Linguistics in the Media
I strongly believe that in addition to writing for specialized journals, we should also make our research accessible to a broader audience. I have contributed my scholarly views on sociolinguistic issues to many popular outlets. Many of them are summaries of my ongoing or completed research.
Published Articles
- 2021 (October 31) Yeh Kafir cricket: How sport is turned into Islamophobic weapon. MaktoobIndia.
- 2021 (April 11) BJP’s use of ‘begum’ and ‘shahzada’ to attack its opponents conceals a larger attack on Muslims. Scroll.in. (1600 Reads)
- 2020 (December) Fighting the Current Pandemic: Deploying Linguistic Resources is the Key. In Together Apart: A collection of human experiences. Pp 29-32. Doha, HBKU Press. (Reprint of the newspaper article).
- 2020: (August 25) How Qatar overcome language and culture barriers in its fight against Covid-19. The Gulf Times, Doha Qatar.
- 2020: Media watch: How vocabulary was weaponised to target Indian Muslims after the Tablighi Jamat event. Scroll.in. India (9000 shares)
- 2020. Multilingual resources key to fighting COVID-19. LanguageontheMove.com. (6700 reads)
- 2020: Why Must the Uttarakhand Govt Undermine Urdu to Promote Sanskrit? The Wire. India.
- 2019. The Dilli debate: Why should a city be known by only one name anyway? Scroll.in. India.
- 2019. Everyone has got it wrong in the Ramadan-Ramzan debate. And no, it’s not about Wahhabism. ThePrint. India. (1600 shares)
- 2019. Not about numbers: Why Abu Dhabi labour court chose Hindi over Malayalam. ThePrint. India.
- 2018. As We Celebrate Urdu, Let’s Not Ignore the Signs of Its Decline in India. The Wire. India. (1700 Shares)
- 2018. Waqt, chaawal and Bollywood — the deep relationship between Indians and Arabs. ThePrint, India.
- 2018. Urdu translation of ‘Renaming India: Saffronization of Public Spaces'(ناموں کی تبدیلی: عوامی مقامات کا بھگوا کرن). Mazameen.com
- 2018. Renaming India: Saffronisation of public spaces. Al-Jazeera. (3600 Shares)
- 2018. Urdu sounds are disappearing from Bollywood songs. ThePrint. India (4400 shares)
- 2018. The Urdu sounds that are disappearing from Bollywood songs. Reprinted in the Dawn. (3300 Shares)
- 2010. Persian or Arabian Gulf?: Symbolic meanings of names. Al-Watan Daily/ International Herald Tribune. Kuwait. March 12.
- 2008. Trading words: Understanding contact between nations. The Kuwait Times. June 24.
- 2006. Old Delhi: A linguistic tapestry. The Milli Gazette. June 1-15, Delhi.
- 1997. Ghalib’s Delhi. The Pioneer. 14 March 1997 Delhi.
- 1996. Politics of Poetics. The Hindustan Times. 25 August, New Delhi.
- 1996. Linguistic Authoritarianism. The Indian Express. 10 February, Delhi.
Media Appearances
- 2021 (May 20) “Urdu under Hindutva rule – Conversation with Dr Rizwan Ahmad”. Video Interview on Maktoobmedia, India.
- 2021 (May 2) Language barriers and the COVID-19 pandemic. Qatar national Library, Doha. (The video to be aired has been submitted and accepted).
- 2021 (February 9). Zoom Live. Significance of Language Learning. SNAP Academy, Kolkatta, India.
- 2020 (December 20). Interview on Olive Radio with RJ Kabeer. Role of communication during pandemic.
- 2020 (Dec 7) Interview on Qatar TV. Role of Qatar Media in disseminating awareness material in migrant languages.
- 2020 (September 26) “Research lauds how Qatar overcame language barriers” Featured in the Gulf Times report.
- 2020 (Sep 23) Interview on Radio Islam International, South Africa. Media’s use of language to implicate Muslims in the spread of COVID-19 in India.
- 2020 (June 15) Video on language change in Urdu poetry. Facebook Live. Joy of Urdu, an organization for promotion of the Urdu language. (2800 views)
- 2020 (June 15) In Memoriam. Video on the role of the poet Gulzar Dehlvi in the preservation of Urdu. Facebook. Joy of Urdu. an organization for promotion of the Urdu language.
- 2020 (June 28) Webinar on “Disappearing sounds of Urdu”. Facebook Live. Joy of Urdu.
- 2019 (April 23) Interview in the Gulf Times, Qatar on the issue of English and Arab Identity.
- 2018 (December 6). Translation is a message of peace and a bridge of communication (جائزة الشيخ حمد للترجمة والتفاهم الدولي – محاضرة “الترجمة رسالة سلام وجسر التواصل). Panel discussion at Qatar National Library organized by Hamad Translation Award. Telecast on Qatar TV and social media platforms.
- 2018 (Oct 16). Interview on Radio Islam International. Erasing Muslim/Urdu names from street signs in India.