Urdu was enforced on us, says Rabbani

[LA se Karachi]

@LA se Karachi How many people speak salees urdu in Karachi?

There's definitely a generational divide in Karachi when it comes to Urdu. The older generations mostly speak it in its proper form. The younger generations generally don't, at least not in everyday conversation.

However, the youngest middle-class people in Karachi are increasingly turning to in English. They seem to mix Urdu and English when speaking.

literature is different.. no doubt about it.. as i already mention one borrow from sanskrit other borrow from persian.

Well, that's true. Urdu, being a mix of Sankrit and Persian, is a unique language. It blends Northwest Indo-Aryan and Iranian, reflecting Pakistan ethnically. It was the language of the Mughals and was the lingua franca of the Muslims of the subcontinent. I like the link to that history. Indians mostly speak Hindi. Though similar, it is distinct from Urdu and is written in the Devanagari script. Choosing another language would have inflamed ethnic tensions.

Keep in kind that Punjabi too is spoken across the border in India. It wouldn't make a great choice to separate ourselves, either. Pashto is also widely spoken in Afghanistan. Persian is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Balochi is spoken in Iran as well. The only major language you can say that is completely native to Pakistan is Sindhi. Though there are a few Sindhi speakers in India as well.

I suppose we could have adopted Sindhi as the national language in place of Urdu, but I don't know how many Punjabis and Pashtuns (and Urdu speakers) would have gone along with that. Not to mention that would have created a much greater distance to the history and literature I mentioned earlier. It also probably would have created some tension. Sindhis too have distinct history that is tied to their language.

In any case, all Indo-Aryan languages share some similarities, particularly those in the Northwestern part of subcontinent. Though I don't speak them, I can pick up quite a bit of Punjabi and Seraiki (a little bit of Sindhi too) due to their similarity to Urdu. I personally think Urdu was the best choice for the reasons above.

 

[Verve]

I personally think Urdu was the best choice for the reasons above.

Wisest choice too. Choosing national language from one of the provinces would have caused a lot of serious issues. Imagine so many more Rabbani type snakes crying murder and the unrest.

 

[xairhossi]

Well, that's true. Urdu, being a mix of Sankrit and Persian, is a unique language. It blends Northwest Indo-Aryan and Eastern Iranian, reflecting Pakistan ethnically. It was the language of the Mughals and the lingua franca of the Muslims of the subcontinent. I like the link to that history. Indians mostly speak Hindi. Though similar, it is distinct from Urdu and is written in the Devanagari script. Choosing another language would have inflamed ethnic tensions.

Urdu is not a mixture of Sanskrit and Persian but rather Hindustani/KhariBoli and minor Persian. Moreover Hindustani is not a North-Western Indo-Aryan language but a Central Indic one while Persian is not an Eastern Iranian language but a South-Western Iranic one.
North-Western Indo-Aryan languages are Punjabi, Sindhi and Kashmiri-Pahari.
And the language of the Mughal Empire most definitely was not Urdu but Farsi. Neither was it the lingua franca of the Muslims of the sub-continent since they were not a homogenous entity in the first place. I dont get this emphasis on 'Muslims of the subcontinent' given that majority of them are in India .And geographically half of Pakistan is outside of the sub-continent, in the Iranic Plateau. Do those guys (Pashtuns, Brahuis, Balochs and Dards) not need to speak Urdu?

Keep in kind that Punjabi too is spoken across the border in India. It wouldn't make a great choice to separate ourselves, either.

Only 2% of Indians speak Punjabi while Hindustani (Urdu/Hindi) is spoken by the people of the Cow Belt/Hindi Belt who form the majority of India.

Children can easy learn 3-4 languages in the 14 years of formal education (by age of 18). Right education system is the main prerequisite.

Its better not to overwork children with all this when they already struggle to be tri-lingual. And it's pretty much obvious that they'd learn better in their mother tongue. This duality of native tongue in home with the parents or friends and Urdu in the school is an unneccessary burden.

Let's suppose if we go by schooling in local languages, then why stop at provincial only? Why not go down to District level? Or is this a provincial issue only!?

Languages dont vary that much by district and every language has a standard or prestige dialect.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prestige_(sociolinguistics)

Anyway, I'm in favour of more provinces based on linguistics so that shouldnt be a problem.

 

[Verve]

Its better not to overwork children with all this when they already struggle to be tri-lingual.

You are looking at the current education system which is a corporate slaves factory. This is what Industrialists gifted the world and took the idea from Prussians.

I'm talking of a proper education system!

 

[LA se Karachi]

Urdu is not a mixture of Sanskrit and Persian but rather Hindustani/KhariBoli and minor Persian.

Yes, it is essentially a version of Khariboli. But I was quoting the part of his post where he said that Urdu borrows more so from Persian than Sankrit, unlike Hindi. That's why I wrote what I wrote.

Moreover Hindustani is not a North-Western Indo-Aryan language but a Central Indic one

Well, I was referring to Northwest part of the subcontinent, the present-day area of Western Uttar Pradesh included. In know that the language itself is classified as a "Central" Indo-Aryan language. But I was speaking more in a geographic sense than a linguistic one.

And the language of the Mughal Empire most definitely was not Urdu but Farsi.

Officially it was Persian. However, Khariboli and similar dialects came to be widely spoken in Mughal cities. Urdu itself is a highly Persian-ized version of the language.

Persian is not an Eastern Iranian language but a South-Western Iranic one.

I never said Persian is an Eastern Iranian language. Sorry for the confusion though, I meant only that Pakistan is a blend of mostly Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic groups and some Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic groups.

Neither was it the lingua franca of the Muslims of the sub-continent since they were not a homogenous entity in the first place.

I didn't say they were a homogeneous group. However, people from Bengal to Karnataka to Sindh up to Kashmir could be found speaking Urdu. They still can. Even in Southern India, there are a sizable number of Urdu speakers outside of Hyderabad (overwhelmingly Muslim) to this day that show up in the Indian census.

Only 2% of Indians speak Punjabi while Hindustani (Urdu/Hindi) is spoken by the people of the Cow Belt/Hindi Belt who form the majority of India.

Not really correct. Proper Hindi/Urdu as we understand it in Pakistan is only spoken in a fraction of the "cow belt". Go to Chattisgarh, Madyha Pradesh, or interior Rajasthan, and try to understand what they're saying. I can almost guarantee that you won't be able to.

Eastern UP languages like Bhojpuri are very difficult to understand as well. Even Awadhi (included in highlighted part of the map) can be quite difficult to understand for non-native speakers (I can't understand most of it). Same is true as you move westward in UP and the language becomes more "Punjabi-ized" And of course, Hindi isn't exactly the same, though it is similar. You will miss a lot of words and phrases in Hindi news broadcasts.

Wisest choice too. Choosing national language from one of the provinces would have caused a lot of serious issues. Imagine so many more Rabbani type snakes crying murder and the unrest.

Agreed. It was the best among the options available, I believe.

 

[xairhossi]

Well, I was referring to Northwest part of the subcontinent, the present-day area of Western Uttar Pradesh included. In know that the language itself is classified as a "Central" Indo-Aryan language. But I was speaking more in a geographic sense than a linguistic one.

That definition is arbitrary but even during British times Uttar Pradesh province was not consider 'North India' but Central India. British put the line of Hindustan at the Sutlej River around Sirhind. UP was not considered North-West.

Officially it was Persian. However, Khariboli and similar dialects came to be widely spoken in Mughal cities. Urdu itself is a highly Persian-ized version of the language.

During Mughal times, Urdu/Hindustani was likely only spoken in around Uttar Pradesh only. The amount Persianization of Urdu varies, from casual, everyday Urdu to PTV Urdu.

I never said Persian is an Eastern Iranian language. Sorry for the confusion though, I meant only that Pakistan is a blend of mostly Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic groups and some Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic groups.

Yeah, mostly North-Western Indo-Aryan and Eastern Iranian but there are other groups like Dardic and Balochs being NW Iranic.

I didn't say they were a homogeneous group. However, people from Bengal to Karnataka to Sindh up to Kashmir could be found speaking Urdu. They still can. Even in Southern India, there are a sizable number of Urdu speakers outside of Hyderabad (overwhelmingly Muslim) to this day that show up in the Indian census.

Speakers of Urdu in Sindh and Kashmir were very few, that too likely migrants. Sindh was independent from rule from the Ganges Plains for a lot of time in its history with the Kalhoros, Soomro, Samma and Talpur dynasties. In Kashmir mostly Dardic Koshur was spoken.

Not really correct. Proper Hindi/Urdu as we understand it in Pakistan is only spoken in a fraction of the "cow belt". Go to Chattisgarh, Madyha Pradesh, or interior Rajasthan, and try to understand what they're saying. I can almost guarantee that you won't be able to.

Eastern UP languages like Bhojpuri are very difficult to understand as well. Even Awadhi (included in highlighted part of the map) can be quite difficult to understand for non-native speakers (I can't understand most of it). Same is true as you move westward in UP and the language becomes more "Punjabi-ized" And of course, Hindi isn't exactly the same, though it is similar. You will miss a lot of words and phrases in Hindi news broadcasts.

I guess I was referring to general Western Hindi

Overall, along with the Eastern Hindi ones like Bhojpuri, Awadhi etc. they form the Central Zone descended from the 'Madhya' language of the Ganges Plains.

 

[MultaniGuy]

Urdu is used as the unifying language of Pakistan, so what is the problem?

 

[Michael Corleone]

one single language, religion, culture can never unify a nation, but a national identity can!

 

[LA se Karachi]

That definition is arbitrary but even during British times Uttar Pradesh province was not consider 'North India' but Central India. British put the line of Hindustan at the Sutlej River around Sirhind. UP was not considered North-West.

That's fine. But my point is just that if you were to bisect the Indo-Aryan area (no central zone), western UP would end up in the "Northwest". I just wanted to contrast it with the northeastern part. I only said this to highlight how languages like Urdu and Punjabi have a lot in common. If you speak both, that should be self-evident.

During Mughal times, Urdu/Hindustani was likely only spoken in around Uttar Pradesh only.

Well the Mughals set up shop, so to speak, in northern India and blended their culture with the Persian-ized Delhi court. However, many people spoke Urdu across the subcontinent by the time of independence.

The amount Persianization of Urdu varies, from casual, everyday Urdu to PTV Urdu.

Yes, but every language reaches a point where it becomes simplified and informal. The same is happening to Urdu. In general though, Urdu is a heavily Persian-ized form of Khariboli.

Yeah, mostly North-Western Indo-Aryan and Eastern Iranian but there are other groups like Dardic and Balochs being NW Iranic.

This is incorrect. Dardic languages, and the people who speak them, are Indo-Aryan:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardic_People

Speakers of Urdu in Sindh and Kashmir were very few, that too likely migrants. Sindh was independent from rule from the Ganges Plains for a lot of time in its history with the Kalhoros, Soomro, Samma and Talpur dynasties. In Kashmir mostly Dardic Koshur was spoken.

Some educated people in Kashmir and Sindh (particularly Karachi) spoke Urdu, even if it was not their native tongue or first language. Punjab too, Allama Iqbal being one of them. Urdu is the official language of (Indian-occupied) Kashmir today and is spoken by many people there. While the language was based in northern India, there were some Muslims across the subcontinent that spoke Urdu (and still do).

I guess I was referring to general Western Hindi

You won't be able to understand most of those "Western Hindi" languages, I promise you. As I said, even the small fraction of India that is the "Hindustani" part of that map speaks dialects that can be difficult to understand.

 

[xairhossi]

Yes, but every language reaches a point where it becomes simplified and informal. The same is happening to Urdu. In general though, Urdu is a heavily Persian-ized form of Khariboli.

To be honest, in this case Urdu is not like other languages. I mean, when does it stop being Hindustani or Khari Boli and become Urdu? What degree of Farsi loanwords? Given that Hindustani/Khariboli both already incorporate Farsi loanwords unlike 'pure Hindi' which substitutes them for Sanskrit ones.

This is incorrect. Dardic languages, and the people who speak them, are Indo-Aryan:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardic_People

I know, what I meant was that they aren't North-Western Indo-Aryan, they form their own group within the Indo-Aryan family. Balochs are linguistically NW Iranic.

Some educated people in Kashmir and Sindh (particularly Karachi) spoke Urdu, even if it was not their native tongue or first language. Punjab too, Allama Iqbal being one of them. Urdu is the official language of (Indian-occupied) Kashmir today and is spoken by many people there. While the language was based in northern India, there were some Muslims across the subcontinent that spoke Urdu (and still do)

In any case, Raza Rabbani never called for the dismantling of Urdu or removing Urdu as a national language or whatever, all he said was that regional languages should be preserved and not suppressed. What he meant was the way in which regional languages, especially Punjabi, were being suppressed made it seem like Urdu was being 'imposed' on us like in East Pakistan.

 

[niaz]

I am afraid that Mr Rabbani seems to have lost his marbles. Urdu was the most widely spoken and understood language in the Northern India by Hindus as well as Muslims. For example more Bengalis understood Urdu than any other non-Bengali language other than English.

Admittedly it was spoken language of the big cities and not of the villages. Although Hinduvta followers have deliberately associated Urdu with the Muslims which is historically incorrect assumption. I ask Mr Rabbani, if not Urdu; what other language would you have as "National" language of Pakistan? Urdu is also the official language of Indian Kashmir.

I quote the following article by an Indian journalist.

History of Urdu Journalism in India
November 3, 2011
By Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee,
Mediahive

Contrary to popular perception, Urdu is not the language of Muslims. It was a lashkari (soldier) language (the word ‘Urdu’ comes from the Turkish word ‘ordu’ meaning ‘camp’ or ‘army’), nourished during the period of Mughal emperor Shahjahahn. It had words from Persian and local languages. The purpose was to make communication easy among soldiers who were from different places: Arab, Turk and locals. Based on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh in the Indian subcontinent, Urdu developed under local Persian, Arabic, and Turkic influence over the course of almost 900 years. It began to take shape in what is now Uttar Pradesh, India during the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1527), and continued to develop under the Mughal Empire (1526–1858).

Urdu is written from right to left just like Arabic and Persian. Urdu has 39 basic letters and 13 extra characters, all together 52 and most of these letters are from Arabic and a small quantity from Persian. It has almost all the ‘sounds’ available in any other language spoken in the world.

The Persian newspapers of West Bengal were fore-runners of the Urdu press. After the decline of Persian as an official language, Urdu gained prominence.

The first newspaper of Urdu language was Jam-i-Jahan-Numa, founded by Harihar Dutta in 1822 in Kolkata (then Calcutta). He was the son of Tara Chand Dutta, eminent Bengali journalist and one of the founders of Bengali weekly Sambad Koumudi. Editor of this three page weekly paper was Sadasukhlal . After English and Bengali, it was the third language newspaper in India. It continued to be published till 1888.

On 14 January 1850, Munshi Harsukh Rai started the weekly Kohinoor, which had a remarkably high (for those times) circulation of 350 copies. In 1858, Manbir Kabiruddin started the Urdu Guide, the first Urdu daily, from Calcutta. Another important paper founded that year was Roznamha-e-Punjab from Lahore. Oudh Akhbar by Munshi Nawal Kishore was the first Urdu newspaper from Lucknow, also begun in 1858.

Delhi Urdu Akhbar [1836-1857]
The Sepoy Mutiny or Great rebellion of 1857 had impacted Urdu journalism in terms of number of publication, volume of circulation and content. While some new Urdu papers appeared during this period, a much larger number ceased publication. The number of publications dropped from 35 in 1853 to 12 in 1858. The decline is directly related to the reign of terror let loose in 1857. In the North West Provinces, most Urdu papers had ceased publication after the outbreak of the war.

After 1857, Urdu journalism entered a new era of development. Mention may be made of some major papers like the Oudh Akhbar Lucknow; the Scintific Gazette, and the Tahazib-ul- Akhlaq, Aligarh; the Oudh Punch, Lucknow; the Akmalul Akhbar, Delhi; the Punjab Akhbar, Lahore; the Shamsul Akhbar, Madras; the Kashful Akhbar, Bombay; the Qasim-ul-Akhbar, Bangalore and the Asiful Akhbar Hyderabad. Of these the Oudh Akhbar lived long and was soon converted into a daily. Published by Munshi Nawal Kishore, it shot into great prominence under the editorship of Ratan Nath ‘Sarshar’.

The first Urdu newspapers of Delhi were Fawaid-ul-Nazarin and Kiran-us-Sadai, founded by Rama Chandra in 1852. The Urdu press in Delhi became highly critical of the British government. The best example of them is the Urdu Akhbar, edited by Syed Hasan, which highlighted many civic issues like drainage, sanitation, adulteration of food, and corruption.

In 1877, Maulvi Nasir Ali, one of the founders of Anjuman Islamia- the Islamic intellectual and political movement- founded 3 newspapers- Nusrat-ul-Akhbar, Nusrat-ul-Islam and Mihir-e-Darakhshan. All three focused on current civil and political affairs and were valuable aids of Muslim empowerment. In 1877, Oudh Punch, the first humour magazine in Urdu was started by Sajjid Hussain. The first women’s journal in Urdu was Akhbar-un-Nisa.

Darul Sultanat, one of the most important newspapers of 19th century was published in 1881 by Shaikh Ahsanullah Sandagiri Dehlawi from Kolkata. Mathura Prasad Savmar was its editor. It started as a weekly. Later it was made bi-weekly and then tri-weekly.

At the beginning of the 20th centry, there were only three Urdu dailies, the Paisa Akbhar, the Oudh Akbhar, and the Sulh-i-Kul. Politically they all belonged to the moderate group. As, however, the new political wave swept the country, news-papers and periodicals like the Zamindar, the Hindustani, the Al Hilal and the Hamdard introduced new political zest in journalism. The Hindustan, Lahore; the Deepak, Amritsar, the Desh, Lahore; the Urdu-i- Molla, Kanpur ; the Muslim Gazette, Lucknow; the Madina, Bijnore; the Hamdam, Lucknow; and the Swaraj, Allahabad did a great deal to awaken political consciousness and to enlist popular participation in the national movement for freedom.

Urdu Newspapers
Politics and social reform dominated Urdu journalism from the very beginning of the 20th century. The political and social movements launched by the Congress, the Muslim League, the Hindu Mahasabha, the Arya Samaj, the Khilafat Committee and the Aligarh Movement, exercised profound influence on Urdu language newspapers and periodicals. They contributed towards the general growth of literature as well. The style became more forceful and direct and a much richer and varied vocabulary developed.

Urdu journalism took on a strongly nationalistic note towards the turn of the 20th century. Zameendar, was started in Lahore in 1903. It was the first Urdu newspaper to subscribe to news agencies. Zameendar was intensely nationalistic, which boosted its circulation to over 30,000 copies. In 1902, Maulvi Sanaullah Khan started the weekly Watan, meaning motherland. Watan was intensely nationalistic and continued for 33 years. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar started Naqeeb-e-Hamdard in 1912. Another powerful political periodical was the Madina, edited by Hamidul Ansari.

The greatest Urdu periodical that time was Al Hilal, started by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. A weekly, Al-Hilal created political and religious consciousness among the muslims. It was one of first Urdu newspapers which put equal importance on content and presentation including the layout and design. It was designed on the pattern of Egyptian newspapers. But its greatest asset was the content. It addressed the readers in a new language and style of expression.
In 1919, the Pratap was started in Lahore by Mahshe Krishnan. It vigorously supported Gandhi’s policies and the Indian National Congress. It was a victim of government harassment and suspended publication several times. It had great influence among the Urdu reading Hindus of Punjab and Delhi.

In 1923, Swami Shraddhanand founded the Tej with Lala Deshbandhu Gupta as editor. It had a wide circulation in Rajasthan, U.P. and Delhi. It was confiscated several times by the government and banned in a number of princely states. In the same year, 1923, the Arya Samaj started the Milap, a daily in Lahore. It was known for its powerful nationalistic editorials. Jawaharlal Nehru founded Qaumi Awaaz in 1945.

Urdu journalism suffered heavily, during and after Partition. Riots in Lahore lead to mobs raiding the office of Milap and burning machines and newsprint. Its Managing Editor, Ranbir was stabbed and the paper was closed for six weeks. It then shifted to Delhi. Due to the unrest, the Pratap also shifted to Delhi.

At the time of partition there were 415 Urdu newspapers including all daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly magazines. After partition 345 of them remained in India as owners of 70 newspapers migrated to Pakistan. As per the RNI report of 1957, there were 513 Urdu newspapers and the combined circulation was 7.48 lakh. Fifty years later the number of Urdu dailies alone was 3168 and the combined circulation of all Urdu newspapers was 1.7 crore as per RNI report 2007.

Some of the Urdu newspapers after partition in India are Dawat, now a bi-weekly, started by the Jamat-e-Islami Hind. Maulana Abdul Waheed Siddiqui started Nai Duniya, a popular Urdu weekly, which was later by his son Shaheed Siddiqui. The Sahara Group started a weekly-Aalmi Sahara. A good number of Urdu newspapers were published in Hyderabad including the daily Siasat, The Munsif Daily, Indian Etemaad and Rehnuama E Deccan. In fact till 2006 Andhra Pradesh had the maximum number of registered Urdu newspapers (506) among all the states of India. Mumbai also had several Urdu publications including The Inquilab daily and Urdu Times. West Bengal, especially Kolkata also had a sizable number of Urdu publications. In 2005 there were five Urdu dailies in Kolkata: Azad Hind, Rozana Hind, Akhbaar -e- Mashrique, Aabshaar and Akkas.

After 1980s there was a gradual decline in the number of publications and readership of Urdu newspapers. Several publications ceased publication. For example, in West Bengal Shan-e-Millat, Imroze, Asre-Jadeed, Ghazi and Iqra were closed.

However, in the first decade of the new millennium, a resurgence was marked in Urdu media, with a number of new newspapers and television channels making their entry. The big media houses made their presence felt in Urdu media across several states.

The major Urdu newspapers and television channels that are run by major media houses are Rashtria Sahara (launched by Sahara Group in 2006), Inquilab (Jagran group took over this Mumbai based Urdu newspaper in 2010), Azad Hind, Hind Samachar, ETV-Urdu, Aalami Sahara and Zee Salam. In 2011 Hyderabad based newspaper ‘Munsif’, which is the largest circulated Urdu newspaper of the country launched its news channel whereas Mumbai based Urdu Times will launch its print editions from Delhi and Lucknow shortly.

Hyderabad based Siyasat was the first Urdu newspaper to start a web edition in late 90s. Several other Urdu publications presently have their web editions.



Besides Delhi and North Indian states like UP and Bihar, Andhra Pradesh has a tradition of fostering the Urdu Press, Hyderabad being a major publishing centre. Besides Munsif, Siasat, Rahnuma-e-Deccan and Saaz-e-Deccan are published from Hyderabad. In 2005 two more Urdu dailies were published from this city: Etemad and Rastriya Sahara. There are smaller Urdu dailies like Aina-e-Hyderabad, Bhagyanagar Observer, etc.

Not many Urdu publications have appeared from Orissa, though the state has a sizable Urdu knowing population. In late eighties Eastern Media, publisher of Sambad started a Urdu weekly Sahara. It closed publication within one year.According to RNI (Registrar of Newspapers) the total number of publications in Urdu was 3315 in 2007-8 including 703 daily newspapers.

Courtesy: http://mediahive.co.in/

—————
(The author, a journalist turned media academician presently heads Dhenkanal campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication. The article forms a part of his forthcoming book ‘History of Journalism in Orissa’. Contact: www.mrinalchatterjee.in | mrinaliimc@yahoo.in)

http://twocircles.net/2011nov03/history_urdu_journalism_india.html

 

[LA se Karachi]

To be honest, in this case Urdu is not like other languages. I mean, when does it stop being Hindustani or Khari Boli and become Urdu? What degree of Farsi loanwords? Given that Hindustani/Khariboli both already incorporate Farsi loanwords unlike 'pure Hindi' which substitutes them for Sanskrit ones.

It's a fair question. I'm not truly in a position to answer. However, Urdu has been standardized in Pakistan and does differ significantly from standard Hindi when spoken properly, which can be heard in any Hindi news broadcast. They're undoubtedly similar, but not exactly the same.

I know, what I meant was that they aren't North-Western Indo-Aryan, they form their own group within the Indo-Aryan family.

I see. To simplify, I should say Pakistan is a blend of Indo-Aryan (75-80%) and Iranian (20-25%) ethno-lingiustic groups. I know that the linguistic classifications under these subheadings vary. I only used the terms "Northwestern" and "Eastern" in geographic sense, not a linguistic one.

In any case, Raza Rabbani never called for the dismantling of Urdu or removing Urdu as a national language or whatever, all he said was that regional languages should be preserved and not suppressed. What he meant was the way in which regional languages, especially Punjabi, were being suppressed made it seem like Urdu was being 'imposed' on us like in East Pakistan.

I agree too that regional languages need to be preserved and promoted in their respective provinces. However, most people in Punjab speak fluent Punjabi (or one of its dialects), and talks of linguistic suppression are exaggerated, especially given that it is primarily Punjabis that are setting the government policy.

As for the erstwhile "East Pakistan", I have no sympathy for it or its people. Punjabis had to learn Urdu, not just Bengalis. As did Sindhis, Pashtuns, Balochis, and people in the north of Pakistan. We're better off without them.

 

[MultaniGuy]

Urdu and hindi are completely different languages

 

[Imad.Khan]

What is the purpose of a language, it is a source though which to communicate with other people. So what are the reason that Urdu is the national language of Pakistan.

1, In a multi-ethnic country like Pakistan choosing one of the regional languages will give rise to other issues.
2, Its easier to learn as its has similarity with all the regional language.
3, Majority of people already could understand Urdu.

Now people that are suggesting swapping Urdu with English. How are you going to get 200 Million people to swap to a foreign language? Plus why would you swap when its not hurting anyone? No one in Pakistan is stopping anyone from learning any of the regional languages. If i want to learn Balti, will anyone stop me?

Last time i visited Pakistan, i found that the Urdu being spoken in Karachi sounded really ugly, especially the way teenagers talk. It has alot of bollywood influence, especially the gangster mumbai style accent that they were trying to use. The older generation still spoke better Urdu. The Urdu spoken in Punjab sounded so much sweeter even though i picked up some bollywood influence there as well.

So what should we do moving forward. Every successful country have the education based on their national language, look at Russia, Japan, Korea etc etc. Urdu is the still the best option for Pakistan, we need to have our education in Urdu medium and teach one regional language and one foreign language of your choice.

We also need to ban Indian media and improve our own media using proper Urdu. Also i prefer we change the name of Urdu to Pakistani or Pakis.

 

[MultaniGuy]

What is the purpose of a language, it is a source though which to communicate with other people. So what are the reason that Urdu is the national language of Pakistan.

1, In a multi-ethnic country like Pakistan choosing one of the regional languages will give rise to other issues.
2, Its easier to learn as its has similarity with all the regional language.
3, Majority of people already could understand Urdu.

Now people that are suggesting swapping Urdu with English. How are you going to get 200 Million people to swap to a foreign language? Plus why would you swap when its not hurting anyone? No one in Pakistan is stopping anyone from learning any of the regional languages. If i want to learn Balti, will anyone stop me?

Last time i visited Pakistan, i found that the Urdu being spoken in Karachi sounded really ugly, especially the way teenagers talk. It has alot of bollywood influence, especially the gangster mumbai style accent that they were trying to use. The older generation still spoke better Urdu. The Urdu spoken in Punjab sounded so much sweeter even though i picked up some bollywood influence there as well.

So what should we do moving forward. Every successful country have the education based on their national language, look at Russia, Japan, Korea etc etc. Urdu is the still the best option for Pakistan, we need to have our education in Urdu medium and teach one regional language and one foreign language of your choice.

We also need to ban Indian media and improve our own media using proper Urdu. Also i prefer we change the name of Urdu to Pakistani or Pakis.

Only urdu should be made official language of Pakistan