From that moment onward, Urdu and Hindi languages have not looked back. (Shutterstock)Panjab University’s Urdu department has objected to its proposed merger with those of various foreign languages, asserting that Urdu is not a foreign tongue but an Indian language like Hindi and Punjabi. The university had recently proposed bringing the Urdu department under the School of Foreign Languages to be set up after merging the departments of Russian, French, German, Chinese and Tibetan languages, said Urdu department coordinator Ali Abbas on Saturday. A “wrong impression” is being created by “certain elements that Urdu is a foreign language”, said Abbas, asserting that “it is far from the truth”. “Or (the Urdu department) may be allowed to function independently as per the present arrangements,” Abbas wrote in the letter.

Source: The Telegraph September 28, 2019 20:15 UTC