Did Hindi/Urdu Win Over Bangla in Bangladesh?
February 14, 2008 – 4:49 pmThe Mohajirs, the Urdu speaking Desis, who migrated to the West and East wings of Pakistan from India, decided to impose Urdu as the national language of the Pakistan Union. Some may disagree and say Urdu was already there in West Pakistan. I won’t argue, since Urdu was adopted without much resistance in modern day Pakistan. However, what about Bangladesh, was the 1952 Language Movement of East Pakistan remembered well? Do we still do our best to use Bangla? Do we still do our best to preserve the Bangla language? Is Bangla flourishing among the next generation? The answer to all of these questions is no.
In 1952 Bengali students in East Pakistan rose up and protested against the Pakistani government for declaring Urdu as the national language. Majority of the Pakistanis, about 54% of the citizens, were Bengali. In the protest several students died for defending the Bangla language for themselves and for the future generations. As Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) spreads to all over the Indian subcontinent, many languages have disappeared.
Using Bangla in Present Day
Bangla is, no doubt, the everyday language of Bangladeshis; however, things are changing as more and more Bangladeshis are getting access to foreign satellite channels. More and more Bangladeshis can speak fluent Hindi due to all the Indian channel available via satellite. In the USA and in UK Hindi channels are easier to access as Bangladeshis abroad have higher purchasing power to subscribe to these channels.
Bangladeshi Youth
The Bangladeshi youth are moving away from the Bangla influence as Bollywood and other Hindi/Urdu entertainment move deeper into Bangladesh. In the urban areas of Bangladesh the youth can speak Hindi/Urdu fluently. They want to change with the world and they don’t want to left behind while youth of other countries move forward in modernization. The youth want to be with the crowd who are moving forward and they don’t want to be left behind with entertainment by Bengali singers with no professional reputation.
Bangladesh Entertainment
The entertainment in Bangladesh is one of the worst Desi entertainments I have seen. In movies the dancers aren’t coordinated, they try to copy Bollywood, at the same time they try to be too liberal to reach Hollywood’s level having explicit sexual scenes. The educated youth doesn’t want to see low quality entertainment, and they move lenient towards the modernized, superior quality of Bollywood entertainment.
The only good singers who I’ve seen in the main stream Bangladesh music industry is Habib Wahid and few others. Their music is unique with modern fusion mixed with Bangla tunes.
Hindi/Urdu and Bangla
As a youth myself I can understand the other reason people of my generation are moving away from the Bangla influence. In music, the Bangla language is not as appealing as Hindi/Urdu. There is something about Hindi and the sister language Urdu, which makes the Hindustani languages, that makes songs sound a lot better than Bangla. I know some Bengali culture nationalists will curse me out but I’m speaking the truth. Bengali nationalism blinds some people but it’s the truth and one can see it among the youth of Bangladesh.
I wouldn’t be surprised if in the near future Bangladeshis start releasing Hindustani albums. One of the first official singers was James who sang several songs such as Bheegei Bheegei for the movie Gangster and more songs in other several others for Bollywood movies.
The following video is a performance by a singer singing an Urdu song in UK Network Bangla organization’s performance.
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I have nothing against Hindi or Urdu, the sister languages are beautiful. Urdu will be my third language after Bangla and English. If someone who’s Indian/Pakistani asks me in Hindi/Urdu, I sometimes respond in Hindi/Urdu.
Did Hindi/Urdu Win Over Bangla?
In my opinion, no the language didn’t win, well not yet that is, but Hindustani is winning over Bangla because to young people like us, the sister languages of Hindi and Urdu are more appealing in Desi entertainment.
The following is the original music video of Atif Aslam’s Aadat. If you listen to the whole song you’ll realize how nice and rhythmic it sounds with the Urdu lyrics.
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Source: Satellites and South Asia, The 3rd World View
Tags: bangla, bangladeshi youth, bollywood, Hindi, Urdu
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