Ambedkar in Urdu: Translators scratch head for ‘achhut’, ‘punar janam’ equivalents

Aligarh: Translating the works of B R Ambedkar into Urdu, scholars are finding much to their discomfort, is more difficult than expected. With fundamental social and political realities being different in Muslim and Hindu societies, indeed an entire world view, researchers are finding it hard to use just the right term or turn of phrase in Urdu for many words important in Dalit studies. Under the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment, the biggest translation project of the Dalit icon’s writings was launched by the Ambedkar Foundation in 1994. Out of 37 volumes of Ambedkar’s writings, only five have been published so far and two are about to be. Those involved in the exercise, however, say that getting appropriate Urdu terms for words like ‘achhut’ (untouchable) or ‘punar janam’ (rebirth) -- concepts which Islamic doctrine does not have -- remains a huge battle. Researchers and translators gathered at a workshop at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary to discuss these challenges said the "head-scratching" would probably go on for a long time. “Urdu does not lend itself to Ambedkar’s writings," said Munira T, assistant professor at Women’s College here. "Even after getting an approximate word, one does not have the feeling of being bang-on. For instance, take the word ‘defilement’. What is the right Urdu equivalent? ‘Najis’ (impure), ‘gandagi’ (dirt). I have not yet cracked the Urdu term for ‘ghetto’ and have left it at that.” Asim Siddiqi, professor at AMU and managing editor of the project, added, “In the absence of exact equivalents, translators find it difficult to ensure that the spirit is not lost. There might be approximate equivalents here and there, but they do not convey the thought.” Most would agree. “We are joining two words into one to find a way. Dictionaries are stagnant while our world keeps moving on. We have come up with ‘zaat-paat ke tassavu ka khatma’ (annihilation of caste), for instance,” said Suhail Ahmed Farooqi, who won the Sahitya Akademi award for Urdu translation in 2015. For one of the translators, Shafique Rahman, the challenge of translating Constituent Assembly debates includes finding the approximate words for ‘motion’, ‘submission’, ‘division’ or ‘draft Constitution’. Farhatullah Khan, part of the team translating a book on Zakir Hussain from Urdu to English, said, “In bringing together two different worldviews signified by Urdu and Ambedkar, we have to explore the possibilities of a language, and coinage of new words, which should be done while maintaining the sanctity of Babasaheb’s thoughts and experiences.”
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