Our political independence has heightened the importance and necessity of the study of Modern Indian Languages which are not exclusive but are many expressions of India’s unity and source of cultural enrichment and traditions. Of these linguistic expressions the Urdu language and its culture occupy an important place.

The importance of Delhi, the birth-place of Urdu, and its embodiment of richest traditions, cannot be over-emphasised. It was Delhi where Urdu was nourished and came to flowering, and where it achieved the distinction of being a highly developed expression of the composite culture of India. It is but natural that Delhi University, which is the capital’s highest seat of learning, and is located in the main homeland of Urdu, should provide opportunities for the study of this language not only for Indians but also for students and scholars who come from foreign countries.