Cleric’s appointment as Urdu Academy chief resented

M. A. Siraj | NT

Bengaluru: The appointment of Mufti Mohamed Ali Qazi as the chairman of the Karnataka State Urdu Academy has not gone down well with the Urdu literary community.

The Urdu writers, poets and playwrights across the state resent the appointment of a person from clerical background as the head of an academy devoted to promote literary and cultural activity related with Urdu language.

It seems no wider consultation was held to find the right kind of person for the post although some of the members in the new executive committee themselves were more eligible than the man named the chairman.

Qazi comes from a clerical background and hails from Hubballi and is virtually unknown in the Urdu literary and academic circles.

He possesses an Afzalul Ulema certificate which is recognized as a qualification for teachers in madrassas i.e., Islamic theological school.

As per the procedure, it is the Minister for Minority Affairs who recommends the names for appointment of Urdu Academy chief and the chief minister makes the final decision.

It is believed the minister’s choice was mainly guided by Muslim minority votes on advice of Mr. Tanveer Peeran Hashmi, a spiritual figure from Vijayapura.

Literary and academic concerns related to Urdu did not find merit in the choice. A few prominent members of the literary circles have pointed out that the choice of Qazi blurs the lines between the clerics and academics.

It is pointed out that while Urdu is spoken mainly by Muslims in the State, when it comes to literary contributions, the literary flavor of the language draws deep from a wide spectrum of influences ranging from ancient to modern and secular to Western.

“To link Urdu with Islam and Muslims alone would be a dreadful mistake”, commented an Urdu litterateur who chose to remain anonymous.

In fact, it were writers such as Wajida Tabassum, Ismat Chughtai and Sadat Hassan Manto who were earliest standard bearers of the Progressive Writers movement in the 1940s and 50.

Resentful about the decision, former Chairman of the Urdu Academy and retired IPS officer, Dr. Khaleel-ur-Rahman Mamoon, has addressed a letter to the chief minister Mr. Siddramaiah protesting against the decision.

He writes, “The appointment is a jolt to the secular credentials which Urdu has nourished for the last five centuries.”

Mr. Azeezulla Baig, a retired IAS officer, who too headed the Academy in the past, has interpreted the appointment as a case of appeasement of Muslim fundamentalists just before the Parliamentary elections.

He said Urdu embraces several communities and most of the eminent writers such as Prem Chand, Anand Narain Mulla, Krishen Chandar, Kunwar Mahendra Singh Bedi and Dr. Gopichand Narang were Hindus.

He also cites the example of the latest Gnanapith Award winner going to the widely known Urdu poet and lyricist Sampooran Singh Kalra ‘Gulzar’ who was born in a Sikh family.

Some apprehend that the Academy’s cultural trajectory will be seriously impacted with a cleric heading it as several of the cultural activities such as plays, dance recitals and soirees do not sit well with theology being the dominant guiding principle for the man at the helm.

Some Urdu organizations have described Qazi’s appointment as a huge setback to the Urdu’s cause in Karnataka.