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EEnngglliisshh,, UUrrdduu aanndd NNaattiivvee LLaanngguuaaggeess

BByy ZZuullffiiqqaarr MMiirraannii

This refers to an article on "English, Urdu and

regional languages: a study" by Dr Sabiha Mansoor

published in daily DAWN on 25 January 2004.

Dr. Sabiha please visit universities, the Sindh

University, Mehran University, Liaqat Medical

University at Jamshoro, Agriculture University Tando

Jam, Engg University Nawabshah, Chandka Medical

College Larkana and other universities of Interior

Sindh. Also interview Sindhi students of Dawood Engg

College, SMC, DMC, NED. I am sure your perception

about using of Sindhi will completely change. I do not

compare use of Sindhi and English in education. It is

pointed out that Sindhi medium is used by 99% of the

Sindhi students in the above stated universities in

every subject except science subjects as English is

mandatory in science subjects. Sindh is used in study

of Islamiyat, History, Politics, Internationalrelations to Economics upto to the postgraduate level

at these universities without any difficulty to both

male and female students.

The results of the case study referred by Dr. Sabiha

are highly contradictive and biased in favour of Urdu.

For example, the non-availability of material for

higher studies is also true for both Urdu.

For example: The study revealed "In terms ofcompetency and use of one's mother tongue, many

students - especially from Punjab and Sindh - said

that they were not fully competent in their mother

tongue, both in speaking and writing". This is not

true for Sindhi students as told in earlier paragraphs

Sindhi is used for teaching and studying upto the

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highest level in all subjects of arts and social

sciences. Statement can be true for Punjabi, since

they are deprived of the right of studying in their

mother tongue and their language have not been allowed

due role in Pakistan despite the fact that it is the

language spoken by majority of population of the

country.

Second "Both students and teachers said that very few

materials are available to them in regional languages

for their courses in higher education, and even those,

which were available, were low in quality". The same

is true for Urdu as well.

Third "Almost no student recommended that study of aregional language be made compulsory and very few said

that it be made a medium of instruction (and even who

did say that said it should be restricted only to

primary classes)". The fact that 99 % of Sindhi

speaking students choose, by their own will, Sindhi as

a medium of study upto the postgraduate level, is

enough to negate the above statement. It is an

undeniable fact that in the areas where people do have

choice they always prefer their own (so called

regional) language over Urdu in all the fourprovinces. Shift is however towards English and not

towards Urdu as the case study report has mentioned.

Fourth "Urdu is the dominant or 'majority' language

and is replacing other 'minority' languages". It is a

well known and documented fact that major languages of

Pakistan are Punjabi, Sindhi and Pushto. Even Baluchi

and Seraiki speaking population is more than that of

Urdu speaking population of Pakistan. Urdu is `major'

language only of official media of Pakistan. It is

simply an alien language to this land. Despite all

government patronage and spending of enormous

resources it has not become street language and the

language of 95 % of population of Pakistan.

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The scholars of Karachi are requested `to come out of

the well' (of Karachi)', see across Sohrab Goth and

Landhi, they will find an entire new world very

different from their perception (that they have built

through media only) - the true picture of Pakistan.

5 March 2004