WHY URDUBOOKS EXISTS
Preserving a language means passing it on
For many families living in Britain and elsewhere outside South Asia, Urdu remains an important part of our identity, our families and our cultural heritage. Yet while many children may understand or speak some Urdu, fewer are growing up confident in reading and writing the language.
When a generation stops reading a language, something more than words can gradually be lost. Stories, poetry, humour, history, ideas and generations of literature can become less accessible.
UrduBooks was created because we believe that heritage is worth preserving and passing on.
ROOTS IN BRADFORD
Where some of the inspiration began
Our connection with Urdu literature has roots that go back many years, including time spent working at Book Centre in Bradford — an organisation that, for decades, helped make Urdu books available to readers, families, schools and libraries in Britain and beyond.
Being surrounded by shelves of Urdu literature left a lasting impression. There were readers searching for particular writers, parents looking for books for their children, libraries building Urdu collections, students learning the language and people simply looking for a connection with literature and culture that felt like home.
We also recognise the contribution and dedication of Iftikhar Ahmed Qureshi to the world of Urdu books and to making Urdu literature accessible to communities far from the traditional centres of Urdu publishing.
That experience became one of several influences behind what UrduBooks is trying to build today.
کتاب، زبان اور نئی نسل کے درمیان ایک نیا رشتہ
FROM BOOKSHELVES TO A DIGITAL GENERATION
Urdu needs a meaningful place in the digital world
The way people discover books, learn languages and experience culture has changed enormously. For a new generation, preserving Urdu cannot depend only on physical bookshelves.
Our ambition is not simply to create another website containing PDF files. We want to build a modern home for Urdu where someone can discover and read a book, learn about a great writer, listen to the language, experience poetry and stories, watch Urdu content, and where a child can begin with Alif and gradually develop the confidence to read and write Urdu.
Our own pathUrduBooks is not an attempt to recreate Book Centre, nor is it connected with or a continuation of that organisation. Rather, we hope to carry forward a simple principle inspired by experiences such as those:
Make Urdu easier to find, easier to read, easier to learn and easier to pass on. WITH GRATITUDE
People leave lessons that stay with us
Projects are shaped not only by ideas and institutions, but by people.
We would therefore like to acknowledge some of the people from those earlier years whose kindness, knowledge, character and commitment left a lasting impression.
A special expression of gratitude goes to Tariq Bhai, whose humanity, kindness and way of treating people remain a genuine source of inspiration.
We also remember with respect the late Qari Nadeem, and acknowledge Anwar Sahab, along with the many other colleagues and individuals who contributed to that environment over the years.
Some people teach through books. Some through their work. And some simply through the way they treat other human beings.
Those lessons can stay with us long after the circumstances in which we learned them have passed.
To Tariq Bhai, the late Qari Nadeem, Anwar Sahab and all those whose names may not appear here but who played their part:
Thank you. Your contribution and influence are remembered with respect.
