Urdu in the United Kingdom (Urdu: برطانیہ میں اردو) is the fourth most commonly spoken language. It is seen as the lingua franca for around two million British South Asians, in the colloquial form of Hindostani language.[1] According to the 2021 census, 270,000 people (0.5% of UK residents) listed Urdu as their main language, an increase of 1,000 from 2011.[2]Ethnologue reports the total number of Urdu speakers in the UK at over 400,000.[3] Since the 1990s, the Department of Health has issued patient information (pamphlets etc.) in Urdu in conjunction with local authorities,[4] which has also led other organisations, institutions and councils to publish public information in Urdu.
Education
Britain's Anglophone tradition and inheritance centralises English as the national lingua and vernacular. Radical opportunities exist, however, for the productive growth of minority Commonwealth migrant languages such as Urdu and Punjabi, particularly in curriculum-based education,[5] and many Urdu literary societies exist in the UK,[1]: 334 such as the CU Urdu society.[6] The history of Urdu in British Education can be traced to as early as the 1800s when, under one of its old names, Hindustani,[1] it was being taught to EIC recruits and civil servants, which was mandatory for those wishing to join the Indian Civil Service.[7] For this reason, the East India Company founded the Oriental Institute in London, in 1816.[8]
In Britain, Urdu has been standardised for education, and opportunities to incorporate Urdu as part of teaching exist all the way from primary education to a PhD in Urdu. Urdu books are also widely found in British libraries, where in 1967, Britain's first Urdu library was opened in Nottingham.[8]
Curriculum-wise, students in the UK are able to take Urdu as a GCSE and A-Level subject,[9][10]: 20 which is examined by the AQA and Edexcel exam-board,[11][12] and in 2015, Manchester Metropolitan University became the first university in the UK to offer an Urdu degree.[13] Around 5,000 students in England take Urdu as a GCSE subject every year,[14] and as per Ofqual, in 2023, 3,795 students certified in GCSE Urdu, an increase of 8% from the year before.[15]
Scotland
Urdu became the first non-European language which was recognised at a Higher level, back in 2006, when the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) incorporated Urdu as a Higher subject for the first time.[16] In 2022, 90 students partook an Urdu exam at Higher level.[17]
Media
Periodicals
1880s-1920s
Ghulam Hamdani Mushafi, the poet first believed to have coined the name "Urdu" around 1780 AD for a language that went by a multiplicity of names before his time.[18]
One of the earliest Urdu periodicals in the UK was established in London during the 1880-90s, and was known as the Ainah-e-Angrezi Saudagri (آئینۂ انگریزی سوداگری) – Mirror of British Merchandise and, undoubtedly, it revolved mainly around trade relations with the Raj.[19]: 13 Following this, Urdu periodicals transpired during the First World War, when the Urdu press was established by the British government during the 1910s, when publications like Jangi Akhbar (the War Journal) emerged, shortly after Urdu captions being discontinued from the pictorial newspaper Al-Haqiqah – the Truth. Similar newspapers, like the فوجی اخبار (Fauji Akhbar – the Military Newspaper) also existed in London.[8] It carried on until 1919, post World War I, which paved way for the Taswiri Akhbar (the Pictorial News) paper.[19]: 18–19 In 1920, a newspaper by the name of ہند – Hind (which was later rebranded to United India) was established by some Indian students, which supposedly held on until 1930.[8][19]: 21–22
Immigration Era Press
The wave of migrants during the 1950s from South Asian countries like India and Pakistan, following World War II, introduced the modern era of Urdu periodicals in Britain. These Urdu papers were characterised by a different approach and different pattern of ownership and coverage. Urdu papers up until 1965 were all launched by immigrants from Pakistan[19]: 37 and due to the lack of coverage of news in British media regarding their homeland, Urdu newspapers quickly became the source of communication for immigrants from Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. These began with weekly newspapers such as نوائے وقت – Nawa-e-Waqt (The Voice of the Time), which published 'overseas editions' that were sent over to 'Britain'. Due to issues in logistics and not being able to properly distribute the paper, it was unable to 'completely satisfy the immigrants' need' and eventually collapsed.[19]
In 1961, a weekly by the name of مشرق – Mashriq ('The East') was launched by a student studying at Birmingham university, along with an editor of a Pakistani daily. The Mashriq, which published stories from the Pothohar Plateau from London, was embraced by the immigrants at the time, and it became a source of unity for a variety of reasons.[20][19]: 27–29 As many of the immigrants were illiterate in English at the time, the paper would print their rights on the columns to raise awareness. Being a modern paper, it introduced advertisements for various industries, such as the Urdu magazines and Urdu cinemas. It continued on until the 1970s, when it's decline came about due to the rise of the daily Urdu press.[19] The Mashriq remained as the sole Urdu newspaper in Britain during this period until the launch of the weekly 'Asia' from Birmingham, setup by a Pakistani journalist from Azad Kashmir. It's lifespan was brief and was eventually taken over by 'Mashriq' in 1969 to be turned into a daily in '71, however this again did not last as the paper turned into a weekly a year later, before finally disappearing.
The first non-Pakistani Urdu paper was published by an Indian Punjabi in August 1965, and was known as ملاپ – Milap (Reunion). Other weeklies like اخبارِ وطن – Akhbar-e-Watan (News from Home) were brought out in London, in 1969, by the veteran journalist Inayat Ullah, who also launched The Mashriq, followed by جنگ – the Daily Jang(The War) in 1971. It is one of the few papers that has published regularly since its inception. Since then, many weekly, fortnightly, and monthly Urdu language periodicals were once published in the UK.[21][19]: 37–39
21st Century
Aside from BBC Urdu, The Independent, which was previously a print newspaper, operates an Urdu-branded website, which began in 2018.[22] Some newspapers like the Daily Jang can be obtained from libraries.[10]: 20
The largest Urdu-speaking communities in the UK are predominantly found in Northern England.[27] Urdu is the most spoken language, after English, in cities like Manchester,[28] where in certain areas like Rusholme, Longsight and Cheetham Hill, signs and posters in Urdu are a common sight, and often used to promote businesses and products.[10]: 20 London and Bradford are considered two major Urdu centres, among cities like Islamabad, Karachi and Hyderabad.[1]: 334
As per the 2021 UK Census in England and Wales[29]
Queen Victoria was taught to write Urdu after requesting her servant Abdul Karim, who had arrived in England to deliver a seal mark celebrating the Queen's Golden Jubilee.[30] She began learning in 1887, and also began keeping a diary written in Urdu, which she called her 'Hindustani Journal', totalling 13 volumes altogether.[31]
^ abcdFarooqi, Muhammad Aslam (2021-08-05). "برطانیہ میں اردو کی ترقی" [The development of Urdu in Britain]. Adbi Miras (in Urdu). Retrieved 2023-05-02.
^Gillespie, Marie; Webb, Alban (2013). Diasporas and Diplomacy: Cosmopolitan Contact Zones at the BBC World Service (1932-2012). Routledge. p. 167. ISBN978-0-415-50880-3. The Urdu Service reflected the life of the Asian community in Britain for the benefit of target audiences in India and Pakistan. In that sense the service acted as a bridge between the diaspora and their home communities. But it was only in the 1990s, with the emergence of satellite communication, that Asian audiences in Britain acquired much easier access to BBC service for Asia and to Indian and Pakistani TV channels. From the late 1970s, the Urdu service broadcast a number of ambitious feature programmes which reflected the increasingly global character of the Urdu speaking community. For example, after the oil price hike of 1973, the Gulf exploded as a destination for Pakistanis and Indians, many of them in professional jobs but hundreds of thousands employed as laborers with minimal rights.
