The Urdu Dictionary Board (Urdu: اردو لغت بورڈ, romanized: Urdu Lughat Board) is an academic and literary institution of Pakistan, administered by National History and Literary Heritage Division of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Its objective is to edit and publish a comprehensive dictionary of the Urdu language.
اردو لغت بورڈ | |
| Abbreviation | UDB |
|---|---|
| Formation | June 14, 1958 |
| Type | Scientific and Literary Institute |
| Purpose | Editing and publication of the comprehensive Urdu dictionary |
| Headquarters | Street # 18/A, Block 5 Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Location | |
Staff | 55 |
| Website | http://www.udb.gov.pk/ |
Establishment and objectives
editOn June 14, 1958, through a resolution of the then Ministry of Education, the Government of Pakistan announced the creation of an institution called "Urdu Development Board" to prepare a comprehensive dictionary of Urdu on the same standards and principles as the Oxford English Dictionary. The Board initially had the following staff members:
- President: Mumtaz Hasan (Urdu: ممتاز حسن), former Secretary in the Ministry of Finance as well as former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan;
- Vice President: Shaista Ikramullah, former representative at the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the country's delegate to the United Nations;
- Honorary Director General: Abdul Haq, linguist and scholar of Urdu language;
- Honorary Trustee: Abdul Hafeez Kardar, politician and former professional cricketer;
- Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet;
- Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi, historian and journalist;
- Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, linguist and literary critic;
- Abul Lais Siddiqui, Urdu writer and linguist;
- Syed Abdullah (Urdu: ڈاکٹر سید عبد اللہ);
- Muhammad Shabbirullah (Urdu: ڈاکٹر محمد شبیر اللہ);
- Raziq Al Khairy (Urdu: رازق الخیری)
On March 27, 1982, the institution's name was changed to "Urdu Dictionary Board".[1]
Operations
editIn 1960, the Board started publishing a quarterly magazine called Urdu Namah (Urdu: اردو نامہ) under the editorship of Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee. From then on to 1977, a total of 54 issues were released.
In 1977, the Board published the first edition of Urdu Lughat, a 22-volume comprehensive dictionary of the Urdu language.[2] The dictionary had 20,000 pages, including 220,000 words.[3]
In 2009, Pakistani feminist poet Fahmida Riaz was appointed as the Chief Editor of the Board.[4]
In 2010, the Board published one last edition Urdu Lughat.[3]
In 2016, Aqeel Abbas Jafari was appointed as the Chief Editor of the Board.[5]
In 2017, the digital version of Urdu Lughat was released.[6][7]
Since 2019, the Board was not assigned another Chief Editor, and 37 out of the total 55 staff seats were vacant due to lack of funding.[8]
The dictionary is available on institution's website, but there have been instances where the website has not worked properly, with link remaining down and info on website being old.
References
edit- ^ Jaʻfarī, ʻAqīl ʻAbbās.; جعفرى، عقيل عبّاس. (2010-03-31). Pakistan Chroncicle (Ishāʻat-i avval ed.). Karācī. p. 149. ISBN 978-969-9454-00-4. OCLC 643571356.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Faizuddin, Munshi (2021-01-15). Bazm-i Aakhir: The Last Gathering - A vivid portrait of life in the Red Fort. Roli Books Private Limited. ISBN 978-81-951248-6-2.
- ^ a b "Urdu experts have the last word". The Express Tribune. 2010-07-17. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ Fatima, Nikhat (2018-11-22). "Pakistani feminist Urdu poet and writer Fahmida Riaz passes away". TwoCircles.net. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "Four babus retirement notified". The Nation. 2016-12-10. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "Urdu Dictionary Board launches 22-volume Urdu Digital Dictionary". TechJuice. 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "اردو لغتِ کبیر اب آن لائن اور موبائل پر". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "Urdu Dictionary Board struggles to operate". The Express Tribune. 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2023-02-20.