Urdureading

Urdureading is a term used to describe the practice and study of reading Urdu-language material across multiple formats and platforms, combining traditional literacy with digital access. It encompasses reading habits, content curation, and the use of technology to enhance engagement with Urdu texts, from print to digital and audio formats.

The concept emerged in academic and library circles in the early 2010s as Urdu literature diversified into digital media, including e-books, blogs, and social media. As a field, it covers literacy pedagogy, accessibility, content organization, and technology-enabled reading experiences. It is not tied to a single institution but refers to a set of practices shared by scholars, librarians, publishers, educators, and community readers.

Practices and tools associated with urdureading include digital libraries and e-book repositories that specialize in Urdu content, mobile apps that support Urdu typography and annotation, transliteration options for non-Urdu readers, text-to-speech systems, and optical character recognition for Nastaliq script to enable searchability and accessibility. The movement also emphasizes metadata standards, digital preservation, and user-centered design to accommodate diverse reading contexts such as education, diaspora communities, and casual readers.

Impact and challenges: urdureading helps broaden access to Urdu literature for speakers in South Asia and abroad and supports preservation of classical poetry, modern fiction, and scholarly works. Challenges include the complexity of Nastaliq for OCR, font and encoding inconsistencies, limited digital infrastructure in some regions, and ensuring consistent quality control and rights management across platforms.

Related areas include Urdu literature, Nastaliq script, digital humanities, and language technology.