It is very interesting the way style is being used by the Indian news media. The freshness with which words are being coined to convey news is a reason for its popularity. For example, the English plural “cars” has taken the form of “caren” in Urdu and Hindustani, US-based linguist M.J. Warsi said in a BBC interview.

Originally from Samastipur district of Bihar, Warsi is well-known to me. We had a long meeting over dinner when he came to his native state in November last year. Warsi enlightened me on the many nuances of regional languages in India. Obviously, I instantly remembered him when I watched him on BBC and wanted to hear more about the languages in use in our part of the world, particularly the ones used in imparting formal education in schools.

As a lover of Indian languages, I felt a bit disappointed over the reported loss of interest in Urdu and Hindi in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. A section of local academics impressed upon me that almost all elite families prefer English as the medium of education in the wake of globalisation and acceptance of English as the “international” language. Warsi gave me a different picture.

Warsi told me: “As per Indian Census, the total number of Urdu and Hindi speakers has steadily increased from 28.6 million in 1971 to approximately 40 million in 1991. Though it ranks sixth among the scheduled languages of India, the speakers are spread across different states and union territories. During the past few years, I have read many articles related to Urdu and education in India that have been carried in English, Hindi and Urdu dailies. If you look at history, you will find that the position of Urdu and Hindi is unique among Indian languages.”

Citing the example of Patna, which produces as many as four Urdu language newspapers, Warsi said that Urdu and Hindustani has emerged as a secular, prominent and widely-used language in major parts of India. Contrary to the popular notion, Warsi said that globalisation has in fact increased the importance of the regional languages in the west. They now want to understand the culture of our region. “Language is the basis for understanding a culture. Thus, the notion that globalisation causes harm to the regional languages is baseless,” he said. He feels the mother language should be considered the best-medium for basic education.

Doctorate in psycholinguistic and author of Language and Communication, Warsi teaches eastern languages in the literature department of Washington University in St Louis. But Warsi is not your typical professor. He can be better described as an “academic activist”.

“I have planned to visit Bihar again in May,” Warsi said adding, “I will follow up on my project to set up a linguistic studies centre there.” I wish him all success.