Pakistan’s language dilemma
By Helmand Khan
As to what should be the language of Pakistan, is still a dilemma facing the country even after over five decades of its inception. Pakistan is a home to over dozens of languages. While officially the urdu is still the mainstream language promoted by the state, it is the language of minority dwelling in Karachi and parts of Sindh who migrated to Pakistan over five decades ago. For the rest of the population in Pakistan, it is still a foreign language: it is not the mother tongue of millions of Punjabis, Pashtoons, Sndhis and Balochs who have to speak, read and write urdu once they go to public sector institutions. However, the elite of the country and the well off sections prefer to speak, read, write and get educated in english. So why is this contradiction and confusion even today?
The language debate in Pakistan is often being conducted on the premise set by the right-wing-tabloid and semi-tabloid press in the country.
The premise is: firstly, (that) urdu is a national language of Pakistan; secondly, (that) urdu is still capable of being the language of science and technology; and thirdly, (that) it is a language mostly spoken and understood by the common man/women hence should be the official language.
But the premise is fallacious on the following grounds:
The first assumption is not shared by many inhabitants of the country( where people like me are still being discriminated against because of the lack of "right" urdu accent) as many people seriously challenge what is "national" in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural states like Pakistan, and India. Equally, others may stress for the adoption of regional languages.
The second assumption is the least plausible given , the Chinese, the French even the new EU members states are trying to learn english as much as possible so as to tape in to the progress made in the language ; thus emphasising on urdu in today's globalised world may be tantamount to depriving the majority of the people from having a world window on science and technology.
The third assumption may be true to a certain extend but it is state sponsorship that matters the most here. In case of India, for example, english has been turned into a common man's language where as in Pakistan, the state has sponsored urdu at the expense of other languages, thus being a language widely spoken and understood in the street, does not mean , urdu can replace english in scope whether we love it or loath it.
So the choice is clear: if Pakistan has to develop economically and compete with the rest of the world, it has to learn to communicate, and understand english regardless of the merit of cultural correctness and the colonial hang over-debates. After all, this strategy could well be a pragmatic answer to the demands of those who are still bent upon introducing regional languages as medium of instruction and officialdom.
As to what should be the language of Pakistan, is still a dilemma facing the country even after over five decades of its inception. Pakistan is a home to over dozens of languages. While officially the urdu is still the mainstream language promoted by the state, it is the language of minority dwelling in Karachi and parts of Sindh who migrated to Pakistan over five decades ago. For the rest of the population in Pakistan, it is still a foreign language: it is not the mother tongue of millions of Punjabis, Pashtoons, Sndhis and Balochs who have to speak, read and write urdu once they go to public sector institutions. However, the elite of the country and the well off sections prefer to speak, read, write and get educated in english. So why is this contradiction and confusion even today?
The language debate in Pakistan is often being conducted on the premise set by the right-wing-tabloid and semi-tabloid press in the country.
The premise is: firstly, (that) urdu is a national language of Pakistan; secondly, (that) urdu is still capable of being the language of science and technology; and thirdly, (that) it is a language mostly spoken and understood by the common man/women hence should be the official language.
But the premise is fallacious on the following grounds:
The first assumption is not shared by many inhabitants of the country( where people like me are still being discriminated against because of the lack of "right" urdu accent) as many people seriously challenge what is "national" in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural states like Pakistan, and India. Equally, others may stress for the adoption of regional languages.
The second assumption is the least plausible given , the Chinese, the French even the new EU members states are trying to learn english as much as possible so as to tape in to the progress made in the language ; thus emphasising on urdu in today's globalised world may be tantamount to depriving the majority of the people from having a world window on science and technology.
The third assumption may be true to a certain extend but it is state sponsorship that matters the most here. In case of India, for example, english has been turned into a common man's language where as in Pakistan, the state has sponsored urdu at the expense of other languages, thus being a language widely spoken and understood in the street, does not mean , urdu can replace english in scope whether we love it or loath it.
So the choice is clear: if Pakistan has to develop economically and compete with the rest of the world, it has to learn to communicate, and understand english regardless of the merit of cultural correctness and the colonial hang over-debates. After all, this strategy could well be a pragmatic answer to the demands of those who are still bent upon introducing regional languages as medium of instruction and officialdom.
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