Urdu Bhavan inside Mumbai University campus will give students exposure, says NGO

Even before the previous government spoke about Urdu Ghar, there have been talks among the community to have a centre that can cater to the growing needs of the Urdu language.

As the state government plans to build the Urdu Bhavan at Byculla, members of Muslim groups have written to the state and union government asking them to reconsider the proposal and set up the centre inside the University of Mumbai.

The letter written by the members of Jai Ho Foundation has been addressed to the Union Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, education minister Vinod Tawde and Mumbai University Vice Chancellor Suhas Pednekar, among others.

Adil Khatri, general secretary of Jai Ho Foundation said that setting up the centre inside the campus would provide students with an exposure to other courses and also allow them to interact with other students.

“The Bhoomi pujan for the Urdu Bhavan was already done by the previous government and they had also made budgetary provisions for it, but the plan could not be implemented. When the land is already available at the Kalina campus, why can’t the government allot that space for the Urdu Bhavan?” asked Khatri.

Even before the previous government spoke about Urdu Ghar, there have been talks among the community to have a centre that can cater to the growing needs of the Urdu language, similar to the Bhavan for other languages at MU.

Though Vinod Tawde was unavailable for comments, Waris Pathan, an MLA from Byculla, who has been at the forefront of getting the approvals for the Bhavan at Byculla said that they had already looked for a land at Agripada.

“The state government is fulfilling the long due demand for Urdu Bhavan and we have already asked the Centre to provide us ₹50 crore for it,” said Pathan.