Urdu as a national language

After independence, Urdu became the national

language of Pakistan and it continued to develop. It
was not surprising that the state chose Urdu as the
national language because it was seen as the idiom
which kept the Muslim nationalism alive throughout
the period of colonization. The Quaid-e-Azam was
keen to support Urdu as he saw it as an important
unifying force in the new country.
After the emergence of Pakistan, a great deal of
work has been done for the progress of Urdu
Language. The government has taken steps to foster
the growth of Urdu. Ti is the medium for radio and
television programes. Urdu novels, poetry, magazines
and news paper are widely read.

SINDHI
Sindhi is an old language with written records
dating back to the 10th century. When Arabs setteled
in sindh, thir culture and literature had a major
impact on sindhi. Many arab words were absorbed in
the language and it began to be written in the Arabic
scritp rather htan the ‘Marwari’ and ‘Arz Nagari’ in
which it was written originally. Sindhi became the
language spoken by most of the people. The early
scholars of sindh were occupied by the study of arabi
cand Persian and no ancient sindhi poetry therefore
survives.
The poets and writers have played commendable role
in the progress and development of sindhi language.
Among the most famous poets are Makhdum Nuh of
Hala and Qazi Qazan of Thatta. Sindhi literature was
of a particularly high quality during the Somroo
period (1050-1300).
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai was a great sufi poet of the
sindhi language. His poetry gives an excellent
description of the natural beauty of sindh and
fascinates the reader. The poetry of ‘Sachal Sarmast’
and ‘Ramzan Qandhar’ is deeply influenced by the
environmental atmosphere and is considered as a
valuable contribution to the Sindhi language.
The growth of language was further aided by journals
which began to appear in the nineteenth contury. The
first of these was ‘Ta’alim Alkhashaf-o-Tauheed’.

In the modern times, steps have been taken to

promote the Sindhi language:
 In 1948, the Sindhi Litrature Board was set up
and this has printed many books and magazines
in Sindhi. Amongst famous dindhi authors are
Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi, Faqir Nabi Bux and
G.Allana.
 Several important books have been written in
Sindhi folk literature.
  In 1954, Bazm-e-Talib-ul-Muala was set up to
promote Sindhi literature.
 A Sindhiology department has been set up at the
Sindh University Jamshoro.

BALOCHI
Balochi is the language spoken in Balochistan the
second largest province of Pakistan. The term Baloch
has been used to denote the races that lived in that
area. Persian and Brohi languages are also spoken
widely in Balochistan. There are two main kinds of
Balochi ‘Sulemanki’ and ‘Mekrani’.
The Balochi language was brought into Balochistan
by the tribes which migrated from the north-west
Iran. The Balochi literature could not progress very
much because the Balochi people were basically the
nomads who wandered from one place to another.
Moreover, Balochistan is a mountainous region
which greatly lacks in facilities essential for the
promotion and progress of social life.
The early Balochi poetry abounds in folk songs. Jam
Darang is considered an important Balochi poet.
The first time Balochi literature cam eto light was in
1830 when a British traveler W. Leech, after
conducting his research in Balochistan, wrote his
report in ‘The Journal of Asiatic Society’ and
revealed the presence of Balochi literature.
Before partition, Balochi literature was beginning to
decline. There were few books or magazines
published in Balochi and even the Balochistan
Gazetteer was published in English. After partition,
however, there have been steps to promote the
language:
 Radio Pakistan Karachi began broadcasts in
Balochi.
 The Balochi Literary association was set up and
there are now weekly and monthly magazines
published in the language.
 Modern Balochi literature has shown rapid
progress. There are many poets most notable are
Atta Shad and Ishaq Shamin. Other writers, such
as Gul Khan Nazir and Azad Jamal Din are also
working to promote Balochi language.

PUNJABI
Punjabi is the local language of the province of
Punjab which is the biggest province of Pakistan with
regard to population and development.it is also
spoken in some areas of Azad Kashmir and the KPK
province. Punjabi is very simple language and is easy
to understand. It was given various names during
different periods of history. It has been referred to as
‘Masoodi’, ‘Al-Hindi’, and ‘Hindko’. Hafiz
Barkhurdar was the first person to have used the term
Punjabi to describe the language.
Punjabi has a long history. Originally it was written
in ‘Gurmukhi’ script, but during the later years of
Mughals, Arabic script was used. The Punjabi
language is greatly influenced by many other
languages such as, Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Turkish
and English.
Punjabi was a popular language amongst the Sufi
poets who used it for their traditional romantic folk
poetry. The famous folk poet tales of Punjab like
Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban and Sassi Punnu were
written in Punjabi. These immortal classics of
literature contributed greatly towards the popularity
of Punjabi language.
There has also been a long tradition of mystic
literature extending from the twelfth century. Sufi
poets such as Baba Farid, Sultan Bahu wrote their
famous works in Punjabi. Bullhe Shah composed
mystical lorese and melodioud Kafis which area
commonly sung to this day.
At the beginning of the 20 th century, novles,dramas
and short stories