The truth about the Punjabi "majority"

[Alpha_PK]

Punjabi was spoken by 44% of the population in 1998. In other words, 44% of the population in 1998 were Punjabi.

Now, in 2017, the number has come down to 38% according to the 2017 Census.


Punjabis make up only 70% of the population in Punjab. Seraikis make up 20% (up from 17% in 1998), Pashtuns make up 1.98%, and the rest is made up of mostly urdu speakers.


The figure of 52% gets thrown around a lot when talking about Punjab. But in reality, Punjabis make up 38% of Pakistan's population. If we seperate the potohar region from this number, then Punjabis make up only 33% of Pakistan's population, down from around 48% in 1981.

Sounds a lot smaller than the so called "52% Punjabi majority".


Then why is Punjabi not allowed to be spoken in educational institutions in Punjab?

Why are all the other regional languages allowed in the other provinces but Punjabi is not allowed in Punjab?
I actually hear people use the excuse that "no punjabi actually wants to speak the language so what's the point?"

Well, firstly, that is incorrect. Just coz some whitewashed Lahoris don't like speaking urdu, let alone Punjabi, that doesn't mean no punjabi does.

And secondly, even if that was the case, why are you banning that language from the province it came from?
Why's urdu being imposed on every Punjabi?

If you actually had allowed Punjabi to be spoken in educational settings in Punjab, no Punjabi would have felt "ashamed" to speak the language.

It's like the Pak government wants speaking punjabi to be some kind of taboo.

And why's this being done?
Because they think that the "majority" punjabi population will try to enforce the language on everyone else.
P.S.
I have no problem with Urdu being our national language. It's good to have a language that everyone in the same country understands. Unlike in India, where majority of the South Indians can't understand hindi so their only common language is English which a lot of North Indians are not confident speaking.

My problem is why are Punjabis being deprived of their own language just because the other provinces think we're too "privileged"? Maybe say that to the 20% of people in Lahore who are living in slums. Very privileged...

 

[pakpride00090]

You are right. As a urdu speaker from Sindh I agree.

It is only a just a matter of time before Punjabis nationalism picks up. For far too long , other ethnicities have unfairly targeted Punjabis .. The biggest of them are Sindhis and Baloch.. Pasthuns are now increasingly becoming more racist.

It was only inevitable that Punjabis would respond in kind.

 

[Alpha_PK]

You are right. As a urdu speaker from Sindh I agree.

It is only a just a matter of time before Punjabis nationalism picks up. For far too long , other ethnicities have unfairly targeted Punjabis .. The biggest of them are Sindhis and Baloch.. Pasthuns are now increasingly becoming more racist.

It was only inevitable that Punjabis would respond in kind.

This PTM racism is actually making Punjabis think this way.

Why do the other provinces think Punjab is some country in Western Europe, with a GDP per capita of $30,000 and a HDI above 0.9, when in reality Punjab's GDP per capita is just above the national average and it's HDI is 0.56?

The major reason Punjab is more developed than the other provinces is because it was more developed pre-partition too.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Punjabi was spoken by 44% of the population in 1998. In other words, 44% of the population in 1998 were Punjabi.

Now, in 2017, the number has come down to 38% according to the 2017 Census.


Punjabis make up only 70% of the population in Punjab. Seraikis make up 20% (up from 17% in 1998), Pashtuns make up 1.98%, and the rest is made up of mostly urdu speakers.


The figure of 52% gets thrown around a lot when talking about Punjab. But in reality, Punjabis make up 38% of Pakistan's population. If we seperate the potohar region from this number, then Punjabis make up only 33% of Pakistan's population, down from around 48% in 1981.

Sounds a lot smaller than the so called "52% Punjabi majority".


Then why is Punjabi not allowed to be spoken in educational institutions in Punjab?

Why are all the other regional languages allowed in the other provinces but Punjabi is not allowed in Punjab?
I actually hear people use the excuse that "no punjabi actually wants to speak the language so what's the point?"

Well, firstly, that is incorrect. Just coz some whitewashed Lahoris don't like speaking urdu, let alone Punjabi, that doesn't mean no punjabi does.

And secondly, even if that was the case, why are you banning that language from the province it came from?
Why's urdu being imposed on every Punjabi?

If you actually had allowed Punjabi to be spoken in educational settings in Punjab, no Punjabi would have felt "ashamed" to speak the language.

It's like the Pak government wants speaking punjabi to be some kind of taboo.

And why's this being done?
Because they think that the "majority" punjabi population will try to enforce the language on everyone else.
P.S.
I have no problem with Urdu being our national language. It's good to have a language that everyone in the same country understands. Unlike in India, where majority of the South Indians can't understand hindi so their only common language is English which a lot of North Indians are not confident speaking.

My problem is why are Punjabis being deprived of their own language just because the other provinces think we're too "privileged"? Maybe say that to the 20% of people in Lahore who are living in slums. Very privileged...

Education is a provincial subject after the 18th Amendment, so the responsibility to push for Punjabi to be taught rests with the provincial government, does it not?

 

[Alpha_PK]

Education is a provincial subject after the 18th Amendment, so the responsibility to push for Punjabi to be taught rests with the provincial government, does it not?

What would Usman Buzdar know about Punjabi?
Or the PTI government?
Not exactly a Punjabi government is it?

It should be Punjabi. End of.

Also tell me why is it Pashto for KPK but not Punjabi for Punjab?

 

[Gangetic]

Pothowari is very similar to Punjabi and both speakers can easily converse. People say Punjabis are a majority because the province of Punjab has the highest population.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

What would Usman Buzdar know about Punjabi?
Or the PTI government?
Not exactly a Punjabi government is it?

It should be Punjabi. End of.

Also tell me why is it Pashto for KPK but not Punjabi for Punjab?

How many years was the PMLN running Punjab?

How many years was the PMLQ running Punjab?

Blaming the PTI and Buzdar are excuses.

 

[FuturePAF]

If/when South Punjab becomes a separate province, it may finally end the perception Punjabis are the majority population. The reallocation of tax revenue may also give the wrong impression that Punjabis are being discriminated against, when it will actually be a more equitable distribution of tax funds.

To lighten the mood, here is an old but funny video on this.

 

[Khan_21]

Punjabi was spoken by 44% of the population in 1998. In other words, 44% of the population in 1998 were Punjabi.

Now, in 2017, the number has come down to 38% according to the 2017 Census.


Punjabis make up only 70% of the population in Punjab. Seraikis make up 20% (up from 17% in 1998), Pashtuns make up 1.98%, and the rest is made up of mostly urdu speakers.


The figure of 52% gets thrown around a lot when talking about Punjab. But in reality, Punjabis make up 38% of Pakistan's population. If we seperate the potohar region from this number, then Punjabis make up only 33% of Pakistan's population, down from around 48% in 1981.

Sounds a lot smaller than the so called "52% Punjabi majority".


Then why is Punjabi not allowed to be spoken in educational institutions in Punjab?

Why are all the other regional languages allowed in the other provinces but Punjabi is not allowed in Punjab?
I actually hear people use the excuse that "no punjabi actually wants to speak the language so what's the point?"

Well, firstly, that is incorrect. Just coz some whitewashed Lahoris don't like speaking urdu, let alone Punjabi, that doesn't mean no punjabi does.

And secondly, even if that was the case, why are you banning that language from the province it came from?
Why's urdu being imposed on every Punjabi?

If you actually had allowed Punjabi to be spoken in educational settings in Punjab, no Punjabi would have felt "ashamed" to speak the language.

It's like the Pak government wants speaking punjabi to be some kind of taboo.

And why's this being done?
Because they think that the "majority" punjabi population will try to enforce the language on everyone else.
P.S.
I have no problem with Urdu being our national language. It's good to have a language that everyone in the same country understands. Unlike in India, where majority of the South Indians can't understand hindi so their only common language is English which a lot of North Indians are not confident speaking.

My problem is why are Punjabis being deprived of their own language just because the other provinces think we're too "privileged"? Maybe say that to the 20% of people in Lahore who are living in slums. Very privileged...

Its not that punjabi is banned its just that majority of them donot prefer to speak it. 90 -95 % of middle/upper middle class punjabis prefer speaking urdu because they feel ashamed to speak their own language. They consider it as a language that should be spoken with chowkidars / batmans etc.

Thats why their culture is vanishing very fast.

 

[Imad.Khan]

Punjabi was spoken by 44% of the population in 1998. In other words, 44% of the population in 1998 were Punjabi.

Now, in 2017, the number has come down to 38% according to the 2017 Census.


Punjabis make up only 70% of the population in Punjab. Seraikis make up 20% (up from 17% in 1998), Pashtuns make up 1.98%, and the rest is made up of mostly urdu speakers.


The figure of 52% gets thrown around a lot when talking about Punjab. But in reality, Punjabis make up 38% of Pakistan's population. If we seperate the potohar region from this number, then Punjabis make up only 33% of Pakistan's population, down from around 48% in 1981.

Sounds a lot smaller than the so called "52% Punjabi majority".


Then why is Punjabi not allowed to be spoken in educational institutions in Punjab?

Why are all the other regional languages allowed in the other provinces but Punjabi is not allowed in Punjab?
I actually hear people use the excuse that "no punjabi actually wants to speak the language so what's the point?"

Well, firstly, that is incorrect. Just coz some whitewashed Lahoris don't like speaking urdu, let alone Punjabi, that doesn't mean no punjabi does.

And secondly, even if that was the case, why are you banning that language from the province it came from?
Why's urdu being imposed on every Punjabi?

If you actually had allowed Punjabi to be spoken in educational settings in Punjab, no Punjabi would have felt "ashamed" to speak the language.

It's like the Pak government wants speaking punjabi to be some kind of taboo.

And why's this being done?
Because they think that the "majority" punjabi population will try to enforce the language on everyone else.
P.S.
I have no problem with Urdu being our national language. It's good to have a language that everyone in the same country understands. Unlike in India, where majority of the South Indians can't understand hindi so their only common language is English which a lot of North Indians are not confident speaking.

My problem is why are Punjabis being deprived of their own language just because the other provinces think we're too "privileged"? Maybe say that to the 20% of people in Lahore who are living in slums. Very privileged...

When people say 52% they are not referring to the number of speakers of the language instead they mean the population size of Punjab.

This is the first time i am hearing that people are being discouraged to speak Punjabi on state level. Its not been on the news nor has anyone here mentioned it before, so not sure if your claim is authentic or just your opinion.

Pasthuns are now increasingly becoming more racist.

Do you know how many times i have faced racism while growing up in Karachi or even on this forum? Yet you will not be able to find a single racist comment from me against any Pakistani. Check my profile its open.

 

[Deltadart]

Do we really need to indulge in this discussion at this point in our history? Sure, teach punjabi, but let's no it let it polarize our nation any further. Let's concentrate on being good humans, muslims and pakistanis first and the rest will fall in place

 

[Lincoln]

Urdu needs to be promoted either way, I believe. Other ethnicities will eventually pick it up as well once they start coming out of their bubble.

 

[Musalman]

What are you doing about the Punjabi? I try to read Punjabi books (of course Shahmukhi). It was hard at first now it is not that difficult. Speak punjabi at home and in office. I do that too. Of course Urdu will be included but try speaking Punjabi.
I teach my kids that Punjabi is a language and its a good language. Now they try.

 

[Imad.Khan]

What i really want to know if anyone has been told to stop speaking Punjabi?

What are you doing about the Punjabi? I try to read Punjabi books (of course Shahmukhi). It was hard at first now it is not that difficult. Speak punjabi at home and in office. I do that too. Of course Urdu will be included but try speaking Punjabi.
I teach my kids that Punjabi is a language and its a good language. Now they try.

Has anyone ever told you not to speak Punjabi?

 

[lastofthepatriots]

There is no language in Pakistan that is fit for education or science. Punjabi is a medieval language. It is for arts, poetry and every day use but not for educational purposes.

Let’s be real OP, there is no way you probably even understand heer ranjha. I’m sure almost nobody on this forum does. That is very difficult and pure Punjabi. Neither Indian sikhs nor Pakistanis speak real Punjabi anymore due to the mixing of words from other languages. Although Punjabi spoken in Pakistan is way better than the one spoken in India. The worst thing is the Punjabi burgers in our country that can’t speak Punjabi just try to copy sikhs and end up sounding like retards.