A historian has found notes from a public meeting in Meerut in 1867. Hindu speakers requested that Hindi written in Devanagari should replace Urdu in Persia...
Question 1 Report
A historian has found notes from a public meeting in Meerut in 1867. Hindu speakers requested that Hindi written in Devanagari should replace Urdu in Persian script in courts and offices. Muslim attendees argued that Urdu was an important part of their cultural identity. The historian is preparing a section on the reasons relations between Hindus and Muslims became more difficult in northern India during the nineteenth century.
(a) Identify the language supported by the Muslim attendees. [1]
(b) Explain why the Hindi-Urdu controversy worried many Muslims. [3]
(c) Analyse why this dispute was important for the development of the Pakistan Movement. [6]
Answer Details
(a) Urdu [1] (b) Urdu was linked with Muslim literary and cultural heritage [1]; replacement could reduce Muslim influence in courts and administration [1]; Muslims feared a Hindu majority would impose its preferences [1]. (c) It showed that Hindu and Muslim interests could conflict even within British India [2]; it strengthened the belief that Muslims formed a distinct community, not simply a religious minority [2]; Sir Syed and later Muslim leaders used such issues as evidence that constitutional safeguards or separate political representation were necessary [2].
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