Pakistani Twitter upset over Javed Akhtar's 'Urdu belongs to Hindustan' comment, calls it 'problematic'

Pakistani Twitter erupted with reactions after Javed Akhtar said Urdu doesn't belong to Pakistan, 'it belongs to Hindustan'.

While launching an Urdu poetry album with actor-wife Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar emphasised the importance of the Urdu language and the role Punjab played in its growth. The veteran lyricist and screenwriter said at the event that Urdu doesn't belong to Pakistan or Egypt, it belongs to 'Hindustan'. His statement was met with disapproval by a section of Twitter users in Pakistan, who slammed him for ‘giving problematic statements’ against Pakistan.

Javed Akhtar at a Pakistan event in February. (File Photo)

At the recent event, Javed Akhtar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, "Urdu hasn't come from any other place... it is our own language. It isn't spoken outside Hindustan... Pakistan also came into existence after partition from India, earlier it was a part of India only. So, the language isn't spoken outside Hindustan..." He further said, "Punjab has made a big contribution towards Urdu and it is the language of India. But why did you leave this language? Because of partition? Because of Pakistan? Urdu should be given attention..."

Javed also said, "Earlier it was only Hindustan, Pakistan later separated from Hindustan. Now Pakistan said that Kashmir is ours... will you believe that? I think no. Likewise Urdu is a Hindustani language and it remains (so). Nowadays, new generation speaks less Urdu and Hindi in our country. Today more focus is on English. We must speak in Hindi because it's our national language.”

A Twitter user from Pakistani slammed Javed Akhtar's 'logic'.

A user on Javed Akhtar's 'Urdu belongs to Hindustan' comment.

A person also tweeted, "Javed Akhtar's existence revolves lately around trying to one-up on influencers by raking pointless controversies." A tweet also read, "Javed Akhtar looks like he wants to be in the headline ever since he returned from Pakistan. Recently he made another huge claim that the Urdu language belongs to Hindustan." One more person tweeted, "Days after his anti-Pakistan remarks during the visit, Indian poet/lyricist Javed Akhtar claimed that Urdu is an Indian or ‘Hindustani’ language and does not belong to Pakistan."

Last month, Javed was addressing a gathering at a literary festival in Pakistan, when he said that as witnesses of the horrors of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, it is wrong to expect Indians to ignore that the perpetrators of those attacks are living freely in Pakistan. His statement was slammed by Pakistani celebrities and praised from their Indian counterparts, including actor Kangana Ranaut.