Union minister for renewal energy Farooq Abdullah addresses the meet at Anjuman Islamia Hall in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Feb. 20: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today received praise from unexpected quarters. Union minister of renewal energy Farooq Abdullah patted Nitish’s back for the development in the state.

In Patna to attend an Urdu conference organised by Shah Mushtaq Ahmad Memorial Committee, Abdullah said: “I appreciate the development work undertaken by chief minister Nitish Kumar.

“Making Urdu the second language of the state is commendable. I would like to urge Nitish to work harder to make Urdu popular in the state government offices,” said Abdullah. The conference was organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Ahmad, a freedom fighter and leader of the Urdu movement.

Addressing the gathering at Anjuman Islamia Hall, Abdullah said: “People have tried to bury the language but it has become only better. Some people have even tried to play vote-bank political games. That is the reason why there are so few Muslim parliamentarians and why no state in the country recognised Urdu as its official language.”

But despite its drawbacks, Abdullah was confident of the indomitable spirit of the language and of the people who speak Urdu.

Enumerating the reasons for Urdu not losing its popularity, Abdullah said: “The first and foremost reason is English. It has captured the mind of the people. Most books — especially science books — are today published in English. People prefer English-trained doctors to the more traditional hakims and vaids.

“The Partition has also had its adverse effects. People have forgotten the language. Only people like Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh have kept the language alive in the minds of the people through their popular ghazals,” added the Union minister.

“Another reason for the diminishing popularity of Urdu is that the newspapers and magazines in the language are slowly dying out. Advertisement agencies feel that since Urdu newspapers do not have a wide circulation so there is no point in targeting them,” said Abdullah.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir also spoke on the political and social condition of the north Indian state. “People say Kashmiris want the state to be a part of Pakistan. But all that is rubbish,” said Abdullah.