Mind your language
The author teaches during IT University Lahore and is a author of ‘A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of a Princely States of Pakistan, 1947-55.’ He tweets during @BangashYK
In a final few days a notice of a Beaconhouse School System Sahiwal campus from Aug 2016 has been doing a rounds on amicable media. The common paltry propagandize notice on fortify has vehement criticism given in a territory on ‘Foul language’ it has interestingly enclosed ‘Punjabi,’—yes, a Punjabi language, a denunciation oral by roughly 50 per cent of Pakistan’s race as a initial language. When a propagandize simplified in a bizarrely strong, conceited and scathing statement, it conveniently combined a word ‘curses’ after a word ‘Punjabi’ in sequence to make it all go away. However, conjunction was a word ‘curses’ there in a strange notice, and nor is their forgive that it was ‘diplomatic’ or ‘delicate’ to skip it convincing or even sensible. Regardless, even if this reason is taken during face value, it seems that abuse difference in Punjabi are criminialized while impiety in Urdu, English or any other denunciation is excellent — a rather foolish stipulation.
While some stupid counterclaim by a propagandize was expected, some-more engaging is that they also argued that how could a ‘Punjabi Head Master’ call his ‘mother tongue’ ‘foul’? But that is where a crux of a matter is: many Punjabis from West Punjab not usually demeanour down on their possess denunciation though even flout it.
In his Punjab ka Muqadama [Punjab’s Lawsuit] created over 3 decades ago, maestro politician Hanif Ramay lamented a fact that he had to write Punjabi’s box in Urdu, simply given a Punjabis have mislaid a ability to review and write their possess language. Ramay bewailed that in sequence to turn ‘Pakistani’ a Punjabis had rejected their possess denunciation and focused usually on Urdu. The solitary importance on Urdu meant that while a Punjabis became widespread in a civil-military bureaucracy in Pakistan, they did so during a responsibility of their possess temperament and culture. In fact in an mocking turn of story while this Punjabi-dominated statute chosen looked down on a earlier compatriots, a East Bengalis, given they suspicion that they were not ‘Muslim enough’ and that a Bengali denunciation was ‘too Hindu,’ they suspicion a same about their possess enlightenment and denunciation too!
The low disposition conflicting Punjabi in Pakistan has not usually tiny a expansion of a denunciation on this side of a Radcliffe line linguistically and academically, it has relegated it to being a ‘vulgar’ tongue, deliberate ‘rustic’ during best. This means that West Punjabis are repelled when a highbrow speaks Punjabi in class, not pejoratively or in jest, though academically, and students are told that one can indeed ‘study’ in Punjabi a several subjects they are now study in possibly English or Urdu.
The Pakistani contempt towards Punjabi clearly carries over to a opinion towards a Punjabi enlightenment in general. Almost each division we ask my students what their ‘local dress’ is and roughly always we get a answer ‘shalwar kameez’ from a room full of Punjabis.
When we discuss that maybe a ‘kurta dhoti’ competence be some-more internal we get a confused, roughly repulsed, demeanour on a face of many students—as if something demeaning had been talked about. Some even contend ‘oh that’s what a encampment people wear,’ or ‘that’s something people used to wear though now wear improved clothes.’ It is as if many students would wish their Punjabi enlightenment buried underneath a spare cut jeans and engineer shalwar kameez. Having a welfare for wardrobe is one thing, being broke about it is utterly another.
Language is one of a many critical markers of temperament and defines a people, a nation. The executive problem with a presentation mentioned above is that is entrance from a school. A propagandize is where a child is formed, where they learn how to be an informed, prepared citizen, and so if such a sacred place considers a denunciation [and it could be any language] as ‘foul’ afterwards it is a genuine means of concern. Singling a Punjabi for such a diagnosis clearly shows a opinion a propagandize and, by extension, shortly all of a students and expertise will have towards a language. Children lifted in such an sourroundings will have no choice though to demeanour down on their vernacular denunciation given they never had a choice to rivet with it. Therefore a propagandize would be producing shallow, ungrounded, and confused individuals, rather than a finish opposite.
In today’s worldly universe it is unfit to hang to one denunciation and many people are bilingual or even multilingual, though denigrating one’s possess denunciation shows a low confusion with who we are. Punjab is 50 per cent of Pakistan and if people in Punjab are ashamed of who they are, afterwards what will be a predestine of Pakistan itself?
Published in The Express Tribune, Oct 17th, 2016.
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Article source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/1200197/mind-your-language-6/