Wow, that was a tour de force! I was intrigued at the beginning and then confused in the middle, as the article moved away from the original topic (or so it appeared to me), until the connection was made that "This is much more than a story about language—it is also about authority, about expertise, and about women and the manner in which they are allowed to live and speak."
However, may I ask if this narrative is based a little too much on the "northern perspective", which you are trying to avoid where possible to provide a parallel view? For example, isn't there a role of the south, particularly Hyderabad (which gets the briefest of mentions in the article) in the development of Urdu, which is omitted by the article?
Love your thoughtfulness and attention to beauty -awesome! The insane Hindi of All India Radio was an outgrowth of the process you describe - and it is good to note that along with Urdu a wide range of local Hindavi was also suppressed - elitism is octopus like A never just one oppression when you can get several extra for the same effort!
Wow, that was a tour de force! I was intrigued at the beginning and then confused in the middle, as the article moved away from the original topic (or so it appeared to me), until the connection was made that "This is much more than a story about language—it is also about authority, about expertise, and about women and the manner in which they are allowed to live and speak."
However, may I ask if this narrative is based a little too much on the "northern perspective", which you are trying to avoid where possible to provide a parallel view? For example, isn't there a role of the south, particularly Hyderabad (which gets the briefest of mentions in the article) in the development of Urdu, which is omitted by the article?
I look forward to future editions.
Love your thoughtfulness and attention to beauty -awesome! The insane Hindi of All India Radio was an outgrowth of the process you describe - and it is good to note that along with Urdu a wide range of local Hindavi was also suppressed - elitism is octopus like A never just one oppression when you can get several extra for the same effort!
A great inaugural piece - fascinating and insightful. I look forward to reading many more in the near future!