Urdu now 2nd official language of UP

The Supreme Court of India approved India’s biggest state, Uttar Pradesh’s 1989 legislation adopting Urdu as a second official language of the state. The ruling by a five-judge bench said language laws of the country were not rigid but accommodative. The SC referred to several states, which have adopted other officially recognized languages in addition to Hindi.
UP’s Additional Advocate-General Zafaryab Jilani welcomed the decision. Talking to Arab News he said "it’s a welcome judgment and one that would provide a fillip to the state government’s decision to grant the status of a second official language."
Iqtedar Farooqui, the convener of Urdu Scientific Society while welcoming the decision said it was a pity that the state doesn’t even have an Urdu high school so far. Athar Siddiqui, director of Center of Objective Research and Development (CORD) said, “Hindi and Urdu are like two sisters who have lived in perfect harmony in the state and the judgment has ensured it.”
Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali said, “I think one should not look at Urdu as a language of Muslims. That would be a big mistake. From time immemorial, this language has been spoken by both Hindus and Muslims. I don’t think we need to give a communal color to the language. Urdu is part of our culture and heritage and hence this judgment of course needs to be lauded.”
“Nothing in the Article 345, in our view, bars declaring one or more of the languages in use in the state, in addition to Hindi as the second official language. This can only be at the cost of distorting the provision contained in the Article 345,” the bench said while dismissing the petition by UP Hindi Sahitya Sammelan challenging the constitutionality of UP Ordinance (number 44) of 1983, and the 1989 Amendment Act and Notification (07-10-1989) wherein the Uttar Pradesh government issued a notification declaring Urdu as second official language.