"I have no doubt in my mind that Urdu is not a language of the Muslims alone but it is something that was born and brought up in India and hence it would be wrong to associate it with only one community," Barelvi said.
During the pre-independence days, Urdu was the language of well-read people but this changed due to various reasons after the nation attained freedom, said Barelvi, the winner of the prestigious 'Firaq International' award.
Among all forms of art, there is no academy or institution where writing poetry can be taught although there are institutes for training in art forms like painting and music, he opined.
"Urdu poetry is very sweet since it expresses true feelings with full force...Poetry is a part of our existence and if you are a real poet, then the poetry will come from your heart," Barelvi said.
Waseem also expressed concern over the decline in learning the language by people.
Due to decrease in popularity of Urdu in basic and secondary education, including teaching and learning, as it is not job-oriented, Urdu suffered but despite that it gained culturally, he observed.
The noted poet also said that, "If we really think for the better future of our new generation and the nation, we must respect the religious, cultural and social heritage of each other."