Urdu literature came into being during the 14th
century, in North India amongst the Persian people. This language is a mixture
of Sanskrit and Arab-Persian words. Amir Khusro played a vital role in the
betterment and growth of this language. It is popularly said that whatever
status Urdu has today, is only because of his stupendous contributions to this
language.
Urdu has evolved into a fluently spoken popular language
with the passage of time. Ashfaq Ahmed is considered one of the leading and popular
poets amongst all the Urdu poets of the contemporary era.
Ashfaq Ahmed had a unique writing style that used to make
him stand out amongst the other poets. He used to write with the vision to
achieve a peaceful society and with that vision he managed to influence the masses.
His work played a great role in improvement
of social behavior and national character. Ashfaq Ahmed departed from this
world on the September 7, 2004. His contributions like Zaviah and Talqeen Shah
will always be remembered in the history of Urdu language. There are many other
writers from history who, through their stupendous writings, created big names
in Urdu history, such as Mirza Ghalib, Manto and Mir Taqi Mir. Their era is
considered as the golden era in Urdu literature.
In the contemporary age, a lot of work has been done by new
writers in Urdu language. Many novels have also been written such as Sila by
Aimen Ali, an interesting story of a female writer obsessed with her written
characters. ‘Kare Junoon’, ‘Maah e Tamam’ and ‘Zindagi tum ho’ are also some
great masterpieces by new writers in Urdu language. It would be unfair if we
would talk about the modern writers and not mention Farhat Ishtiaq and Umera
Ahmed. Both the writers are famous for their outstanding fictional writing and
being the authors of the best selling novels of all times.
Despite an active contribution by new writers, the efforts
made are not sufficient. These days people in our society are gradually forgetting
Urdu language. Teachers in schools are not giving importance to speaking Urdu
language anymore and provoke children to work more on their English speaking
skills. Some people consider it demeaning to speak Urdu language publically,
which is very wrong.
What people need to remember is that Urdu is our national
language and what we must realize it that fluently speaking in Urdu is crucial
for our all of us. Students should be encouraged to read Urdu language and to learn new words and memorize them. It
is high time we should emphasize on the importance of Urdu language to preserve
the cultural art and history of Pakistan.
