If that Khisaan is illiterate, even the text written in Punjabi won’t make any sense to him. There are language issues, and there are serious illiteracy problems, and I don’t think we should confuse the two.
I am pro revival of local languages, but I also know that in Pakistan when lingual and ethnic pride becomes passion and only hope for survival and identity, it gives birth to xenophobia, racism and divisions.
Punjab as a province has gained so much from being slightly more flexible and accommodating, and being open to positive external influences, and despite its population being racially diverse, all groups have managed to co-exist so peacefully because language is not a bone of contention there. People from all over Pakistan have come and settled in Punjab and made Punjab what it is today because rate of integration is higher in Punjab than anywhere else in Pakistan.
Kashmiris, Potoharis, Mirpuris, Saraikis, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Muhajirs, Baloch, Afghans, Persians, Hindko speakers; all racial groups have naturally picked up Punjabi as their first or second language by just living there and in the absence of any hard or fast rules. We know a Lahore based Muhajir family who communicate in fluent Punjabi whenever they need to.
Punjabi is a widely and dare I say, happily spoken language in Punjab, the only area it’s lagging behind is by not producing enough literature. So that they need to improve. Otherwise I would always protest against any superior or victim complex being lumped with revival of Punjabi language. That’s not the way to achieve things.
some interesting views shared and compiled in video. There might be some inaccuracies, but there is definitely a sense in people that their languages have been deprived due rights.
The recent rallies in Punjab on Mother tongues day also prove the point.
Muqqawweee, I don’t know why but there is a still a part of me who thinks you can do better than quoting Tarek Fateh - a known racist! Seriously. Classic example of political passion for language and ethnicity ultimately leading to xenophobia where accomplished people get demonised and discredited by virtue of not being native!
Perhaps you can message Tarek Fatah on behalf of me and tell him that why is he wearing a Western suit boot instead of Punjabi dhoti if he loves the culture and language so much?
Seriously, I don’t know who this Tarek Fateh is. I just came across this video randomly and as I mentioned thoughts expressed in compilation might not be accurate. I just posted the compilation as it provides an alternate view (may be its not majority view) which is supported by recent rallies on Mother Tongue’s days where people expressed that Punjabi has been ignored in Punjab and even politicians don’t speak it in assembly or their election campaign.
Last but not the least, I think I have already communicated to you that we have a severe disagreement on language issue, which time and again has lead to exchanges which I never wanted to indulged in and I would like like to apologize for those exchanges. Before we indulge in such exchanges once again, I’m out of this thread for good. Take care.
When Pakistan was being founded the Aga Khan of that time made a pretty compelling case for Arabic to be the national language. He said that while only a minority could read or write urdu or persian, every single neighbourhood in Pakistan had a maulvi who could teach arabic and so Arabic would be easier to adopt as a national tongue.
@Monk I am not Tarek’s supporter, and is very obvious that he actually hates Pakistan, but half of his lecture is not going to give you his whole stance. He has some valid arguments. It’s just that he goes too far to prove his point.
You should listen to his argument against treating Aurangzeb and Mohd bin Qasim as heroes in Indo Pak muslim history. Yes, we won’t like it because it clashes with everything that was taught to us. But he speaks the truth
^ I did not say that I hate mohd bin qasim. Also, you have wrong info that he brought Islam to the subcontinent. He was not even born when India already had its first mosque. Ratee Rataaee kitaabon se tareekh parhna choro ge to aqal aaye gee tum ko
Urdu is the declared national language because the Punjabi elite prefer Urdu over Punjabi. What language the migrants from India spoke had nothing to do with Urdu being picked and then maintained as the national language. If the Punjabi elite would have been proud of Punjabi, it would have been the national language. I doubt the 8% number now though. Urdu is understood and spoken by a much larger percentage of people whose mother tongue is different. The combined population of Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Islamabad and other Urban centers of Punjab and KPK is way more than 8% of total population of Pakistan and Urdu is spoken and understood by most of the people in these cities.
You are right on that. The point still remains valid that Urdu is the language that the highest percentage of population speaks and is the most diverse geographically in Pakistan, making it a better choice than say Punjabi or Sindhi. However, looking at this apparent anomaly as a manifestation of unfair political power of muhajirs is incorrect as they don’t have the political power. It is the Punjabi elite that have the political power and it is because of their preference of Urdu over Punjabi that Urdu is the national language.
