Anti-establishmentarian rhetoric
in India habitually conjures Urdu imagery and artistry. The same can be conceivably
ascribed to the fact the rhetoric is an amalgamation of Islamic revivalism in
attempts to reclaim its socio-political veto, Marxism ceaselessly in quest of a
villain (Modi-Shah as new bourgeoisie) subduing the proletariat (Islam) and
Nehruvian posterities unable to come to terms with the loss of power and
privileges associated thereof and amplified by the Indian media cacophony. As I
cited in Why Elitism Flourishes?
http://stalkingtheory.blogspot.com/2019/12/why-elitism-flourishes.html
, clubs once formed are protectionist but barriers to entry are formidable with
connections not merit defining the benchmarks for admission.
Foot soldiers desire to enter
upper layers of the elite pyramid and therefore thus a need on their part to
demonstrate their eligibility. Implied is using certain signals in conveying
their utility to the apex. The competition however is harsh. The system honours
a certain rigour, not in the standard sense of the term, but within the
requirements of furtherance of the agenda of the club. Oratory with free flow
of Urdu poetry, in the given perspective, ostensibly is a highly desirable
trait. To those wondering the compulsion of Urdu, answers perhaps are
relatively easier.
Urdu originated in the Sultanate
era and attained its golden period in later Mughal era. Urdu was sought to be
distinct from the domestic Indian languages and borrowed a lot including the
script from Arabic and Persian the home languages of Islamic invaders. Urdu was
language of the camp. It was the show of supremacy accompanied with sense of
differentiation from the rest of the society. The army had to act different and
thus the product differentiation. As time evolved, it had to invoke an imagery
that would convey a different elitist sense away from the common man or woman. It
began to be the language of the Mughal court. Anyone with expertise in Urdu in
all likelihood might command a status perhaps a notch or two above the rest.
Sooner than later, Urdu became the default language of artistic expression.
Poets who were one too many in Mughal court (notwithstanding Aurangzeb’s
disdain for music) and competed with adoption and usage of new Urdu vocabulary
to position themselves at the upper layers of Mughal patronage.
Post Mughals, the phenomenon did
not die, it merely transformed into a sort of default tool of artistic
expression. Bollywood dominated by Urdu poets and singers in its initial years
added to romanticization of the same. To Syed Ahmed Khan and others, Urdu signified
the era when Islam dominated the Indian political, social and cultural sphere.
Attempts to reclaim the dominance necessitated Urdu as common language for
Muslims. A transformation from an elitist language to one based on religion was
underway culminating in partition and consequent adoption of Urdu as official
language for Pakistan. In India, Urdu became language for J&K rather than
local Kashmiri or Dogri. Interestingly, Urdu vs Bengali struggle heralded the
creation of Bangladesh.
Fast forward to the current era,
the dynamics are the same. Spheres of Indian culture and art evolved into
monopolies of the left by default or design. The inherent tendency to be a
rebel often tilts the practitioners of arts into domain of the left.
Superiority in practice of art entails use of language and expression different
from the common milieu and Urdu given its original roots fit the script
perfectly. Therefore any prospective entrant into the Old Boys network would
have an incentive to invest in Urdu poetry and literature.
Yet as with any other field, as
number of prospective entrants increase, the strength of the signal too has to
increase. Therefore the tendency to quote more and more Urdu. At the same time,
contestations are not just internal but external to club as well. The club’s place
at the top of the hierarchy itself is under threat and so need to coalesce around
the external force. However, the substance of arguments borders on rhetoric and
not on the quality or facts of the matter. In such a scenario, they are
compelled to adopt tactics to defend at the minimum.
In terms of game theory, one can
term it as dominant strategy. Irrespective of what your opponents do, to
survive or at least come with minimum losses, the player has to design and
engage in a certain strategy. This strategy is Urdu poetry and literature. When
faced with facts, prospective loss of arguments, the dominant strategy for
rational individual as described in economics would be to divert the entire
gamut of issues to an Urdu poetry or quote from Urdu literature of Urdu invocation
in a Bollywood movie. Many might not understand, yet in accepting the ignorance
of Urdu is negative signal in competitive milieu to enter and flourish in the
Old Boys club.
The race to the top is virtually
an arms race and therefore, the dominance of Urdu in anti-establishmentarian
movements in Indian context is unlikely to subside. Internal to the system
however, the end result might be, to borrow from game theory again, a sort of
Prisoner’s Dilemma.
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