Teachers often remember a certain kind of child. It’s not always the one with the highest grades or the best memory for formulas, but the one who can speak well, make a point, hold everyone’s attention, and write a paragraph that truly means something. Usually, if you look back, that child grew up surrounded by books.
The statistics paint a bleak picture. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of Indians who listed Urdu as their mother tongue fell from 51 million to 50 million, even as the Muslim population in those areas increased. In Uttar Pradesh, which has long been a center for Urdu, only 28% of Muslims named it as their main language. The 2011 census pushed Urdu from sixth to seventh place among India’s most spoken languages, as Gujarati moved ahead. Fewer students have been enrolling in Urdu-medium schools for years. By almost every official measure, the language is shrinking.