, Bureau chief of ETV Urdu, was the guest of honour on the occasion. A number of connoisseurs of Urdu along with large number of Urdu students attended the inaugural function.

At the outset Dr. Bilquees Jahan, Head of the Urdu Department, introduced the guests and threw light on the aims and objects of the workshop. Ms Saba Azeem delivered the welcome address. Ms Aneesa Khatoon proposed a vote of thanks.

Prof. Afaq Ahmad in his presidential speech said that utilising one’s time judiciously one should, apart from studies, take interests in various other activities so as to arm oneself with the latest technological advances which have direct bearing on our day to day life. He exhorted students of Urdu to acquire working knowledge of English and Hindi and then get acquainted with the latest trends in the technological fields to carve out their careers in the field of Urdu journalism, electronic media, translations etc.

Prof. Afaq, who retired from the post of principal of this MLB Autonomous College, said Urdu students should shun away from pessimistic thoughts as what Urdu language would fetch them in the employment world. One should not take up Urdu language for employment purposes alone. The Urdu language apart from giving opportunity in job market is also a store house of Islamic religious literature to give them spiritual uplift which would give solace in life. They should be proud of knowing English and Hindi besides their mother tongue Urdu. This added advantage of having command over three languages can be very well utilised in translation world which is a wide field to make their career bright as a translators of documents and manuscripts.

He cautioned the students to remain always on the alert to see that the script of Urdu language is not is tampered with and changed into Devnagiri script. Many attempts have been made in the past in this direction. If Urdu’s script is changed then soul from the body would be separated and Urdu would lose its charm and would be as good as dead language, he remarked.

Chief guest Dr. Mukhtar Shameem speaking on the occasion became emotional as the college building brought back vivid memories of his student days and the environment that prevailed then when the teacher and the taught remained interwoven to each other in pursuit of knowledge. However, over the decades a sea change has taken place wherein there has been explosion of knowledge with world becoming a global village but the healthy traditions between the teacher and the taught have vanished and they have drifted apart. The ethos of our culture, etiquette and moral values have taken a back seat and are on the edge of vanishing into thin air from our so-called educated society, he lamented.

Dr. Shameem said Urdu students are victims of inferiority complex thinking that their subject of study is not with the tune of time. They remain backward due to their lack of awareness and their level being at the lowest as compared to students of other streams. This mind set of negative thoughts should be changed as higher studies in Urdu language and literature can fetch them good careers in drama script writing, dialogue writing, translation of works of noted Urdu litterateurs into English, Hindi and other regional languages along with jobs in Urdu journalism. This all will be possible only when Urdu students come out of their shell and broaden the canvas of their vision and become proactive in gaining contemporary knowledge also apart from their main subject of study to brighten their future careers. This would go a long way in helping them when after completing their studies they wander in the job market for a respectable earning, he added.

Dr. Mahtab Alam said Urdu is an amalgamation of many languages and in the present technological era it has not remained confined to be a regional language but attained an international status. Urdu students are unaware of openings in the job market as Urdu is not just a language of “Shayeri” (poetry) but it has become the language of the technology. In all walks of life Urdu language can be found.

Exhorting Urdu students Dr. Alam, who holds a Ph. D. degree in Public Administration from AMU, stressed upon them to have complete command over one language which in their case is their mother tongue Urdu then have at least working knowledge of English, Hindi and other regional languages. This will enable them to become multi-lingual, which will separate them from others, and put them a notch above in comparison to other candidates in the job market.

He revealed that now Urdu being international language there are 21,273 newspapers and magazines which are being published around the world having 2-16 crore subscribers. He suggested the Urdu students to read at least one newspaper of their choice to raise their awareness level about the happenings in the society the world over.

(pervezbari@eth.net)

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Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh presenting a memento to the President of Rotary International Kalyan Banerjee at the inauguration of the Polio Summit 2012, in New Delhi on February 25, 2012. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandyopadhyay are also seen.

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