It was Awami National Party, led by Wali Khan, that declared Urdu as an official language in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Even the Punjab has never formally made such a move
'It is absolutely baseless assertion that national unity is harmed by language diversity... As a matter of fact, imposition of one language is very harmful for the national unity,' says Dr. Manzur Ejaz. He is a Washington based writer, literary critic and well-known Pakistani columnist. He hails from Sahiwal. After a teaching stint at Punjab University (1972-77), he did his PhD in Economics from Howard University, Washington DC. He briefly taught economics at Pennsylvania University (1987-1989). His books include Epistemology of Development Economics, Nazman (collection of poems), Ranjhan yar (Stage play), Waris Nama (Explaining Waris Shah), My People My Thoughts (Collection of columns). In an interview with the Viewpoint, he talks about the issue of national languages and mother tongues in Pakistan. Excerpts:
Has there been a 'language imperialism' in Pakistan? Did the domination of Urdu fuel the separatist movement in East Pakistan?
Linguistic imperialism started when the British annexed the Punjab to the empire and imposed Urdu in the Punjab and the Frontier Province. Probably this was the only region with such a large population where the British, owing to political reasons, did not develop the indigenous languages. On the contrary they developed Sindhi and implemented it on all levels. In general, the languages ignored by the British were never developed even after the independence. The linguistic imperialist legacy continued even after 1947.
After the creation of Pakistan, the Urdu-speaking elite (or Urduized elite) and Punjabi military groomed under the linguistic imperialism, constructed the 'ideology of Pakistan.' Besides religion, Urdu was the most important element in the 'ideology of Pakistan'. The bias was so strong that even Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who could hardly speak Urdu, preached Bengali Muslims to accept Urdu as the national language. Linguistic riots erupted and the basis for a separate homeland for Bengali Muslims was laid. The rest of the story is well known. by Riaz ul Hassan
'It is absolutely baseless assertion that national unity is harmed by language diversity... As a matter of fact, imposition of one language is very harmful for the national unity,' says Dr. Manzur Ejaz. He is a Washington based writer, literary critic and well-known Pakistani columnist. He hails from Sahiwal. After a teaching stint at Punjab University (1972-77), he did his PhD in Economics from Howard University, Washington DC. He briefly taught economics at Pennsylvania University (1987-1989). His books include Epistemology of Development Economics, Nazman (collection of poems), Ranjhan yar (Stage play), Waris Nama (Explaining Waris Shah), My People My Thoughts (Collection of columns). In an interview with the Viewpoint, he talks about the issue of national languages and mother tongues in Pakistan. Excerpts:
Has there been a 'language imperialism' in Pakistan? Did the domination of Urdu fuel the separatist movement in East Pakistan?
Linguistic imperialism started when the British annexed the Punjab to the empire and imposed Urdu in the Punjab and the Frontier Province. Probably this was the only region with such a large population where the British, owing to political reasons, did not develop the indigenous languages. On the contrary they developed Sindhi and implemented it on all levels. In general, the languages ignored by the British were never developed even after the independence. The linguistic imperialist legacy continued even after 1947.
After the creation of Pakistan, the Urdu-speaking elite (or Urduized elite) and Punjabi military groomed under the linguistic imperialism, constructed the 'ideology of Pakistan.' Besides religion, Urdu was the most important element in the 'ideology of Pakistan'. The bias was so strong that even Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who could hardly speak Urdu, preached Bengali Muslims to accept Urdu as the national language. Linguistic riots erupted and the basis for a separate homeland for Bengali Muslims was laid. The rest of the story is well known. by Riaz ul Hassan
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