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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 49:1 (2026) ► pp.1–30

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To speak or not to speak Urdu

A Bihari dilemma in Bangladesh

ORCiD logo with link | Bakalia Government College, Chattogram
 | The University of QueenslandAustralia
Published online: 17 July 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.23061.hos
Abstract
The only Urdu-speaking community in Bangladesh, known as the Bihari community, is a historically unique group that has experienced two consecutive dislocations within a period of 25 years. The community and their language have a troubled history in the country. This study sought to qualitatively understand some Bangladeshi Urdu speakers’ Urdu-related experiences and perceptions from the perspective of minority language rights. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were then analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Findings show that the research participants were aware of Urdu’s illegitimacy in public perceptions. This stigma attached to Urdu affected their adherence to the Urdu language and motivated them to prioritize learning Bangla for greater social and economic integration. The study identified a critical necessity for legal protections to strengthen the link between Urdu and Urdu speakers. This study significantly contributes to the extant literature on minority language rights by unveiling how the historical past, nation-building discourses, and media representations can potentially shape and reshape the language choice of a speech minority.
Article outline
  • 1.The precarity of minority languages
  • 2.The status of Urdu in Bangladeshi linguistic landscape
    • 2.1Local linguistic landscape
    • 2.2Urdu speakers of Bangladesh
    • 2.3Shifting sands of Urdu in Bangladesh
  • 3.Legal protections for minority languages
    • 3.1Conceptualising language as a right
    • 3.2Toleration vs promotion
    • 3.3Three distinctive schools of language rights
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Participant selection and research sites
    • 4.2Researcher positionality
    • 4.3Data collection and data analysis
  • 5.Findings
    • 5.1Historical awareness: Bihari-Bengali divide
    • 5.2Problematic social identity
    • 5.3Reversal of Urdu’s fate in Bangladesh
    • 5.4Marginalization
    • 5.5Relocation of linguistic identity
    • 5.6Interconnections between the emergent themes and language
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Declaration of contributions from Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process
  • References
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