ARTICLE 142

1. Context

2. About Article 142 

• Article 142 provides a unique power to the Supreme Court, to do "complete justice" between the parties, where at times, the law or statute may not provide a remedy.
• In those situations, the Court can extend itself to put an end to a dispute in a manner that would fit the facts of the case.

3. Courts exercising this power

• While the powers under Article 142 are sweeping in nature, SC has defined its scope and extent through its judgments over time.
• In the Prem Chand Garg Case, the majority opinion demarcated the contours for the exercise of the Court's powers under Article 142 (1) by saying that an order to do complete justice between the parties "must not only be consistent with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, but it cannot even be inconsistent with the substantive provisions of the relevant statutory laws," referring to laws made by Parliament.
• Therefore, we do not think it would be possible to hold that Article 142 (1) confers upon this Court powers which can contravene the provisions of Article 32 (right to constitutional remedies), it said.
• The Seven-judge bench in "Antulay" upheld the 1962 ruling in "Prem Chand Garg".
• Notably, in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case (Union Carbide Corporation vs Union of India) the SC in 1991 ordered UCC to pay $470 million in compensation for the victims of the tragedy.
• In doing so, the Bench highlighted the wide scope of Article 142 (1), adding that it found it "necessary to set at rest certain misconceptions in the arguments touching the scope of the powers of this court under Article 142 (1) of the  Constitution.
• Deeming the power under Article 142 to be "at an entirely different level and of a different quality", the court clarified that "prohibitions on limitations on provisions contained in ordinary laws cannot, ipso-facto, act as prohibitions or limitations on the constitutional powers under Article 142".
• Adding that it would be "wholly incorrect" to say that powers under Article 142 are subject to express statutory prohibitions, the court reasoned that doing so would convey the idea that statutory provisions override a constitutional provision.

4. Criticism on Article 142

• The sweeping nature of these powers has invited the criticism that they are arbitrary and ambiguous.
• It is further argued that the court then has wide discretion and this allows the possibility of its arbitrary exercise or misuse due to the absence of a standard definition for the term "complete justice".
• Defining "Complete justice" is a subjective exercise that differs in its interpretation from case to case. Thus, the court has to place checks on itself.
• In 1998, the apex court in "Supreme Court Bar Association vs Union of India" held that the powers under Article 142 are supplementary and could not be used to supplant or override a substantive law and "build a new edifice where none existed earlier".
• The court said that the powers conferred by Article 142 are curative and cannot be construed as powers "Which authorise the court to ignore the substantive rights of a litigant while dealing with a cause pending before it".
• Adding that Article 142 cannot be used to build a new edifice, ignoring statutory provisions dealing with a subject the court also said that the provision cannot be used "to achieve something indirectly which cannot be achieved directly".
• More recently, in its 2006 ruling in "A. Jideranath vs Jubillee Hills Co-op House Building Society, the Supreme Court discussed the scope of the power here, holding that in its exercise no injustice should be caused to a person not party to the case.
• Another criticism of the powers under Article 142 is that unlike the legislature and the executive, the judiciary cannot be held accountable for its actions.
• The power has been criticised on grounds of the separation of powers doctrine, which says that the judiciary should not venture into areas of lawmaking and that it would invite the possibility of judicial overreach.
• However, the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution was mindful of the wide-reaching nature of the powers and reserved it only for exceptional situations, which the existing law would have failed to anticipate.
• Additionally, the apex court has imposed checks on its power under Article 142.
• In 2006, the SC ruling by a five-judge Bench in "State of Karnataka vs Umadevi" also clarified that "complete justice" under Article 142 means justice according to law and not sympathy while holding that it will "not grant a relief which would amount to perpetuating illegality encroaching into the legislative domain".

NEW PANDEMIC TREATY

1. Context 

The WHO’s Draft Pandemic Treaty, which will be presented at the World Health Assembly on May 19, is limited in scope compared to the pact proposed during the Covid years. Yet, it’s a significant step forward towards securing the world against Covid-like crises.

 

2. About Pandemic Treaty

• The WHO already has binding rules known as the International Health Regulations, which in 2005 set out countries' obligations where public health events have the potential to cross borders.
• These include advising the WHO immediately of a health emergency and measures on trade and travel.
• Adopted after the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, these regulations are still considered appropriate for regional epidemics, such as Ebola but inadequate for a global pandemic.
• These regulations are also being reviewed in the wake of COVID-19.
• For the new more wide-reaching pandemic accord, member states have agreed that it should be legally binding for those who sign up, overcoming early reservations from the United States.
• It would be only the second such health accord after the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a treaty which aims to reduce smoking via taxation and rules on labelling and advertising.
• However, the proposed treaty has come under fire on social media, mostly from right-wing critics warning it could lead to countries ceding authority to the WHO.
• The body strongly refutes this, stressing that governments are leading the negotiations and are free to reject the accord.

3. Views on the pact

• The European Union, which proposed the accord is seen as its biggest backer. 
• Developing countries, especially in Africa are keen to use the negotiations to secure better access to vaccines following allegations of "vaccine apartheid" from the WHO's Director-General Tedros.
• After five rounds of formal negotiations, the latest 208-page draft of the treaty still includes thousands of brackets, which mark areas of disagreement or undecided language, including over the definition of the word "pandemic".
• With so many member countries involved, securing an agreement may be tricky.

4. Regulations

• It is not yet clear how the 2005 regulations and the new pandemic accord might fit together.
• One suggestion is that they should be complementary so that existing rules apply to local outbreaks with the new rules kicking in if the WHO declares a pandemic something it does not currently have a mandate to do.
• It is also not yet clear what happens if the measures are not followed.
• A Co-chair of the talks said it would be preferable to have a peer-review process, rather than sanction non-compliant states.

5. Reforms in the work

• Separate talks on reforming the 2005 rules are taking place, with countries proposing some 300 amendments.
• Washington's initial proposals aimed to boost transparency and grant the WHO quicker access to outbreak sites.
• China did allow WHO-led expert teams to visit the COVID-19 epicentre in Wuhan, but the WHO says Beijing is still withholding clinical data from early cases that may hold clues about the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• Negotiators privately grumble about the overlap between the two sets of talks and a joint meeting to clarify their agendas is planned.

 

For Prelims: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 virus, WHO, Pandemic Treaty, For Mains: 1. What is the pandemic Treaty? Discuss how the World Health Organization could fight future pandemics. (250 Words)

 

Source: The Indian Express

 

TARIFFS

 

 

1. Context

 

The last time that the American dollar, US bonds and stock markets recorded a simultaneous sell off over multiple days was nearly half a century ago – in 1977-78. This would be particularly consequential for the man at the helm of the US Federal Reserve, and person entrusted with the twin mandates of maintaining full employment and price stability in the American economy – Jerome Powell.

2. What is a Tariff?

• Most countries are limited by their natural resources and ability to produce certain goods and services.
• They trade with other countries to get what their population needs and demands. However, trade isn't always conducted in an amenable manner between trading partners.
• Policies, geopolitics, competition, and many other factors can make trading partners unhappy. One of the ways governments deal with trading partners they disagree with is through tariffs.
• A tariff is a tax imposed by one country on the goods and services imported from another country to influence it, raise revenues, or protect competitive advantages.

3. Key Take Aways

• Governments impose tariffs to raise revenue, protect domestic industries, or exert political leverage over another country.
• Tariffs often result in unwanted side effects, such as higher consumer prices.
• Tariffs have a long and contentious history, and the debate over whether they represent good or bad policy still rages.

4. History of Tariffs

4.1 Pre Modern Europe

• In pre-modern Europe, a nation's wealth was believed to consist of fixed, tangible assets,  such as gold, silver, land, and other physical resources.
• Trade was seen as a Zero-sum game that resulted in either a clear net loss or a clear net gain of wealth.
• If a country imported more than it exported, a resource, mainly gold, would flow abroad, thereby draining its wealth. Cross-border trade was viewed with suspicion, and countries preferred to acquire colonies with which they could establish exclusive trading relationships rather than trading with each other.
• This system, known as mercantilism, relied heavily on tariffs and even outright bans on trade. The colonizing country, which saw itself as competing with other colonizers, would import raw materials from its colonies, which were generally barred from selling their raw materials elsewhere.
• The colonizing country would convert the materials into manufactured wares, which it would sell back to the colonies. High tariffs and other barriers were implemented to ensure that colonies only purchased manufactured goods from their home countries. 

4.2 Late 19th and early 20th Centuries

• Relatively free trade enjoyed a heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the idea took hold that international commerce had made large-scale wars between nations so expensive and counterproductive that they were obsolete.
• World War I proved that idea wrong, and nationalist approaches to trade, including high tariffs, dominated until the end of World War II.
• From that point on, free trade enjoyed a 50-year resurgence, culminating in the creation in 1995 of the World Trade Organisation  (WTO), which acts as an international forum for settling disputes and laying down ground rules.
• Free trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the European Union (EU), also proliferated.

4.3 In the 21st Century

• Skepticism of this model sometimes labeled neoliberalism by critics who tie it to 19th-century liberal arguments in favor of free trade grew, however, and Britain in 2016 voted to leave the European Union.
• That same year Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on a platform that included a call for tariffs on Chinese and Mexican imports, which he implemented when he took office.
• Critics of tariff-free multilateral trade deals, who come from both ends of the political spectrum, argue that they erode national sovereignty and encourage a race to the bottom regarding wages, worker protections, and product quality and standards.
• Meanwhile, the defenders of such deals counter that tariffs lead to trade wars, hurt consumers, and hamper innovation.

5. Understanding Tariffs

• Tariffs are used to restrict imports. Simply put, they increase the price of goods and services purchased from another country, making them less attractive to domestic consumers.
• A key point to understand is that a tariff affects the exporting country because consumers in the country that imposed the tariff might shy away from imports due to the price increase. However, if the consumer still chooses the imported product, then the tariff has essentially raised the cost to the consumer in another country.

There are two types of tariffs:

• A specific tariff is levied as a fixed fee based on the type of item, such as a $500 tariff on a car.
• An ad-valorem tariff is levied based on the item's value, such as 5% of an import's value.

6. Why Government Imposes Tariffs?

Governments may impose tariffs for several reasons

6.1 Raise Revenues

Tariffs can be used to raise revenues for governments. This kind of tariff is called a revenue tariff and is not designed to restrict imports. For instance, in 2018 and 2019, President Donald Trump and his administration imposed tariffs on many items to rebalance the trade deficit. In the fiscal year 2019, customs duties received were $18 billion. In FY 2020, duties received were $21 billion.

6.2 Protect Domestic Industries

Governments can use tariffs to benefit particular industries, often doing so to protect companies and jobs. For example, in May 2022, President Joe Biden proposed a 25% ad valorem tariff on steel articles from all countries except Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom (the U.K. has a quota of an aggregate of 500,000 metric tons it can trade with the U.S.). This proclamation reopens the trade of specific items with the U.K. while taking measures to protect domestic U.S. steel manufacturing and production jobs.

6.3 Protect Domestic Consumers

By making foreign-produced goods more expensive, tariffs can make domestically-produced alternatives seem more attractive. Some products made in countries with fewer regulations can harm consumers, such as a product coated in lead-based paint. Tariffs can make these products so expensive that consumers won't buy them.

6.4 Protect National Interests

Tariffs can also be used as an extension of foreign policy as their imposition on a trading partner's main exports may be used to exert economic leverage. For example, when Russia invaded Ukraine, much of the world protested by boycotting Russian goods or imposing sanctions. In April 2022, President Joe Biden suspended normal trade with Russia. In June, he raised the tariff on Russian imports not prohibited by the April suspension to 35%.

7. Advantages of Tariffs

• Produce revenues: As discussed, tariffs provide a government a chance to bring in more money. This can relieve some of the tax burdens felt by a county's citizens and help the government to reduce deficits.
• Open negotiations: Tariffs can be used by countries to open negotiations for trade or other issues. Each side can use tariffs to help them create economic policies and talk with trade partners.
• Support a nation's goals: One of the most popular uses for tariffs is to use them to ensure domestic products receive preference within a country to support businesses and the economy.
• Make a market predictable: Tariffs can help stabilize a market and make prices predictable.

8. Disadvantages of Tariffs

• Create issues between governments: Many nations use tariffs to punish or discourage actions they disapprove of. Unfortunately, doing this can create tensions between two countries and lead to more problems.
• Initiate trade wars: A typical response for a country with tariffs imposed on it is to respond similarly, creating a trade war in which neither country benefits from the other.

For Prelims: Tariffs, Zero-sum game, Cross-border trade, World Trade Organisation  (WTO), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and the European Union (EU). For Mains: 1. What is a Tariff and explain why government imposes tariffs. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with Tariffs. (250 Words).

Source: Investopedia

 

 

CHAMPARAN SATYAGRAHA

 

 

 

1. Context

 

Champaran Satyagraha was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in April 1917. This year marks the 108th anniversary of the movement. It was the first major act of Satyagraha by Gandhi. It is commemorated as an awakening of Indian peasants against the colonial planters and policies in India. To a large extent, it drew inspiration from Gandhi’s South African experience.

 

2. Champaran Satyagraha

 

• Indigo had long been a prominent crop in India, cultivated and processed by local farmers for generations. However, during the 17th century, European-run slave plantations in the West Indies also began indigo production.
• Following the British conquest of Bengal, European indigo planters started arriving and, after acquiring zamindaris, began compelling local peasants to cultivate indigo for processing in their establishments.
• By the early 1800s, white planters in what is now northwest Bihar enforced oppressive contracts known as teenkathia, which required cultivators to allocate three-twentieths of their land to indigo cultivation.
• Germany’s drive for industrial self-sufficiency led to the invention of synthetic dye by Adolf von Bayer, who would later win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1905.
• This invention drastically lowered the price of natural indigo from Bihar, reducing the profitability of European indigo estates in India.
• Historian Irfan Habib notes that this resulted in a sharp decline in India’s indigo export value—from Rs 4.75 crore in 1894-95 to Rs 2.96 crore within just five years. As profits dropped, planters responded by increasing the financial burden on farmers under the guise of their zamindari rights.
• In addition to these increasing rents, planters exploited the begar system—a feudal practice of extracting unpaid or meagerly paid labor. They freely commandeered peasants’ livestock, tools, and even labor for their plantations.
• On February 27, 1917, Raj Kumar Shukla, representing the tenant farmers of Champaran, wrote to Mahatma Gandhi, urging him to witness their dire living conditions. His letter poignantly began, “You listen to others’ tales every day, today, hear mine.” He claimed that the peasants of Champaran, in northern Bihar, were suffering worse than Indians in South Africa.
• Upon arriving in Champaran, Gandhi was instructed to leave but chose to defy the order, stating he would accept any legal consequences instead. Historian Shahid Amin recounts that on April 18, 1917, in a courtroom in Motihari, Gandhi—then relatively new to Indian politics—refused to comply with Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. In doing so, he challenged the British government's authority to suppress the voices of the impoverished indigo farmers.
• The government, unprepared for confrontation, backed down. A significant meeting took place on June 5 between Gandhi, Lt. Governor E.A. Gait, and Chief Secretary H. McPherson in Ranchi. This led to the formation of an enquiry committee, including Gandhi, zamindari and planter representatives, and British officials.
• Gandhi gathered testimonies from over 8,000 farmers, firmly advocating for the end of the teenkathia system, elimination of illegal cesses (abwabs), and compensation for unjust extractions. The committee’s recommendations were largely accepted by the government, culminating in the Champaran Agrarian Act of 191

 

Neel Darpan   In September 1860, Dinabandhu Mitra released a Bengali play titled Neel Darpan (meaning "Blue Mirror"), which powerfully portrayed the brutalities inflicted by indigo planters. The play was set against the backdrop of the Indigo Revolt that took place in Bengal during 1859–60

 

3. Tinkathia System

 

• The Tinkathia system was an exploitative agricultural arrangement imposed by British indigo planters in parts of eastern India, particularly in the Champaran region of present-day Bihar.
• Under this system, local farmers were forced to grow indigo on a fixed portion of their land—specifically, three kathas out of every twenty kathas of their holdings.
• Since twenty kathas made up a bigha of land, this effectively meant that 15% of a farmer’s cultivable land had to be devoted to indigo cultivation, regardless of the farmer’s own preferences or needs.
• The cultivation of indigo under this system was not only coercive but also deeply unjust. Indigo, while lucrative for European planters, was detrimental to the soil and offered little economic return to the Indian peasants who were compelled to grow it.
• The farmers were typically not paid fairly for their produce and had to bear the costs of cultivation themselves. As a result, they were often pushed into debt and poverty, while the planters made significant profits.
• What made the system even more oppressive was the way it was enforced. Backed by zamindari rights and colonial authority, the planters would often use threats, force, and legal manipulation to ensure compliance. The peasants had little recourse and were left with minimal land to grow food crops for their own sustenance.
• The Tinkathia system became a symbol of colonial exploitation, and it was one of the main grievances that led to the Champaran Satyagraha in 1917.
• Led by Mahatma Gandhi, this movement brought national attention to the plight of indigo farmers and eventually resulted in the abolition of the system through legislative reforms, including the enactment of the Champaran Agrarian Act of 1918

 

4.Causes of Champaran Satyagraha

 

The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917, led by Mahatma Gandhi, was a landmark movement in India’s freedom struggle and marked Gandhi’s first active involvement in Indian mass politics. The agitation was primarily triggered by the oppression of indigo farmers in the Champaran district of Bihar under British colonial rule.

 

The major causes of the Champaran Satyagraha can be explained as follows:

 

• The central cause of the agitation was the Tinkathia system, under which local peasants were forced to cultivate indigo on 3/20ths of their land (three kathas out of every twenty). This system was enforced by European indigo planters, often through coercion and backed by zamindari rights. Indigo exhausted the fertility of the soil and yielded little income for the cultivators, leaving them economically ruined
• With the invention of synthetic dyes in Europe, the demand for natural indigo declined sharply. Despite this, planters continued to pressure peasants to grow indigo, offering them very low prices or even forcing them to sell it at a loss. In many cases, farmers were not paid at all for their indigo crops.
• As the profits of the indigo planters fell, they began to extract more money from the farmers by increasing land rents and imposing illegal cesses or abwabs. These charges were unjust and placed a heavy financial burden on the already struggling peasants.
• Planters also made widespread use of begar, a feudal practice involving unpaid or poorly paid forced labour. Farmers were compelled to provide labour, bullocks, carts, and other resources for the planter's benefit without any remuneration
• Beyond economic exploitation, the peasants—most of whom belonged to lower castes—faced social discrimination and harassment. They were denied access to public facilities and were treated inhumanely by the British planters and their agents
• The peasants had no effective legal protection. The courts and local administration often sided with the British planters, leaving the farmers without a platform to voice their grievances or seek justice
• A key turning point came when Raj Kumar Shukla, a local peasant leader, approached Mahatma Gandhi during a Congress session in Lucknow (1916) and urged him to visit Champaran. Moved by the plight of the farmers, Gandhi agreed and traveled to the region, launching a non-violent civil disobedience campaign

 

5. British Reaction to Champaran Satyagraha

 

• The British response to the Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was marked by initial resistance, followed by strategic accommodation. When Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Champaran to investigate the grievances of indigo farmers subjected to the oppressive Tinkathia system, the colonial authorities attempted to suppress his efforts.
• They issued an order under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, directing him to leave the district.
• Gandhi, however, chose to defy this order, leading to his arrest. His trial garnered significant public attention and support, compelling the British to release him without punishment .​
• Recognizing the growing momentum of the movement and the potential for widespread unrest, the British administration shifted its approach. They engaged in negotiations with Gandhi, resulting in the formation of a committee to investigate the farmers' complaints.
• Gandhi's involvement in this committee lent it credibility, and his meticulous documentation of the farmers' plight led to significant reforms.
• The oppressive Tinkathia system was abolished, and measures were implemented to improve the conditions of the indigo cultivators .​
• This episode marked a turning point in colonial policy, demonstrating the effectiveness of non-violent resistance and compelling the British to address the injustices faced by Indian peasants

 

6. Significance of Champaran Satyagraha

 

• The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 holds immense significance in the history of India’s freedom struggle, not just as a protest against agrarian exploitation, but as a transformative moment in Indian politics and society.
• It marked the first successful application of Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of non-violent civil disobedience (satyagraha) in India and laid the foundation for mass movements that would later challenge British rule on a national scale.
• Before Champaran, Gandhi had gained recognition for his activism in South Africa, but he had yet to engage directly with the Indian masses. Champaran provided him with that opportunity.
• Upon his arrival in the region, Gandhi encountered the deep distress of indigo cultivators, who were subjected to the oppressive Tinkathia system, forced to grow indigo on a portion of their land, and exploited by British planters with little legal or administrative recourse.
• His decision to disobey British orders to leave Champaran was a bold assertion of moral authority over colonial law. By standing trial and refusing to back down, he transformed a local issue into a broader question of justice and the legitimacy of British rule.
• The British, initially confrontational, eventually backed down and allowed Gandhi to conduct an inquiry. This led to the establishment of a committee, on which Gandhi was included. His evidence, collected from thousands of farmers, led to the abolition of the Tinkathia system and the introduction of the Champaran Agrarian Act in 1918, which formally recognized the rights of the peasants.
• The success of this movement demonstrated the power of peaceful mass mobilization and encouraged ordinary Indians, especially in rural areas, to participate in political action.
• Moreover, Champaran revealed Gandhi’s unique method of leadership—emphasizing self-reliance, constructive work, and ethical protest. During the course of the movement, Gandhi also set up voluntary efforts for rural education and sanitation, showing that his concept of swaraj (self-rule) was not limited to political independence but extended to social reform.
• In essence, the Champaran Satyagraha was not just about indigo or Bihar—it was a symbolic awakening of the Indian peasantry, a test of Gandhian strategy, and a challenge to colonial authority. It showed that injustice could be confronted with courage and truth, without violence, and it firmly established Gandhi as a national leader.
• The movement thus marked the beginning of a new phase in India’s struggle for freedom—one rooted in mass participation, moral resistance, and non-violent defiance

 

 

For Prelims: Tinkatiya System, Champaran Satyagraha, Mahad Satyagraha   For Mains: GS I - Modern Indian History

 

 

Previous Year Questions   1. Indigo cultivation in India declined by the beginning of the 20th century because of (UPSC CSE 2020)   (a) peasant resistance to the oppressive conduct of planters (b) its unprofitability in the world market because of new inventions (c) national leaders’ opposition to the cultivation of indigo (d) Government control over the planters Answer: (b)   2. Which one of the following is a very significant aspect of the Champaran Satyagraha? (UPSC CSE 2018)   (a) Active all-India participation of lawyers, students and women in the National Movement. (b) Active involvement of Dalit and Tribal communities of India in the National Movement. (c) Joining of peasant unrest to India’s National Movement. (d) Drastic decrease in the cultivation of plantation crops and commercial crops Answer: (c)

 

Source: Indianexpress

 

URDU 

 

 

1. Context

 

Recently, the Supreme Court has upheld the use of Urdu on the signboard of a municipal council building in Maharashtra in Varshatai w/o Sanjay Bagade vs State Of Maharashtra case. The court has said that language is culture and must not become a cause for dividing people, and Urdu “is the finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, or the Hindustani tehzeeb

 

2. Urdu as a Language

 

• Urdu language experts suggest that Urdu originated on the Indian subcontinent several centuries ago. Historical records frequently mention three locations within India where the language evolved and prospered under different names over time.

• It is commonly believed that Urdu emerged in the military camps of Delhi, where it served as a linguistic bridge among soldiers from diverse regions, incorporating vocabulary from various languages to facilitate communication.

• However, literary critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi challenges this view. He argues that Urdu developed as the native tongue of residents in a specific quarter of Mughal Delhi, known as Urdu-e-Moalla-e-Shahjahanabad—meaning the "Exalted City of Shahjahanabad."

• In his work Ghurrat-ul-Kamal, Ameer Khusro refers to Masood Lahori (Masood Saad Salman)—an 11th-century poet from Lahore—who composed verses in Hindvi, also referred to as Dehlavi.

• This, according to Professor Ali Abbas of Punjab University, indicates that Urdu had its early roots in Punjab. Before being officially recognized as "Urdu," the language was known by various names, including Hindustani, Hindavi, Dehlavi, and Rekhta.

• Historical records also show that Urdu, after originating in Punjab, underwent significant growth and refinement during the Delhi Sultanate period. It expanded not just in Delhi but also in neighboring regions such as Haryana and parts of southern India, where it took on the form of Dakhni (or Deccani) Urdu.

• Notably, Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, the ruler of Golkonda and a scholar proficient in Urdu, Persian, and Telugu, is credited with being the first Urdu poet to compile a full poetic collection (Saheb-e-Dewan). He played a significant role in shaping Hindustani into a more developed form.

• Saif Mahmood further observes that the spoken language in the Urdu-Hindi region was traditionally Hindustani—a natural blend of Hindi and Urdu. Until the mid-20th century, this hybrid tongue was commonly written in both the Nastaliq script (Urdu) and the Devanagari script (Hindi), while everyday conversation avoided heavily Sanskritised or Persianised vocabulary

 

3. Urdu as an Official Language

 

 

• English and Hindi serve as the two official languages recognized by the Central Government of India. Urdu, although not an official language at the national level, is one of the 15 Indian languages featured on Indian currency notes. It holds official status in several states and union territories, including Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, and West Bengal. In Punjab, historical documents maintained by the Revenue Department are still preserved in Urdu.

• As per the Census of 2001, India was home to 122 significant languages, including the 22 languages officially recognized in the Eighth Schedule, along with 234 mother tongues. Urdu ranked sixth among the most widely spoken scheduled languages. It is used, at least by a segment of the population, in nearly every Indian state and union territory, with the likely exception of the northeastern states, as highlighted in a judicial verdict.

• The Constitution of India, specifically Articles 344(1) and 351, outlines the framework for the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule. This Schedule includes the following 22 officially recognized languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and Dogri.

• According to Clause 1 of Article 343, Hindi written in the Devanagari script is designated as the official language of the Union. It also states that the numerals used for official purposes shall follow the international format of Indian numerals.

• Article 343(2) provides that for the first fifteen years after the Constitution came into effect (starting January 26, 1950), English would continue to be used for all Union-level official functions, as it had been prior to that date.

• Furthermore, Article 343(3) empowers Parliament to legislate, after the expiration of this fifteen-year period, regarding the continued use of English or the use of Devanagari numerals for specific official purposes as defined by such law

 

Important Facts   The inaugural Urdu newspaper, Jam-i-Jahan-Numa, was launched on March 27, 1822, as a weekly publication by Harihar Dutta in Kolkata. The Urdu press played a pivotal role as the revolutionary voice during British colonial rule. It was instrumental in the enactment of the Vernacular Press Act of 1877 and popularized the slogan "Inqilab Zindabad"—a call for revolution that remains a symbol of resistance to this day. Maulvi Muhammad Baqir (1780-1857), a prominent Urdu journalist, was the first to sacrifice his life for the nation. He founded the Delhi Urdu Akhbar, which supported the nationalist cause following the 1857 revolt. After the uprising began on May 10, 1857, Baqir renamed the newspaper "Akhbar-us-Zafar" (Newspaper of Zafar) in honor of the rebellion's leader

 

 

For Prelims: Official Language, Delhi Sultanate   For Mains: GS I - Art & Culture, GS II - Polity

 

 

Source: Indianexpress