Language courses at Zakir Husain College drawing large numbers

To help clear confusion among students about suitable degrees to pick, language courses are emerging as a saviour to many. Zakir Husain College is one such institution, which has interest in languages has piqued among Delhi University aspirants.

While addressing an open day session, the College principal Sulekh Chandra said: "All languages, Urdu, Persian and Arabic are unique in their own way, and no comparison must be made between them."

The College offers Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit and Bengali at undergraduate level and is the only college in DU to teach Persian and Arabic.

Talking about the language courses, associate professor in Department of Arabic, Sayyed Mohamed Tariq, said: "Not everyone can study Arabic, Urdu and Persian at undergraduate level. The student must have studied the language till Class X or XII."

The college has around 80 seats for language courses, with about 20-25 seats for each language.

Professor Tariq said every language has a different purpose. Arabic is the most popular course here, facilitating jobs as translators in various embassies and organisations, in transcontinental and international trade, in medical tourism to help visitors from Gulf countries. Elucidating on the importance of Persian, the professor, said: "Mostly, students learn it to educate themselves in Persian history and involve themselves in the academia of Persian literature."

On Urdu, professor Tariq said: "Urdu is poetic and artistic. Many phrases in India's Freedom Struggle have been written and spoken in Urdu. It continues to be native to northern parts of India and Hyderabad."

"These languages are still relevant. Not everyone can speak English and native languages still hold ground in many areas of the country," he added.