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<h1 class="gmail-title"><a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1637925/1-state-urged-urdu-languages/">Govt urged to own languages other than Urdu<div class="gmail-fb-quote gmail-fb_iframe_widget" style="left: 159.5px; top: 493px;"><span style="vertical-align:bottom;width:169px;height:47px"></span></div></a></h1>
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<div class="gmail-author">By <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/author/5070/arsalan-altaf/" title="Posts by Arsalan Altaf">Arsalan Altaf</a> / <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/author/5900/photo-mudassar-raja/" title="Posts by Photo: Mudassar Raja">Photo: Mudassar Raja</a></div>
<div class="gmail-timestamp" title="2018-02-18T04:22:28 GMT">Published: February 18, 2018</div>
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<img src="https://c.tribune.com.pk/2018/02/1637925-image-1518900481-376-640x480.jpg" alt="Folk artistes sing in their mother tongues during the festival. PHOTO: MUDASSAR RAJA/EXPRESS" width="625" height="469">
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Folk artistes sing in their mother tongues during the festival. PHOTO: MUDASSAR RAJA/EXPRESS </p>
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<p>With Pakistan comprising several nations with their own language,
speakers, writers and activists from across the country have called upon
the state to rethink its ‘one-language one-nation’ policy and to
recognize, own and integrate all the languages spoken by its citizens.</p>
<p>This was urged as the two-day Pakistan Mother Languages Literature
Festival opened at the Lok Virsa on Saturday. The festival brings
together writers, poets, and singers of several major Pakistani
languages including Sindhi, Seraiki, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi, Hindko,
Brahvi, Balti, Shina, as well as many lesser-known languages such as
Torwali and Gawari.</p>
<p>Speakers said the state should not only recognise the major languages
which are spoken in the country but should also promote and celebrate
this linguistic diversity.</p><div style="width:100%" align="center"><div style="max-width:640px" class="gmail-resonance"><div id="gmail-resonancead" style="height:360px;width:625px" class="gmail-pro-player-ipm"><div class="gmail-light-player-wrapper gmail-notMobile gmail-isInit gmail-init-loading"><div class="gmail-lp-holder"><div class="gmail-lp-controls-wrapper"><div class="gmail-init-placeholder"><div class="gmail-init-button"><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dots"><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-0"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-1"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-2"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-3"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-4"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-5"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-6"></div><div class="gmail-lp-loader-dot gmail-lp-loader-dot-7"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail-proVideo gmail-pro-controls-wrapper gmail-ima-container"><div class="gmail-light-player-wrapper"><div class="gmail-lp-holder gmail-is-muted"><div style="width:625px;height:360px"></div><div class="gmail-pro-control gmail-pro-close"></div><div class="gmail-pro-control gmail-pro-progress-bg"><div class="gmail-pro-control gmail-pro-progress" style="width:58.6667%;background-color:rgb(204,0,0)"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>
<p>“Pakistan is the only federation in the world which has only one
national language. In all other federations, the linguistic diversity
has constitutional status,” said Jami Chandio, a Sindhi writer and
critic.</p>
<p>“Urdu has been declared as the national language despite the fact
that it is the mother tongue of only around five per cent of
Pakistanis,” he argued.</p>
<p>“When we are already a plural and federal country, why are there
efforts for uniformity then?” he asked, adding that outside of certain
situations, uniformity was not possible in a diverse society.</p>
<p>While Chandio called the state policy to achieve homogeneity a
‘pseudo-narrative’, Seraiki writer Akram Mirani was far more brash,
calling it ‘foolishness’.</p>
<p>“The state policy for compulsory teaching of Urdu and Islamiat should
be rethought. These efforts to achieve uniformity is just a waste of
time,” Mirani said, arguing that the dream of 100% literacy could only
be achieved if people are taught in their mother tongue. Earlier, while
speaking at the inaugural session, SPO Chief Executive Saleem Malik
said that it was important to support mother languages.</p>
<p class="gmail-title"><strong><a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1632322/1-unsung-urdu-literature-continues-live/" target="_blank">Unsung Urdu literature continues to live on</a></strong></p>
<p>“Most people in the world know only one language, their mother
tongue. It would be a great injustice if that language dies because it
takes thousands of years for a language to develop,” Malik explained.</p>
<p>Foundation Open Society Institute country head Saba Gul Khattak said
more such events should be held, not only in each province but at the
district level because there are several languages within the provinces
and regions which need recognition.</p>
<p>“This year also marks 70 years of the language rights movement which
started in 1948. We should reflect upon how the languages are now
treated by the government and in our schools,” she said.</p>
<p>This is the third consecutive year the festival is being held at Lok
Virsa in connection with the world mother languages day, February 21.
The festival will continue until Sunday evening.<em> </em></p>
<p><em>Published in The Express Tribune, February 18<sup>th</sup>, 2018.</em></p></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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