English, Urdu and Native Languages

By Zulfiqar Mirani

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, International
relations 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 of

competency 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
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 a

regional 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 four
provinces. 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.
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