HINDUSTANI: A HISTORY SUMMARY We, Dr.

Mufti Mohammad Mushtak and Saurabh Chaudhary, propose to write, under the auspices of the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, a book chronicling the History of Hindustani, a language that is the lingua franca in a large part of the Indian Subcontinent and is as such spoken by an estimated 300 million people of various ethnicities in various regions. The book will first attempt, from the time of Amir Khusro (c. 1253-1325 AD), the first poet to write in Hindavi, one of the forerunners of Hindustani to establish the evolutionary context of the how the language emerged and took root in the Northern parts of the Subcontinent before spreading to the Deccan. This shall be followed by an attempt to delve into the writings attributed to mystics such as Kabir and Raskhan, and their role in further developing this language. The succeeding chapters shall then see how court patronage and social interaction further led to linguistic growth as well as establishing the different schools of dialects that emerged at the time in cities such as Delhi, Rampur, Lucknow and Hyderabad. It should be noted here that since this language is primarily a language of an urban nature, historical sketches of these cities during the period under consideration (the 12th century to Present Day), shall necessarily be presented. Further the historical relevance of the of the writings of various littrateurs who have written in the language will be provided, as well as the different genres of writing in the language, as well as the two scripts used, Perso-Arabic and Devnagari. Emphasis shall also be laid on the fact that Hindi and Urdu, the official languages of India and Pakistan respectively are registers of this language. This shall be followed by an attempt to understand the emergence of separate Hindi and Urdu literary traditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and how they were conditioned by the times political and religious considerations. Further a study of Mahatma Gandhis arguments as well as the arguments of others in the run up to a free India and the partition shall be included as well as an understanding of the role of film, television and dramatic art in post independent India in the linguistic history of Hindustani. The book will also attempt to understand the Hindi-Urdu debate as it has evolved in post independence India. Finally, the book will also feature as series of Interviews of prominent individuals, to understand how linguistic trait is much more a social and geographical rather than religious phenomena as well as to provide the context of and continuing interaction of theatre, film and literature in the evolving linguistic history of India. We wish to emphasise that the writing of a book of this nature has, in the recent past not been attempted in English, and feel that it shall not only serve to provide a linguistic and social history but also help those who speak Hindustani as well

HINDUSTANI: A HISTORY SUMMARY as others, an understanding of the composite nature of our society and its continuing evolution.