Perils of Urdu — as national language
Kashmiri is spoken in Azad Kashmir. Arabic, if we look at the history, Arabic was the official language of the territory of the modern state of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
It was a part of the Umayyad Caliphate between the year 651-750 as declared in the article 31 No. 2, of the Constitution of Pakistan saying “The State shall endeavour, (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiyat compulsory, to encourage and to facilitate the learning of Arabic language.
Arabic is the religious language of Muslims. The Quran, Sunnah, Hadith and Muslim theology is taught in Arabic with Urdu translation.
The Pakistani Diaspora can speak Arabic as well, and it is taught as a religious language in mosques, schools, colleges, universities and Madrassahs.
Majority of Muslim population has had some form of formal or informal education in the reading, writing and pronunciation of the Arabic language as part of their religious belief.
The National Education Policy 2017 declared in article 3.7.4 that: “Arabic as compulsory part of our education and will be integrated in Islamiyat from Primary to Higher Secondary level to enable the students to understand the Holy Quran.“
Furthermore, it specifies in article 3.7.6: “Arabic as elective subject shall be offered properly at Secondary and Higher Secondary level with Arabic literature and grammar in its course to enable the learners to have command in the language.“
This law is also valid for private schools as it defines in article 3.7.12: to make uniformity in the education system as well as in our society.“
Persian was the official and cultural language of the Mughal Empire, and Central Asian Turkic invaders who migrated into the Indian Subcontinent and patronized it.
Persian was officially abolished with the arrival of the British: in Sindh in 1843 and in Punjab in 1849.
Currently, it is spoken primarily by the Dari speaking refugees from Afghanistan and a small number of local Baluchistani Hazara community. Bengali was recognized as the second official language of Pakistan in1956.
Most Pakistani Bengalis (migrants) and Pakistani Biharis, are bilingual speakers and are mainly settled in Karachi.
Turkish language was used by the ruling Mughals. The autobiography of emperor Babur, Tuzk-e-Babari was also written in Turkish.
Mughal emperor Humayun further introduced Persian language and culture in the court and the government.
English is a co-official language of Pakistan and is widely used in the executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as in the officer ranks of Pakistan’s armed forces.
Pakistan’s Constitution and laws were written in English and we wish if these are re-written in Urdu.
It is also widely used in schools, colleges and universities as a medium of instruction and is seen as the language of upward mobility, prevalent in upper social circles, alongside native Pakistani languages.
In 2015, it was announced that there are plans to promote Urdu in official business, but unfortunately our Ministry of Planning stated that all official business will be bilingual and English would be taught as a co-language alongside Urdu in educational institutions.—Concluded
—The writer is a retired professor from Rawalpindi Medical University, and Hon. Professor of China’s Tianjin University.
