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Arabic Language Teaching in India: Its Place and Scope in the Present Indian Higher Education

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Arabic Language Teaching in India: Its Place and Scope in the Present Indian Higher Education Volume : 3 | Issue : 4 | May 2013 ISSN - 2250-1991 Research Paper Education Arabic Language Teaching in India: Its Place and Scope in the Present Indian Higher Education * Dr. Shazli Hasan Khan * Assistant Professor, Dept. of Education& Training, MANUU, Hyderabad -500032 ABSTRACT Arabic language is being taught in the Indian sub-continent for the past several decades and has now found its place in various Universities of India and in other related academic fields. Arabi c language has now become an International language, bei ng spoken in several countries both as native as well as a second or foreign language. From the early eighth century, Arabic in India has borne an Islamic identity, which has continued to be elaborated and strengthened through the thirteen cent uries of its use under Muslims and British rule. Presently, in India, Arabic lan guage is also being taught and learned in more than twen ty thousand Madarsas, mostly in Northern and some Western parts of Ind ia. Deobandh and Nadva-tul-Ulum has emerged as the major centres of learning of Arabic language in the form of reci tation of Quran and Hadith. These centres of Arabic learning are now also offering post graduate and graduate courses in the teaching of Arabic language. The present paper tries to explo re the place and scope of Arabic language in the higher educat ion system of India and the impact of teaching and learning Arabic language on other languages. The present paper also discusses various methods and approaches used in the teaching of Arabic language in India. t Keywords : Arabic Language, Arabic Language Learning, Multicultural Approach, ICT in Teaching and Learning Arabic language proficiency, Methodology of teaching Arabic Introduction replaced the local languages. In India, however, this did not The rise of Arabic Language to the status of a major world happen, mainly because Arab Muslims did not have political language is inextricably intertwined with the rise of Islam control over more than the western provinces, and this control as a major world religion. Before the appearance of Islam, was for a limited time. Historically, Arabic has been used in In- Arabic was a minor member of the southern branch of the dia almost exclusively by its Muslim population, and has been Semitic language family, used by a small number of largely a key force in delineating and shaping Indian Muslim identity. nomadic tribes in the Arabian peninsula, with an extremely Currently Arabic Language is spoken by the 13.9 million peo- poorly documented textual history. Within a hundred years ple in India, who form 13.43 percent of the total 1.03 billion In- after the death (in 632 C.E.) of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), dian population. In the world there are 422 million people who the Prophet entrusted by God to deliver the Islamic message, are the speakers of Arabic language. From the early eighth Arabic had become the official language of a world empire century, Arabic in India had borne an Islamic identity, which whose boundaries stretched from the Oxus River in Central has continued to be elaborated and strengthened through the Asia to the Atlantic Ocean, and had even moved northward thirteen centuries of its use under Muslims, Hindus and British into the liberian Peninsula of Europe. rule. One of the most common uses of Arabic in India is liturgi- cal. This includes Quranic recitation, litanies (tasbih), prose Arabic in India arrived in the eighth century and it carries an prayers (dua), formulaic expressions connected with the ritual almost absolute Islamic identity, to the extent that even the prayer (salah), Sufi chantsdhikr ( ), and the chanting of reli- study of pre-Islamic pagan poetry is ascribed to a spiritual gious poetry (qasida, nat, munajat, and marthiya). impetus. In the seventh century, the Arabian Peninsula wit- nessed the birth of Islam, and the majority of Arabs became Arabic language is being taught in Indian sub-continent for Muslim. One century later, in 711, the Arab-Muslim Umayyad the past several decades and it has now found its place in commander Muhamad b.al-Qasim al-Thaqafi invaded and many academic fields such as Engineering, Mathematics, conquered the western Indian Province of Sind. Arab Muslims Philosophy, Biotechnology, Information Communication & settled there, and with their colonization of Sind came India’s Technology, Medical, Arts, Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sci- first substantial and sustained contact with both the religion of ences, Literature and Applied Sciences etc. Arabic as a sepa- Islam and the Arabic Language. At this time, Indians began rate Teaching subject was introduced in Department of Edu- to convert to Islam. The initial act required of any convert, cation in the year 1956 and it is now offered to B.Ed trainees the recitation of the Islamic creed of faith, “la ilaha illa llah, as a optional teaching methodology subject (Rahman, S.A., Muhammadun rasulu llah” (There is no God but God, Muham- 1996)6.The Jamia Osmania University in Hyderabad, Andhra mad is the messenger of God), had an Arabic linguistic frame, Pradesh, which was established in 1917, has a department which meant that Indian converts to Islam came into contact of Islamic studies in which Arabic is being taught, and where with Arabic through their very first religious experienced. Ara- research in Islamic studies is through the use of Arabic lan- bic in India, also had religious prestige as the language of guage is encouraged. The issues related to the teaching of Islamic scripture, believed by the majority of Muslims to be Arabic in these Universities and in other institutions in India inseparable from the message. have been the subject of several conferences and mono- graphs. A total of seventy-one Indian universities out of a Arabic hegemony was promoted in many parts of the world present total of around 342 universities, (presently there are by political, social and economic factors. So much so, that in 409 universities) which offer (Kaur, Kuldip, 2006)4 Arabic at some of the lands conquered by the Arab Muslims, such as B.A., M.A., and PhD levels; students are normally permitted Coptic-speaking Egypt, Arabic almost entirely displaced and to register for an Arabic course, provided they can an outside PARIPEX - INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH X 73 Volume : 3 | Issue : 4 | May 2013 ISSN - 2250-1991 professor to tutor them. ence and technology and Mathematics. Importance and Significance of Arabic Language in India Arabic is becoming an important language not only in India There is not an iota of doubt in my mind that today Arabic is but also outside it, when it comes to operating an International an International language, spoken in many countries both as business that’s trying to break into foreign markets. Learn- a native and as a second or foreign language. It is taught as ing of Arabic language opens up many employment avenues a both as a second or foreign language as well as a native and possibilities in a number of different industries such as speaker language. Arabic is now being taught in schools es- oil, travel, finance, industrial collaborations and translation pecially schools with Islamic orientation such as in Deobandh to name a few. Today, there is a high demand of Arabic lan- and Nadva. Arabic language came to India during the eighth guage speakers and especially by the CIA (Central Investiga- century and then flourished during the late fifteenth century tion Agency) and FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) so as and in the beginning of 16th century. Now it is a very living to assist them in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq as well as in and vibrant language which is spoken by more than 200,300 Afghanistan. Importance of Arabic language within the intel- million people as their native language. Millions more speak ligence gathering community is growing when they are trying as an additional language. In India Arabic language was to extract information from high valued targets and individu- introduced in Indian Civil Services examination as early as als. With this level of high demand of Arabic speakers, they 1963 for the first time and it became an optional subjectbe to are trying to pay a lot of money to individuals who utilize this taken at the preliminary stage of the examination from there particular important ability. Some businesses want Arabic onwards. speakers on-board, specifically to contact local Arab people and to obtain an edge when running a business that might Presently in India, Arabic language is being taught in Madar- otherwise end up being missed only using English, when in- sas and presently, in more then 20000 Madrasas modern terpretation and discussions are being done. The language of education is being offered in Arabic. The best known Madar- Arabic has its influence on Spain and its Spanish language. sas of India are today are in the northern part of the country and most of them in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Deobandh In Indian context, learning of Arabic language is difficult a s the in this state is the home of the famous Madarsa named Dar number of speakers in India of the Arabic language is not so ul – Ulum (founded in 1866) which has around 2000 students high. Therefore, approaches to learn Arabic language can be from India and around 1000 student from other countries of moderately hard. In order to reap the full benefit of the Arabic South and East Asia, a large library (133,070 printed books language, we have to first understand the importance of Ara- and 1,563 manuscripts) and focuses almost completely on re- bic language, only then we would be able to learn it.
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