Why Israel embassy website is Urdu

[R.A.W.]

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I was just going through the website of Israel embassy and it was in two languages.

Hindi
and
Urdu.

In India people hardly write Urdu then what is the purpose of having the same in urdu.

Here are the links for the both versions.

Israel Embassy

Israel Embassy

[masijames]

if you really wants to know you should ask the isreal goverment or the web master, why they have urdu versions its very simple

[R.A.W.]

May be they want Pakistan to know the Indian Israel relationship

[DaRk WaVe]

what were u doing in this site...

[EjazR]

Urdu is one of the languages recognized by the Constitution of India. It is a state official language for five Indian states. India is the home of the Urdu language and is part of its indigenous culture. It was developed by mixing of cultures in areas such as Delhi, Lucknow in UP and Hyderabad and Urdu literature has also been enriched by hindus and sikhs. Moreover, out of the approximately 60+ million Urdu speakers in the world, 50+million are in India.

So its quite natural to have Urdu after Hindi as a language being used by Israeli embassy to reach out to all Indians. Maybe in the future we might see other languages as well.

[DaRk WaVe]

It is a state official language for five Indian states

[Wingman]

May be they want Pakistan to know the Indian Israel relationship

The whole world knows

[Locked]

The whole world knows

Yeah, or like the German Embassy wants to show the whole world the German-Israeli friendship! It is a very good relationship which never stopped between those both countries

[Skywalker]

Urdu is one of the languages recognized by the Constitution of India. It is a state official language for five Indian states. India is the home of the Urdu language and is part of its indigenous culture. It was developed by mixing of cultures in areas such as Delhi, Lucknow in UP and Hyderabad and Urdu literature has also been enriched by hindus and sikhs. Moreover, out of the approximately 60+ million Urdu speakers in the world, 50+million are in India.

So its quite natural to have Urdu after Hindi as a language being used by Israeli embassy to reach out to all Indians. Maybe in the future we might see other languages as well.

Do you mean the people whose mother tongue is urdu or the ones who could write, read and speak urdu.

[EjazR]

Do you mean the people whose mother tongue is urdu or the ones who could write, read and speak urdu.

Yes I'm referring to native speakers / mother tongue

[niaz]

Urdu is one of the languages recognized by the Constitution of India. It is a state official language for five Indian states. India is the home of the Urdu language and is part of its indigenous culture. It was developed by mixing of cultures in areas such as Delhi, Lucknow in UP and Hyderabad and Urdu literature has also been enriched by hindus and sikhs. Moreover, out of the approximately 60+ million Urdu speakers in the world, 50+million are in India.

So its quite natural to have Urdu after Hindi as a language being used by Israeli embassy to reach out to all Indians. Maybe in the future we might see other languages as well.

Pardon my ignorance, which other Indian states have given Urdu official status? I was aware that Urdu as written in the Urdu script is official language of Kashmir only but of none other.

Besides, I have across Urdu books written in India in Devanagri script. I call this ‘Hindiization’ of Urdu since some of the common Urdu alphabets such as ‘P’ are pronounced as ‘f’ thus ‘phool’ is pronounced as ‘fool’ and ‘Z’ sounds like ’J’; I had to correct my guide for Taj Mahal many times who insisted on pronouncing Mumtaz Mahal as Mumtaj Mahal.

Despite that above, as an Urdu lover I am really pleased about the use of proper Urdu script in the Israel Embassy website. It reminds me of the poet Daagh Dehlavi who said:

‘Urdu hai jis ka naam, subhee jaantey hain Daagh.
Saarey jehan mein dhhoom hamaari zubaan ki hai.

Pray tell me, how can you claim that out of the 60+ million Urdu speakers, 50+ live in India. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, nearly all speak and understand Urdu. A lot of Karachiites, Hyderabadis and Lahoris speak Urdu at home. I would say that there are as many Urdu speakers in Pakistan as are in India. As far as the accent and pronunciation is concerned, I have visited Delhi, Agraa and Bombay, I found that most Pakistanis speak clearer Urdu than those from India. I have also came across people from Lukhnow, quite a few of them spoke Urdu with a 'Poorbi' accent. However, it gives me great joy that Urdu is still alive and kicking in India.

[qsaark]

Most of the Indians I have met here in the US can speak Urdu but read and write in Devanagri. Arabic script of Urdu is slowly dying in India while the language itself is not but not flourishing either. So it is alright that 50 million of the Urdu speakers live in India but how many of them can actually read and write in the Arabic script?

[EjazR]

Hi niaz

Devangiri script is referred to as Hindi and won't be called Urdu. But when you come to look at the broader picture both Hindi and Urdu derive a similar gammar as part of the Khari Boli in UP. Speaking wise you can call it Hindustani if you will but if the script is devangiri it will be called Hindi and Urdu will be called only if its Persian script. Although a lot of similar words will be there in both languages.

The five states that have given official status to Urdu are J&K, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh (capital is Hyderabad), UP and Bihar. It is co-official with Hindi and Telugu for other states.

To give you an example of why the numbers are credible, here is a link of NCERT textbooks. These are one of the best textbooks in India and are used in CBSE syllabus which is considered one of the best if not the best in India. As you can see, these are in three languages, English, Hindi and Urdu
NCERT Textbooks

There is also a large number of dailies and weeklies in Urdu in India. I would agree that there is not as much study of Urdu as there should be, but I would not say that it is being neglected either.

Regarding numbers, I admit I may be a bit out of date but these are native speakers only.

Sources are here:
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=pk (93 census)
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census...Statement1.htm (2001 census)

[Aeronaut]

Who cares!!! Here is the answer On Every single Pakistani passport

[EjazR]

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With due respect Blackhood, I think you missed the title of the thread.

Its only about why would the Israeli embassy in India host a website in Urdu along with English and Hindi