The debate of national language
Famous Sindhi writer and Urdu columnist Amar Jaleel who recently appeared on Wussatullah’s show on Dawn News Urdu Service started a debate by saying that Jinnah was dragged or cornered into making the following speech, and somehow told Bengalis to abandon Bengali language when he declared Urdu to be the state language of Pakistan.
This is what Jinnah said:
“About language, as I have already said, this is in order to create disruption amongst the Mussalmans. Your Prime Minister has rightly pointed this out in a recent statement and I am glad that his Government has decided to put down firmly any attempt to disturb the peace of this province by political saboteurs, their agents. Whether Bengali shall be official language of this province is a matter for the elected representatives of the people of this province to decide. I have no doubt that this question shall be decided solely in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants ‘of this province at the appropriate time. “
“Let me tell you in the clearest language that there is no truth that your normal life is going to be touched or disturbed so far as your Bengali language is concerned. But ultimately it is for you, the people of this province, to decide what shall be the language of your province. But let me make it very clear to you that the State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language. Anyone who tries to mislead you is really the enemy of Pakistan. Without one State language, no Nation can remain tied up solidly together and function. Look at the history of other countries. Therefore, so far as the State Language is concerned, Pakistani language shall be Urdu. But, as I have said, it will come in time. ”
“Quite frankly and openly I must tell you that you have got amongst you a few communists and other agents financed by foreign help and if you are not careful, you will be disrupted. The idea that East Bengal should be brought back into the Indian Union is not given up, and it is their aim yet, and I am confident –I am not afraid, but it is better to be vigilant –that those people who still dream of getting back East Bengal into the Indian Union are living in a dream-land.
Islam has taught us this, and I think you will agree with me that whatever else you may be and whatever you are, you are a Muslim. You belong to a Nation now; you have now carved out a territory, vast territory, it is all yours; it does not belong to a Punjabi or a Sindhi, or a Pathan, or a Bengali; it is yours. You have got your Central Government where several units are represented. Therefore, if you want to build up yourself into a Nation, for God’s sake give up this provincialism. Provincialism has been one of the curses; and so is sectionalism –Shia, Sunni, etc. “ (Jinnah at Dacca University “Jinnah Speeches And Statements 1947-1948” Millennium edition Oxford University Press)
What Jinnah said clearly relegated Bengali to the status of a regional language. That must have been difficult for Bengali nationalists to swallow. The terms ’state language, lingua franca, national language’ mean different things. Urdu could not have been a lingua franca between its two wings because Bengalis except in Dhaka perhaps would not have understood Urdu much. It was a belief in the early years that the nations needed one language to form and strengthen national identity. What happened in reaction is known history. Bengali was declared a national language within the next three or four years and that later became part of the 1956 constitution. Even in 1956 other languages such as Sindhi, Balochi, Sariaki, pushtoo and Hazara were ignored. What was the harm in declaring them national languages too?
In 1973 Constitution it was maintained as
251. National language.(1) The National language of Pakistan is Urdu, and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencing day.
Though English is still the official language…Urdu is waiting for the status given to it by the constitution but demands from all the languages spoken i Pakistan to be declared as National Language persists…..
Fakhar Zaman, chairman of the Academy of Letters Pakistan on Jan 27, 2005 as the chairman of World Punjabi Congress (WPC) demanded the establishment of federal Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu and Balochi universities on the pattern of the federal Urdu university and declaration of Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu and Balochi as national languages, just like Urdu, rather than regional languages.
Here are two News Segment from Today News…..
Intellectuals demand national language status for Sindhi
Friday, February 26, 2010
By our correspondent
Karachi
Sindhi linguists, educationists and scholars have demanded to the government that Sindhi be recognised as a national language in the province.
In this regard a draft was prepared by a nine-member committee, headed by renowned scholar and ex-chairman of Sindhi Adabi Boar Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo. The draft states that all the nationalities living in the country have already demanded that their mother tongues be declared as national languages of the country, and Urdu be made only the working language.
The nine-member committee was designed by Sindhi Language Authority (SLA), an autonomous body whose chairperson Dr Fahmida Hussain and secretary Taj Joyo are also members of the committee. Other members include former vice chancellor Sindh University Dr Ghulam Ali Alana, Director Sindh Culture Department Muhammad Ali Manjhi, renowned poet Imdad Hussaini, Secretary General Sindhi Adabi Sangat Yousaf Sindhi and others.
The draft reads that even the government-run literary institution Pakistan Academy of Letters, in 1994, declared all the languages spoken in the country are national languages. The draft termed it as an injustice with the people of Pakistan that their mother tongues are not given status of national languages.
The draft says that Sindhi is the original language of the Indus Valley people, which possesses all the peculiarities of a developed language of the world and fulfils the criteria of being a national language. It is rich in folk, classical, modern, progressive and ancient literature. People in Sindh are very much conscious and emotional about their language and culture.
The draft argues that the separation of former East Pakistan was also a result of the controversy over the national language. The draft also maintains that the language riots in Sindh urban areas in 1972 after the separation of East Pakistan were a conspiracy against the Sindhi language.
It justifies that the experts of linguistic science have set principles that any language may be declared a national language which is used by the people in their every day lives; that has been spoken by a nation from time immemorial and that is being used as official and court language and also as a medium of institutions from primary up to the higher education. Moreover, that is being used for its literary and media communication; which is able to borrow and use the words and phrases from other developed languages of the world and can transform that stock of words according to its own grammatical structure, which is originated from the language of the soil of that nation.
The draft reads that there is no clear provision regarding the national languages in the recently announced National Education Policy 2009.
Moreover, former Vice Chancellor Sindh University and author of more than 100 books, Dr Nabi Bakhsh Baloch, has expressed dissatisfaction on the role of political parties and successive governments which, according to him, never brought the language issue for discussion at major forums.
At a recently held seminar, he said that Pakistan is a multi-cultural, multi-national and multi-lingual country. At each small valley the people had their own mother tongue, which needed to be promoted at state level. He claimed that no work was done regarding the national language issue or the problems of languages in the country. He also backed Sindhi language to be declared national language.
The seminar, was a part of, ‘Sindhi Language—National Language’, a recently launched campaign for the support of the Sindhi language.
Bilour says Urdu is not national language
PESHAWAR: NWFP senior minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour triggered another controversy Friday when he declared Urdu only a language for coordination, denying its status of national language, ARY NEWS reported.
“A language can only be declared national when it is being used by the whole nation. Thus Urdu is not our national language but a language for mutual coordination among the masses,” Bilour said on assembly floor when responding to a query by MPA Moulvi Abdullah during Question Hour.
Bilour’s comments annoyed various parliamentarians from both sides of the house who criticized his statement.
On a point of order, Mufti Kifayatullah – an MPA of Jamiat Ulema Islam-F, quoted the Article 251 of the Constitution that categorically declared Urdu as Pakistan’s national language.
He said senior minister is committing an intentional violation of the Constitution despite having oath on it and sought Speaker’s ruling on the issue.
However, the opposition members walked out from the session as Speaker Karamatullah Chugharmati, who belongs to the same ruling Awami National Party (ANP) Bilour is associated with, refrained himself from offering any solid ruling on the issue.
The same case is with Balochi, Saraiki, Barohi and Hinko also. Now Its upon us to accomodate different point of views or be in the state of denial and declare other agents or commies or separatists as unfortunately our founding father has said in the written speech(by Ch. Muhammad Ali).
Urdu is now the lingua franca as it was not in 1947, what these intellectuals actually want is recognition, since Pakistan does not have a Constitution at province level like US it should give other languages recognition in the Federal Constitution. India has done this by declaring Hindi as the sole national language and 14 other languages as federal official languages. Also by having a Bengali national anthem it has persuaded Bengalis to suport hindi. We should declare the six or seven major regional languages an official status as well while making them compulsory at school level. This really worked for Sindhi nationalists, I’m sure it will for others as well.
What Jinnah said clearly relegated Bengali to the status of a regional language. That must have been difficult for Bengali nationalists to swallow. [Ali Arqam]
================
Dear Arqam Sahab
That’s happen when we place Jinnah on Allah’s Pedestal and assume “that Jinnah couldn’t do anything wrong”.
You dont run a Federation like you have as mentioned below:
Keep in mind while reading the post that major founders of All India Muslim League wwere Bengalis. The founding meeting of the League was held on 30 December 1906 at the occasion of the annual All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Shahbagh, Dhaka that was hosted by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah. The Pakistan Resolution was presented by A. K. Fazlul Huq [A Bengali Muslim and who was later declared Anti State when Pakistan went into the hands of vultures and here goes your declaration of awarding death penalty to those who oppose Pakistan – who will decide the definition of Loyalty and Patriotism? If Mullahs then barring three Mullahs every Mullah in United India had opposed Pakistan by tooth and nail and later on Majority of such Rascals ended up in Pakistan e.g. Mawdudi and Jamat-e-Islami.
September 15, 1947
Tamuddun Majlis (Cultural Society, an organization by scholars, writers and journalists oriented towards Islamic ideology) in a booklet titled State Language of Pakistan : Bengali or Urdu? demands Bengali as one of the state language of Pakistan.
The Secretary of the Majlis, at that time a Professor of Physics in Dhaka University, [Abul Kashem] was the first person to convene a literary meeting to discuss the State Language issue in the Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, a student residence of Dhaka University. Supporters and sympathizers soon afterwards formed a political party, the Khilafate-Rabbani Party with Abul Hasim as the Chairman. (Talukder Maniruzzaman)
November 1947
In Karachi, the representatives of East Bengal attending the Pakistan Educational Conference, called by the Minister of Education Fazlur Rahman, a Bengali, oppose Urdu as the only national language.
February 23, 1948 [Jinnah was alive]
Direndra Nath Dutta, a Bengali opposition member, moves a resolution in the first session of Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly for recognizing Bengali as a state language along with Urdu and English. The resolution “… was opposed by Liakat Ali, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and other non-Bengali members in the Assembly. Regrettably, this was opposed by Khawaja Nazimuddin – hailing from the eastern wing – and a few other Bengali collaborators of the West Pakistanis in the Assembly. Later, D. N. Dutta came up with a few amendments to the original resolution, and everytime these were opposed by the west Pakistanis and their Bengali stooges. The West Pakistanis were uncompromising to such a genuine demand of the majority Bengalis.” (Rafiqul Islam)
“The demand for Bengali as one of the state language gathered the spontaneous support of the Bengali Civil Servants, academics, students, and various groups of middle class. Several members of the Provincial Assembly, including some ministers, were reportedly active in supporting the movement. By the end of February 1948, the controversy had spilled over on the streets. The East Pakistan Student League, founded in the first week of January by Mujibur Rahman, was in the forefront of the agitation.” (– Hasan Zaheer)
March 1948 (1st week) [Jinnah was alive]
A Committee of Action of the students of Dhaka University, representing all shades of opinion – leftists, rightists, and centrists – is set up with the objective of achieving national status of Bengali.
March 11, 1948 [Jinnah was alive]
Students demonstrating for Bangla as state language is baton-charged and a large number of students are arrested in Dhaka.
” The situation grew worse in the days that followed. The Quaid-i-Azam was due to visit Dhaka from 19 March. The provincial government became nervous and Nazimuddin under pressure of widespread agitation, the impending visit of the Governor-General, sought the help of Muhammad Ali Bogra to enter into negotiations with the Committee of Action. An agreement was signed by Nazimuddin with the Committee which, inter alia, provided that
(1) the Provincial Assembly shall adopt a resolution for making Bengali the official language of East Pakistan and the medium of instruction at all stages of education;
and
(2) the Assembly by another resolution would recommend to the central government that Bengali should be made one of the state languages.” (– Hasan Zaheer)
March 21, 1948 [Jinnah was alive]
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first Governor-General, while on a visit to East Bengal, declares in Dhaka University convocation that while the language of the province can be Bengali, the “State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language. Any one who tries to mislead you is really an enemy of Pakistan.”
“The remark evoked an angry protest from the Bengali youth who took it as an affront: their language Bangla (Bengali) was, after all, spoken by fifty-four percent of the population of Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, then a university student, was among those who raised the protest slogan and was placed under detention. The Dacca University campus became the focal point for student meetings in support of the Bangla language.” (–Siddiq Salik)
Jinnah meets the student representatives of Committee of Action to persuade them of the necessity of having one national language, but the students are not convinced.
“The discussion of Jinnah with the student representatives could not bear any fruit but blurred the difference between the student group led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his associates and the student group led by Shah Azizur Rahman. The National leadership resorted to repressive policies in order to crush the Bengali language and put its supporters behind bars.” (– Md. Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan)
2nd Wave
January 26, 1952
The Basic Principles Committee of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan announces its recommendation that Urdu should be the only state language. In a public meting at Paltan Maidan, Dhaka, Prime Minister Nazimuddin declares that Urdu alone will be the state language of Pakistan. Both the developments spark off the second wave of language agitation in East Bengal.
January 28, 1952
The students of Dhaka University in a protest meeting call the Prime Minister and the Provincial Ministers as stooges of West Pakistan.
January 30, 1952
In a secret meeting called by the Awami League, which is attended by a number of communist front as well as other organizations, it is agreed that the language agitation can not be successfully carried by the students alone. To mobilize full political and student support, it is decided that the leadership of the movement should be assumed by the Awami League under Bhashani.
January 31, 1952
Bhashani presides over an all-party convention in Dhaka. The convention is attended by prominent leaders like Abul Hashim and Hamidul Haq Choudhury. A broad-based All-Party Committee of Action (APCA) is constituted with Kazi Golam Mahboob as Convener and Maulana Bhashani as Chairman, and with two representatives from the Awami League, Students League, Youth League, Khilafate-Rabbani Party, and the Dhaka University State Language Committee of Action.
February 3, 1952
Committee of Action holds a protest meeting in Dhaka against the move ‘to dominate the majority province of East Bengal linguistically and culturally’. The provincial chief of Awami League, Maulana Bhashani addresses the meeting. On the suggestion of Abul Hashim it decides to hold a general strike on 21 February, when the East Bengal Assembly is due to meet for its budget session.
February 20, 1952
At 6 p.m. an order under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibiting processions and meetings in Dhaka City is promulgated. This order generated tension and resentment among the students.
February 21, 1952
A general strike is observed.
Noon – A meeting is held in the campus of Dhaka University. Students decide to defy the official ban imposed by Nurul Amin’s administration and processions are taken out to stage a demonstration in front of the Provincial Assembly. Police starts lobbing tear gas shells to the students. Students retaliate by batting bricks. The ensuing riot spreads to the nearby campuses of the Medical and Engineering colleges.
4 p.m. -The police opens fire in front of the Medical College hostel. Five persons – Mohammad Salauddin, Abdul Jabbar, Abul Barkat, Rafiquddin Ahmed and Abdus Salam – are killed, the first three are students of Dhaka University.
“The news of the killing spread like wildfire throughout the city and people rushed in thousands towards the Medical College premises.” (– Talukder Maniruzzaman)
Inside the assembly, six opposition members press for the adjournment of the House and demand an inquiry into the incidents. But Chief Minister Nurul Amin urges the House to proceed with the planned agenda for the day. At this point all the opposition members of the Assembly walk out in protest.
February 22, 1952
Thousands of men and women throng the university, Medical College and Engineering College areas to offer prayers for the victims of the police firing. After prayers when they go for a procession, the police opens fire.
The police also fire on angry mob who burned the offices of a pro-government newspaper. Four persons are killed.
As the situation deteriorates, the government calls in the military to bring things under control. Bowing to the pressure, the Chief Minister Nurul Amin moves a motion recommending to the Constituent Assembly that Bengali should be one of the state language of Pakistan. The motion is passed unanimously.
“For the first time a number of Muslim members voted in favour of the amendments moved by the opposition, which so far had consisted of the Hindu Congress members only. The split in the Muslim League became formalized when some members demanded a separate bloc from the Speaker; the Awami (Muslim) League had attained the status of an opposition parliamentary party.” (– Hasan Zaheer)
February 23, 1952
A complete general strike is spontaneously observed, despite the resolution by the Provincial Assembly. The government again responds with repressive measures. APCA decides to observe a general strike on February 25 to protest the government’s actions.
The students of Medical College erect overnight a Shahid Minar (Martyr’s Memorial) at the place where Barkat was shot to commemorate the supreme sacrifices of the students and general population. Shahid Minar later became the rallying symbol for the Bengalis.
February 24, 1952
The government gives full authority to the police and military to bring the situation in Dhaka back to normal within 48 hours.
“During these 48 hours the police arrested almost all the student and political leaders associated with the language movement.” (– Talukder Muniruzzaman)
February 25, 1952
The Dhaka University is closed sine die. “In the face of these repressive measures, the movement lost its momentum in Dhaka. But it spread widely throughout the districts … In addition to demands for recognition of Bengali as one of state languages of Pakistan, students now began to call for the resignation of the ‘bloody’ Nurul Amin cabinet … Nurul Amin claimed that the government “had saved the province from disaster and chaos” by its repressive measures. The students, however, argued that they had already “written the success story of the movement on the streets with their blood.” In retrospect, whatever the merits of government and student actions, it is clear that the movement did sow the seeds of a secular-linguistic Bengali nationalism in east Bengal. Its immediate impact was to prepare the ground for the complete routing of the Muslim League in the 1954 elections by a United Front of opposition political parties, on a nationalistic planck of cultural, political and economic autonomy for East Bengal.” (– Talukder Maniruzzaman)
“The Language Movement added a new dimension to politics in Pakistan. It left deep impression on the minds of the younger generation of Bengalis and imbued them with the spirit of Bengali nationalism. The passion of Bengali nationalism which was aroused by the Language Movement shall kindle in the hearts of the Bengalis forever … Perhaps very few people realised then that with the bloodshed in 1952 the new-born state of Pakistan had in fact started to bleed to death.” (– Rafiqul Islam)
Results
May 7, 1954
The Pakistan government recognizes Bangla as a state language.
Feb 26, 1956
The Constituent Assembly passes the first Constitution of Pakistan recognizing Bangla as a State Language.
March 23, 1956
The first Constitution of Pakistan comes into effect.
The minders in Rawalpindi often project that ‘the only free and fair elections’ in the history of Pakistan were held by a President-General, Yahya Khan. This is historically inaccurate. If the 1970 elections turned out to be fair, they were by default not by design.
According to a senior intelligence officer, Yahya Khan had delegated N.A. Rizvi (Director Intelligence Bureau) to weaken Mujib in the East by funding Bhashani. Maj-General Ghulam Umar (Chief of National Security Council) collected funds from big businessmen and industrialists in the West to ‘cut Bhutto to size’ by financing Qayum Khan.
Later, Bhutto as PM recovered some money from Rizvi and Gen. Umer was retired. (Rao Abdur Rasheed ‘Jo main ney dekha’ Atish Fishan Publications Lahore 1985 pp. 62-64).
Major General Abubakar Osman Mitha, the only Memon General of the Army reveals that in October/November 1970, in Karachi a leading businessman Mr Roshan Ali Bhimjee told him that DIB was asking for “political contributions” from the business community using foul and threatening language.
Gen. Mitha informed Gen. Abdul Hamid Khan (Chief of Staff) in Rawalpindi to respond to the charges, none other than Gen. Ghulam Umar turned up in COS’s office. (“Unlikely Beginnings” OUP 2003 pp.328-329)
After the elections, Yahya gave a tongue-lashing to the DIB, Rizvi who had all along been reporting that no single party would gain an absolute majority (in the East). (Hasan Zaheer “The separation of East Pakistan” OUP 2000 p 130).
Mr. Yusuf Haroon, then Chairman Pakistan Services Limited and brother of Agriculture Minister Mr. Mahmood Haroon, told the Political Officer, American Consulate General, at Peshawar on June 5, 1970 that generals Gul Hasan and (Ghulam) Umar told him that the military wanted to insure a divided vote and a fragmented Constituent Assembly to render the constitution- making impossible.
(Dispatch A-109 Airgram Department of State June 9, 1970 from Karachi “The American Papers” compiled by Roedad Khan OUP 2000 pp.372-375) [Declassified American Papers]
The Ultimate Result
March 26, 1971
Bangladesh becomes an independent nation.
Notes:
1- Hasan Zaheer, The Separation of East Pakistan – The Rise and Realization of Bengali Muslim Nationalism, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1994
2- Talukder Maniruzzaman, The Bangladesh Revolution and its Aftermath, Bangladesh Books International Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1980
3- Siddiq Salik, Witness to Surrender, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1977
4- Rafiqul Islam, A Tale of Millions, Ananna, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3rd edition, 1986
5- Md. Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan, Emergence of Bangladesh and Role of Awami League, Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, India, 1982
To wind up this senseless issue of Language and National Language, only one step would be sufficient i.e. To give National Status to every Local Language of Pakistan and translate their Literary Work of Local Languages in Urdu and English as well to bridge the Gap amongst communities.
English should me made compulsory language till Matric.
By doing this Research Work we will be creating more jobs and work for those are interested in doing something literary and Translating Literary Treasure of Local Languages in Urdu and Vice versa would make people come closer. Making Urdu a National Language and using Islamic undertones to unite people of Pakistan won’t work.
Instead of thrusting National Language down the throats [like Third Reich] of Pakistanis the State should give choice to the students to choose the language they want to opt as a compulsory subject. Similarly Islamic Studies, Islamiat, Urdu, and Pakistan Studies must be Optional Subjects not the Compulsory one. [I mean research based]
What a joke!
Islamiat [Pakistan is Islamic Country????? but Pakistanis both Sunnis and Shias read “Different” Islamiat]
People/students abroad [who speak english i.e. USA/UK] willingly opt Foreign Languages e.g. Spanish, Latin, French, Chinese and Arabic but Islamic? Democratic? Republic? of Comedy [Pakistan] thrust State Backed Propaganda like Third Reich down the throats of Pakistanis in the name of Text Books and create more Cattle Herd [even the CSS/Army Officers] instead of Civilized Citizens.
Jinnah was thrusting National Language upon Pakistanis and what a tragedy Jinnah himself couldn’t speak the “National Language” properly.
Concluding the role of Jinnah regarding this issue, I conclude it,
In the words of Dr. Mubarak Ali
“No doubt, Jinnah was a great leader of his people. He was a man of integrity and honesty, but to idealize him to such an extent as to preempt the emergence of another rank of leaders out of his shadow is strange. Every generation has its own dreams and vision which it wants to accomplish without interference. Not imitation but freedom is required to build a new world. Therefore, an attempt should not be made to repeat but to make new history. People should be liberated from the shadows and allowed to flourish in a free society. Great leaders should be respected but not worshipped.”
@Aamir
Let us focus main subject of the article….
Let us focus main subject of the article….
The Jinnah debate is concluded in the words of Dr. Mubarak Ali
No doubt, Jinnah was a great leader of his people. He was a man of integrity and honesty, but to idealize him to such an extent as to preempt the emergence of another rank of leaders out of his shadow is strange. Every generation has its own dreams and vision which it wants to accomplish without interference. Not imitation but freedom is required to build a new world. Therefore, an attempt should not be made to repeat but to make new history. People should be liberated from the shadows and allowed to flourish in a free society. Great leaders should be respected but not worshipped.
Comments from the facebook
http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=327439401133
Yasser Latif Hamdani said
“Well it was a regional language. I think Jinnah overplayed the Muslim angle because he was tasked with the defence of the govt’s decision… The point I made in my article was that Bengali was not banned.
Urdu was the lingua franca which was spoken by the Salariat throughout North of British India whether separatists agree or not. Where it was in … See moredevnagri script it was Hindi …in Arabic script it was Urdu. Hindi/Urdu (or as Congress called it “Hindustani”) was language of all of middle class from Dacca to Peshawar. Furthermore the Urdu/Hindi jhagra of 1867 laid the foundations of TNT in Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Therefore Urdu was the bedrock of Muslim national consciousness. So all of the positions taken by Jinnah were in logical to that extent.
My own gripe is that it goes against Jinnah’s own positions against mono-cultural nationalism which was his logical position against Congress. Had he not used the arguments of Muslim nationalism and instead stuck to the lingua franca argument in a secular manner (which was his intention when he got Jagganath Azad to write Pakistan’s first national anthem), his position would be perfectly defensible. ”
Yadvendra Mehra said,
If I were an educated pakistani citizen,first of all would love my ethnic origins and feel proud of my roots so I would appriciate the acceptence of my identity ( with my language)as such, throughout the country,( not to feel embaressed about my non urdu/non punjabi/( so called)non elite origins).
So my mother tongue has to have a important status and enough usage to make it free from the danger of extinction.
But a comman language ( urdu) is a must for the prectical reasons, because it has prevailed for the last +200? years as a bonding fector….
And I will not fix urdu as a muslim language, just a useful language.( my grandfather was good in urdu and farsi)
Regards.
Yasser Latif Hamdani said :
“Well language is only supposed to be useful. Maybe I am not an educated Pakistani but I am quite indifferent to my ethnic origins.”
Yadvendra Mehra said,
Dear Yasser, u are more educated than me.
When we are happy, we are loving and accepting….although we discard the useless parts and improvise. but sentimentally keep few things too.I keep my religion also in this catagory.
I was very much on subject above.
Instead of fearing Urdu, these nationalist should fear English. English is eating away our local languages and culture like no other. In Karachi most of the elite schools prohibit the use of Urdu, and the rest of wannabe elite schools tend to follow. The youth in Karachi, the biggest city where Urdu is supposed to be a native language, are embarrassed speaking it, and this phenomena is happening all over Pakistan. We need to step back and start taking pride in our languages and heritage whatever it is.
I am all for protecting and promoting our local languages, culture and heritage. I fear we are losing our identity extremely fast to a foreign language and culture. I believe future of Urdu is as much at stake as any other local or regional language, if we are not going to protect Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi, Punjabi etc. its only a matter of time we will lose Urdu as well.
We already have lost much of our identity, Urdu language was/is suggested to be the national language to act as a bridge between multilingual provinces and was a just decision by the then leaders. It is the chain that is binding provinces at the least. As Amir has said above, Jinnah was himself not a good urdu speaker. This language debate created huge unrest in the whole country in 1971 specially in Sind and now it is again poping its head through some vocal and dim-witted politicians.
We are passing through a time that someday english translated Iqbal will be allowed only in schools and the Urdu ‘Qaida’ must be in basic english, so that our young generations, the future builders of Pakistan may find it easy to understand, if so required under syllabus duly approved by our great nationalist political figures. Every Urdu ‘Nasr’ and ‘Poet’ will be banned or must be taught English to write in a audible or readable language for better understanding and communicating their genteel views to the world at large if so required, some joke but it is happening.
Our regional languages will survive for quite some times. English led the way globally after successful colonial rules. In Pakistan and India, english language is now or has been associated with our literacy some how and as long as our literacy rate stays below 16%, Pakistan will keep on creating English speaking, reading and writing percentage at about 1~2% of the whole population. Its our hard luck that the max ruling or elite class falls in this 2% catagpry. So no major threat to regional languages. But the language bridge amongst provinces could be threatened if such debates in parliaments are not discouraged. That Bilour guy is amongst few stupids who just wanted to keep their political existance alive by raising such matters as making them real issues. Politically he always keep on making such blunders and thats why their party is still regionalized by their own mistakes. One must ask him if he wants to deliver his speech in pushto language then he is wellcome, only half of his province will listen to him and their party will die out as a regional party only. If not so then why they are trying to establish their existance in Sind area. They call themselves Awami party and restraining themselves to a limited Awam of their province only. With such comments in the parliament and in the era of media, the idea floats that there seems no nationalism in few of them who are controlling the party matters, so they better change their party’s name to Awami Party instead of Awami National Party.
Languages which have ”Rasm-Ul-Khat” in their own must be made compulsary in syllabus till martric. In this way the gaps will be filled in a much easier and freindly manner. Almost all Pakistani provincial languages have inherited a long dignified history and possesses great treasures by having in them scholars, regional writers, great poets and Wallis, etc. We must enable our children to learn almost 5~6 basics of each language so that the ‘Alienism’ may be reduced and such debates may be eliminated. In this way much nationalism will prevail which is a dire need of today.
Language or Urdu Language to precise was no problem but objection was raised when it is imposed by giving it a colour of Islam to create Joint and United Pakistani Nation and undermining Local Language by declaring the same a relic of Pre Islamic Languages and Pakistani Establishment did just that in the past.
کتاب جسونت سنگھ نے لکھی، انہیں پارٹی سے بی جے پی نے نکالا، کتاب پر پابندی گجرات حکومت نے لگائی لیکن خوش پاکستانی ہیں۔
ہندو تنگ نظری کا فلسفہ جو ہمیں بچپن سے پڑھایا جاتا ہے ہمیں اس کا جیتا جاگتا ایک اور ثبوت مل گیا۔ محمد علی جناح کی عظمت کا اعتراف ہمارے دشمنوں نے بھی کر لیا۔ ہندو مسلم تاریخی دنگل میں ہمارا پہلوان جیت گیا۔ کافروں نے بھی ہمارے قائد کو قائد اعظم مان لیا۔
پاکستان حالیہ دنوں میں اتنے بحرانوں سے گزرا ہے کہ ہمیں خوشی کا کوئی چھوٹے سے چھوٹا موقع ہاتھ سے نہیں گنوانا چاہیے۔ ورلڈ ٹوئنٹی ٹوئنٹی کا فائنل ہو یا جشن آزادی ہم لوگ بندوقیں نکال کر ہوائی فائرنگ شروع کر دیتے ہیں۔ کیا کریں موقع بھی تو کبھی کبھی ملتا ہے۔
لیکن ہوائی فائرنگ کے اس سلسلے کو ایک لمحے کے لیے روک کر ذرا یہ بھی سوچیے کہ کیا ہمارے دانشور سیاستدان بھی کبھی ایسا کریں گے جو جسونت سنگھ نے کیا ہے۔ کیا مولانا فضل الرحمان کبھی کوئی کتاب لکھ کر گاندھی کے عدم تشدد کے فلسفے کا پرچار کرتے ہوئے پائے جائیں گے۔ کیا کوئی منظور وٹو سے توقع رکھتا ہے کہ وہ ہندوستان کے صنعتی انقلاب کے بارے میں ایک کتابچہ لکھ ڈالیں۔ کیا شہباز شریف کبھی بھول کر بھی کہیں گے کہ انہوں نے گڈ گورنیس نہرو سے سیکھی۔
کہنے والے کہتے ہیں کہ اچھے دن میں ملا عمر (افغانستان والے اصلی تے وڈے ملا عمر، پاکستانی طالبان کے زیر حراست ترجمان نہیں) امیر المونین بننے سے پہلے اسلام آباد تشریف لائے۔ جس کمرے میں ان کی پاکستان کے سیکورٹی اہلکاروں (یا پیرو کاروں) سے ساتھ میٹنگ تھی وہاں دیوار پر ایک تصویر آویزاں تھی جیسا کہ ہر سرکاری دفتر میں ہوتی ہے۔ ملا عمر نے فرمایا کہ تصویر اتاری جائے ورنہ وہ اس کمرے میں نہیں رکیں گے۔ اہل کاروں نے انہیں بتایا لیکن یہ تو قائد اعظم کی تصویر ہے۔ ملا عمر نے معصومیت سے پوچھا: وہ کون ہے؟
کبھی لگتا ہے کہ ہر سرکاری دفترمیں، ہر تھانے کچہری میں، ٹیلی ویژن پر ہر فوجی ڈکٹیٹر کے پیچھے سے جھانکتا ہوا قائد اعظم کا سرکاری پورٹریٹ ہم سے صرف یہی سوال پوچھتا ہے : میں کون ہوں؟ میں یہاں کیا کر رہا ہوں۔
کیونکہ وطن عزیز میں محمد علی جناح غریب کی وہ جورو بن کر رہ گئے ہیں کہ جسکا جو چاہے نام رکھے اور جیسے چاہے استعمال کرے۔
مولانا حضرات ان کے نام کے ساتھ رحمۃ اللہ علیہ کا لاحقہ لگا کر انہیں پانچواں خلیفہ ثابت کرنے کی کوشش کرتے ہیں۔ قومی یکجہتی کا شغل کرنے والے ان کی شیروانی اور ٹوپی دکھا دکھا کر ایک قوم بننے اور اردو بولنے کا درس دیتے ہیں۔ اور آزاد خیال طبقہ ان کے سوٹوں والی تصویریں، انگریزوں والی انگریزی اور شغل مے نوشی یاد دلا کر ایک سیکولر بہشت کے خواب دکھاتا ہے۔
لیکن جس معاشرے میں القاب عطا کرنے کا شوق اتنا بے تاب ہو کہ بابائے قوم، مادر ملت کا بھائی نکلے، جہاں انگریزی زبان میں بنگالیوں کو حکم دیا جائے کہ اردو بولو، جہاں بندہ مزدور کو مجبور کیا جائے کہ وہ پیٹ پر پتھر باندھ کر نہ صرف امرا کے محل سرا تعمیر کرے بلکہ ان کی حفاظت بھی کرے اور پھر اپنی خوش قسمتی پر خدا کا شکر بھی ادا کرے۔ ایسے معاشرے میں یقیناً محمد علی جناح ایک ہی وقت میں رحمتہ اللہ علیہ بھی ہو سکتے ہیں اور کافر اعظم بھی
Hindi being Sanskritised and Urdu being additionally Persianised in their origins. Urdu genesis goes back to Persian, Turk and arabic languages. Pre-divided Indian Sanskrit and after wards colonial english added much flavor in Urdu language.
Yes, before the partition, the activists did it intentionally, as in the back of their heads, it was a good trick, for the time being, to gather much favor from a majority muslim community even speaking different langauges, to congregate on one platform, in the name of Islam.
I have read some just right stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how a lot attempt you put to create the sort of wonderful informative web site.
Wonderful beat ! I would like to apprentice whilst you amend your site, how could i subscribe for a blog site? The account helped me a acceptable deal. I have been a little bit familiar of this your broadcast provided vibrant transparent idea
Thankfully In India, We Bengalis have never been forced to learn Hindi.. even though at times when hindi was put upon us we learnt it as a lanuage because its beneficial be multilingual. But None can replace or forcibly replace our mother language.
I feel Pakistan should Recognize Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto,Balochi etc languages so that those languages will see substantial development in the future.
Joy Bangla.
You’re so awesome! I don’t think I have read through something like that before.
So good to find somebody with original thoughts on this topic.
Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up.
This web site is something that is required on the web, someone with a
bit of originality!
Here is my website: Installaxy