"Let it die"

Arts & Culture Culture, Arts, Literature & Linguistics
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A message found on a Punjabi website. Is it not sad?

I am very pleased to see this great Punjabi site. I published more than 2000 pamphlets to propagate this side and distributing them to all my clients at my book shop in Rawalpindi. Why I am very pleased to see such a great job done by Dr. Manzur Ejaz and Safir Rammah and many other fellows. There is a long history. I will try to write in a few times. First: I am 44 years old. I was born in Narowal (Near Sialkot) in 1957. I am proud Punjabi since the day I got awareness. And I profoundly observed what is happening with my mother language in Pakistani Punjab. In 1987, I was finally burst out and wrote a book “Punjabi Zuban Naeen Marey Gi”. Actually, I came back from my travel to Europe. It was all by buses or trains or on foot. After watching various countries,people, cultures, languages of the world, I found one thing very common everywhere that everyone speaks his own mother language proudly or naturally except us, “Pakistani Punjabies.” On the way back to Jhelum from Queta, I just dropped for a few hours in Lahore at my elder sister’s house. She was not at home. I asked my niece in Punjabi to bring one glass of water quickly.She could not understand my and of course her mother language and asked me in Urdu, “What sort of water?” Meantime, my sister came and she was pleased to see me. I put my first question that your daughter cannot even understand Punjabi. You are Punjabi and your husband is Punjabi. If you don’t speak Punjabi with the kids then this language would die one day. The response of my sister was so horrible that I stood immediatly and came to my city Jhelum, and not at my home to see my parents and family after five month journey but to the Printing Press. My sister said me that if Punjabi language dies then let it die. What you have to do with it. All the Punjabi families are speaking Urdu with their kids. You want to spoil my kids that they speak this language and they feel third class citizen of this country. Their classfellows will hate them." I was stunned to hear from the mouth of a Panjaban that let this language to die." I said to her,“Punjabi will not die.” And that was the first slogan which I got printed in the form of poster. And one another poster “Jaag Punjabi Jaag.” At mid night the posters were ready and then I started to paste them on the walls at the main spots in the various cities. I started from Jhelum, then Gujrat, Gujaranwala, and finally next day morning in Lahore. I had no fear but just one sentence of my sister that “Let it die” and my will was that I will not let it die. I had no fear. It was my land and my language. I finished my job madly. I came back to Jhelum and the same night I started to write the book,“Punjabi Zuban Naeen Marey Gi.” I added with my name the title “Kammi”. This is enough for this time. If you feel that it is of some use to our Punajbi movement then I will continue. All the best wishes for those who are struggling for this the most supressed language on the globe.

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You know, this article puts forward a very true view of how punjabi speaking people are treated.

My husbands sister also suffers from the same syndrome as this fellows sister did. She moved to Islamabad, and will not let her children speak punjabi. The eldest is 10, four younger, and they are all fluent in Urdu.

I went over and they couldnt understand my punjabi, and not being fluent in Urdu, I found it difficult to converse with them in Urdu. So I just kept my gob shut most of the time.

The thing is, in the cities, urdu being the national language is more widespread, and so these people have to assimilate somehow.

If they dont speak Urdu, they are ostracised, so you cant really blame them.

But it is more problematic when people refuse to identify with their real language.They have an air of superiority just cuz they speak Urdu. That makes me sick.

I love Punjabi/Pathwari, I think its great.

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Mariah, I don't think it is difficult at all to speak both Urdu and Punjabi fluently. Millions do it already. What is sad is these people's low self esteem to the extent that to hide their Punjabi origin as if it is something untouchable. What is even worse is feeding these young kids the hatred and self pity by forcing them not to speak a language that comes natural to them.
(Read Khawateen's thread in some other forum where in a good mood while driving she said somehting like "rassa khich ke ganD maaro"(stretch the rope and then tie it). She felt so bad about saying it...because I guess they were in the inferior language)

I hear people talk about Punjabi heavy handedness towards non-Punjabis in Pakistan all the time while no one talks about what this poster is saying.

[This message has been edited by ChannMahi (edited May 18, 2001).]

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How sad to read , those who willingly give up their langauge , have no past ..no history , no culture .I suppose when I or anyone else talks of Punjabi domination .We should be talking of a specific kind of people who want to force conformity on everyone , and not the average Punjabi ..who's having conformity forced down their throats just like everyone else