SP MLA protests eviction of Urdu Sahitya Academy in golden jubilee year

The reason cited is that the academy has been transferred from the culture to the minorities department, and the current premises belong to the former

MUMBAI: The Urdu Sahitya Academy, a key institution for the promotion of Urdu literature in Maharashtra, has been asked to vacate its government-allotted office space by the state’s cultural affairs department, sparking a political outcry and concerns about the academy’s future.

The academy has been operating out of the Old Custom House at Fort since 1996 (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The academy, which is currently headquartered in the historic Old Customs House building in Mumbai’s Fort area, has received an eviction notice, instructing it to relocate to a rented space. The reason cited is that the academy has been transferred from the culture to the minorities department, and the current premises belong to the former.

The fact that this move has come during the academy’s golden jubilee year has added to the growing criticism. Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh has written to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and minority development minister Datta Bharane, calling for an immediate stay on the eviction order. “Evicting the Urdu Sahitya Academy during its 50th year is deeply regrettable,” he said. “While other language academies are housed in spacious government buildings, the Urdu Academy is being treated unfairly.”

Shaikh emphasised the need for a permanent government space to be given to the academy in the Mantralaya area before relocation was demanded. “To rent a space in the Mantralaya area would require at least ₹20 lakh per month—an unsustainable burden,” he said, pointing out that although ₹2 crore had been allocated to the academy last year, it had received only ₹16 lakh in actual disbursement. The MLA also urged for the annual funding to be raised to ₹5 crore.

Shaikh also raised serious concerns about the functioning of the academy, highlighting that four out of seven staff positions were vacant and that the appointments of academy members had not yet been completed. In his letter, he demanded that this be done immediately.

Established in 1975 by then chief minister Shankarrao Chavan, the Urdu Sahitya Academy was created to foster literary and cultural exchange between the Marathi and Urdu languages. Chavan also served as the academy’s first president. Since 1996, it has operated from the cultural affairs department’s premises in the Old Customs House.

Despite several attempts, Vikas Kharage, additional chief secretary to the CM and department of cultural affairs remained unavailable for comment.