The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan has initiated a move to replace Urdu words used in police terminology with “Shudh Hindi,” a step it claims is part of a larger effort to promote the use of Hindi in official language.
The state’s police department has been directed to identify and suggest Hindi replacements for Urdu words commonly used in police procedures and documentation.
The move follows a letter written by the Minister of State (MoS) for Home Department, Jawahar Singh Bedham, to the Deputy General of Police (DGP) U.R. Sahoo earlier this year.
In his letter, Bedham underscored the historical roots of Urdu in police usage, stating, “Words of Urdu, Farsi, and Arbi (Arabic) started to be used since the Mughal era. During and after the Mughal era, the Urdu language continued to be spoken and was also taught in schools. But after independence, improvement and changes have taken place in the education policy.”
Explaining the rationale behind the change, Bedham added, “At present, Hindi is in greater use and Sanskrit is used as a third language. Since Hindi is in use, new recruits and officers in the police force don’t know much about Urdu. I spoke with officials and they too said this should be changed. After a plan of action is presented, I will discuss with the chief minister and ensure that in police action, investigation, and letters, ‘shudh’ (pure) Hindi is used.”
In response to Bedham’s directive, DGP Sahoo sent a letter dated November 22 to the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Training, instructing the ADG to compile a list of Urdu words currently in use and propose their Hindi replacements, The Wire reported. The letter also mandated that new trainees be informed of the changes and that Urdu be removed from police training materials.
“According to the desire of the state government, collect information about Urdu words used in police stations. What could be the Hindi words that can be used in place of Urdu words? All trainees should be informed about the new Hindi words. Urdu should be removed from training material. Information about new words should be given to all ongoing training,” read DGP Sahoo’s letter.
“Words such as mukadma (case) or challan (chargesheet), mulzim (accused), mujrim (accused) or gavaa (witness) are all Urdu words. We have been asked to collect information about Urdu words and send it to the police headquarters,” The Wire quoted a senior police official as saying on condition of anonymity.
Currently, official police documents, including FIRs, complaints, chargesheets, and final reports, contain a significant number of Urdu and Farsi words like ‘thana haja’ (concerned police station), ‘taftish’ (investigation), and ‘mushtgish’ (complainant).
The move has sparked criticism from the opposition Congress party, which labeled it as a “political stunt.” Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi argued that the decision was unnecessary and disruptive. “These words have been in use for a very long time. The government should at least hold discussions with the legal fraternity and platforms such as bar councils. There should be uniformity throughout the country. If this change is done in Rajasthan but the same words are in use in Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh, what is the use of it? This is nothing but a stunt,” Chaturvedi said.
The decision to replace Urdu terms in police usage is seen as part of a broader cultural shift being implemented by the BJP government in Rajasthan. In September, Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar declared that Mughal emperor Akbar would no longer be portrayed as a prominent historical figure in school textbooks.
Speaking at an event marking the 28th state-level “Bhama Shah Samman Samaroh” at Sukhadia University in Udaipur, Dilawar accused Akbar of “plundering the country for years” and announced that “no one would be permitted to regard the Mughal emperor as a ‘great personality’ in the future.”
More recently, the BJP government renamed the state-run Hotel Khadim in Ajmer to Hotel “Ajay Meru” at the behest of assembly speaker Vasudev Devnani, who is also an MLA from the district.