Pakistan occurs at the confluence of two worlds; one the Central Asian-Iranian and the other Hindustani.
As for as culture, two groups of people can be identified in Pakistan.
The first is the South-Eastern group which speaks **Indo-Aryan languages **e.g. Urdu/Hindi, Punjabi, Sindhi, etc. with closest linguistic affinity with Sanskrit and Hindi/Urdu. This group has the dominence of Hindustani civilizational traits in its culture.
The second is North-Western group which speaks Iranian and Dardic languages i.e. Baluchi, Pashto, Dardic, and a number of other languages with a strong affinity with the major Iranian language i.e. Persian. This group has the dominence of Central Asian/Iranic civilizational traits in its culture.
It is an obvious fact that the South-Eastern people of Pakistan have imposed their Indo-Aryan language and culture on the North-Westerners through economic and political domination, consequently, Indianizing/Hindustanizing North-Westerners and causing their Iranian-Dardic roots to be gradually eroded or the growth of their distinct Iranic-Dardic identity arrested.
Is not it the time that Nort-Westerners demand the introduction of Persian, the lingua franca of their Iranic-Dardic world, as a language of regional communication.
I am starting this discussion with good motives. Hope you people will positively respond.
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
Urdu itself emerged as a result of contact between Indian civilisation and Iranian/Central Asian civilisation. It was developed by the Mughals who were Central ASian Iranians. The culture of Pakistan is Iranian/Central Asian to the core. For example the dress, shalwar qameez, is Iranian compared to the Indian dhoti/saree. All the turns of speech, phrases, and expressions are Iranian. Names are Iranian: Farhad, Firuz, Parvez, Shabana, Shagufta, Nilofar, Nargis, Afsha, Shireen, etc. etc.
Pakistan is a mixture of Indian and Iranian civilisation.
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
That’s how it’s officially meant to be but in practice it’s very different… Shalwar Kameez is now as much Indian as it is Pakistani and the South Asian/Indian modification of it worn in Eastern Pakistan and Northern India is anything but Central Asian/Iranian… Iranian dress is totalley different so is Pashtun dress which is them heavy Kandahari dresses, Baluchi dress is also similar…
Just admit it Kashmiris, Punjabis, Sindhis Mohajirs etc. are what we call Desis or Curries just like north Indians and Bangladeshis whilst Pashtuns, Baluchis, etc. are Iranian/Avestan like Kurdish, Persian, Uzbek, Tajik, etc. people.
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
That's the point...
I personally identify with Punjab and Indian/Sanskritic culture/language and I'm not ashamed of that but I have a soft spot in my heart for Pashtun people because we live side by side with them in Attock and they are being wronged in Pakistan...
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
CCB, Indianization/Hindustanization of Pakistan/its communities through Urdu-Hindi is a serious issue. To resolve it, the following remedial measures should be adopted...
Introduce Persian as another lingua franca along with Urdu...There are reasons for it...some of the Pakistani communities have Iranian affinities rather than Hindustani...and historically have had Persian as their lingua franca...even today half of Pashtuns and Baluchis speak Persian/Dari as first or second language...Moreover, it is Persian actually that is predominently a Muslim language (if any such thing exists)...Also, unlike Urdu-Hindi, Persian was born on Muslim land and promoted and nurtured by Muslims (first Mahmud of Ghazna...)...There should be gradual transformation to Persian as a lingua-franca...
Promote native/indegenous languages (i.e. Pashto, Baluchi, Dardic, Sindhi, and Punjabi, etc.). Of these languages, some are exclusive only to Pakistan, Central Asia, and Middle East. The cultivation of Pakistan-CA-ME-exclusive languages will strengthen the consciousness of an non-Hindustani identity in people soildifying the barrier with Hindustan that Pakistani political and intellecual elite is futily trying to buttress using Islam and Urdu-Hindi.
Indegenizing Urdu itself by encouraging the native languages and native people to speak Urdu with their native accents, pronunciations, and vocabulary...provided our Urdu speaking brothers don't consider this as an act of profanity and distortion of their language...and its degradation to STREET LANGUAGE/Language of the "JAhils"...
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
It is strange that no one so far has done Indianization/Hindustanization-impact assesment of Urdu (or Urdu-Hindi) in Pakistan. Our ancient ways and identities are being changed through a cultural imposition triggered by British for colonial motives (i.e. net their Hindustani subjects together through a lingua franca without Muslim affinities...) and perpetuated later on...We are increasingly being pulled deeper into Indian cultural mileau just through a language...
I have all regards for Hindustani Civilization but South Asia, with over one and half billion population, seems so congested and noisy to me that it simply scares...
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
I posted this controversial thread for heated discussion but yet no one has responded to it...this is very important issue and has repurcsssion for the long run survival of Pakistan, and its inhabitants, as a distinct cultural entity (religion is not every thing and Urdu has no rigin in Pakistan...rather it binds Pakistan back with Hindustan)...
Should not the indegenization of Urdu and the introduction of another language e.g. Persian/Arabic as lingua franca be embarked upon to consolidate Pakistani indenity...?
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
Punjabis and Muhajirs are Indian and therefore at home with Indian culture, they will happily enforce it on Pashtuns and Baluchis and try to assimilate them into their own Indian culture because what more can they want to be associated with fair skinned Pashtuns? Don’t expect a Punjabi/Muhajir to have any issues with Urdu…
So long as Urdu is the national language across the country, the Indianisation of non-Indian, Iranian ethnic groups in Pakistan is inevitable…
What we need to do is to make Persian/Dari/Farsi the statuesque-language and lingua-franca of Western Pakistan, whilst Urdu/Hindustani can remain the lingua-franca of the Indian, Eastern side of Pakistan.
Another option is to stop imposing Urdu on every province, make the provincial languages (Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, Kashmiri) all equal national languages and let each province have their media, school curriculums, official work and road signs etc. in their own provincial language be that Pashto, Punjabi… whilst Urdu should be confined to the Muhajirs in Karachi who brought it from India.
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
CCB, don't you think there are other more pressing issues to discuss now? How many people in Pakistan are banging their heads about the language issue?
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
This is one of the most pressing issues linked to wether Pakistan want to have distinct politico-cultural identity or not. Why are you shy to discuss it? There are petty and mandane issues discussed here, so why not this?
Re: South-East and North-West Cultural Divide and Language Issue
CCB, you are absolutely right!
If Punjabis and Muhajirs want to distance themselves from their roots i.e. the main strean Hindustani Society by integrating with us, why don't they accept our culture than impose on us the culture of the very society they want to run away from?
We already were distinct from Hindustanis/Indians and ironically, they are pulling us into what they themselves want to escape from. This is pardoxical and hypocritic. OK, if they want to retain a link back with Hindustan, it is their right and choice but we, the North Westerners, should also be allowed to have link to traditional centers of our culture?
There must be a strong movement agaist this Indianization/Hindustanization.