The ruling came in response to a petition by a former councillor who challenged the use of Urdu on the signboard of the Patur Municipal Council building in Maharashtra’s Akola district
Published Apr 16, 2025 | 4:50 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 16, 2025 | 4:50 PM
Supreme Court (iStock)
Synopsis: In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court upheld the use of Urdu on municipal signboards in Maharashtra, affirming it as an Indo-Aryan language native to India. Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran emphasized language as a cultural unifier, not a divider, and hailed Urdu as a symbol of India’s Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, rejecting claims of it being a foreign language
In a landmark ruling affirming India’s linguistic diversity, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the use of Urdu on municipal signboards in Maharashtra, declaring it an Indo-Aryan language born in India, on par with Hindi and Marathi.
The bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran, ruled that language is an essential component of culture and should not be used to divide people.
The court emphasised that Urdu represents the “finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb”—a syncretic cultural tradition of the Indian subcontinent—and dismissed claims that the language is alien due to its script or associations.
The ruling came in response to a petition by a former councillor who challenged the use of Urdu on the signboard of the Patur Municipal Council building in Maharashtra’s Akola district.
The petitioner argued it violated the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022. The court, however, upheld the Bombay High Court’s earlier decision that found no legal prohibition on Urdu’s use.
Justice Dhulia noted, “Before language became a tool for learning, its earliest and primary purpose will always remain communication. The municipal council’s intent was effective communication, which the High Court rightly recognised.”
The bench further highlighted India’s vast linguistic landscape, citing Census 2001 data which recorded 122 major languages and 234 mother tongues.
Urdu, it noted, is the sixth most spoken scheduled language in India and is present across nearly all states and union territories.
Addressing misconceptions, the court pointed out that Urdu and Hindi are essentially two registers of the same language, separated largely by political and historical forces rather than linguistic distinctions.
“When we criticise Urdu, we are in a way also criticising Hindi,” the bench remarked, calling the religious association of the languages a “pitiable digression from reality.”
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
