Shams Ur Rehman Alavi
Bihar has been a citadel of Urdu for ages.
The state has more Urdu readers than many of the North Indian states.
In fact, Patna has nearly a dozen major Urdu papers published from the city.
The photograph [Courtesy Mahtab Alam sahab] on the left shows many papers.
While many Urdu speakers in Uttar Pradesh had a superiority complex in terms of Urdu and felt that they were guardians of the zabaan, truth is that Bihar has been more fertile for Urdu, post-independence. Though I am a 'UP-ite', but it's a fact and we must accept it.
These are the Urdu newspapers published from Patna, the capital of Bihar. You can find the major papers like Qaumi Tanzeem, Taseer, Inquilab, Pindar, Jasarat-e-Bihar, Farooqui Tanzeem, Ameen, Pyari Urdu, Hamara Samaj, Sangam and Awami News.
Bihar had thousands of Urdu schools till a few decades back and still there are Urdu schools across the state though UP performs badly on this count.
In the last two decades, Urdu journalism has seen a revival. Though Urdu papers were strong in Hyderabad, Telangana [earlier Andhra Pradesh], Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kashmir, the situation once again improved in North India.
In Delhi and UP, there are many big newspapers now. West Bengal and Jharkhand too has several Urdu papers.
However, the situation in Madhya Pradesh is not as good, as the traditional newspapers haven't kept themselves updated with technological advancements.
Among big states, Rajasthan and Gujarat don't have Urdu newspapers though almost all the states from JK, Punjab in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South, have Urdu publications.
IMPORTANT LINK:
LIST OF MAJOR URDU NEWSPAPERS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN INDIA: CLICK TO READ