Written by: Aysha Mati
Posted on: February 19, 2019 | 
| 中文
(L-R) Abid Mir, Nargis Sultana, Dr. Manzoor Soomro, Dr Khalid Sohail and Farnood Alam
The Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival 2019, kicked off on the 16th of February amidst the charged atmosphere at Lok Virsa, Islamabad with a number of people eagerly attending different sessions to listen to experts in the literary field.
Stalls outside the sessions featured a number of giveaway books, with notable ones being on economic development, global warming and traffic for adults and children presented by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. USAID also distributed a variety of short stories for children in the regional languages, to promote reading culture in Pakistan. The weekend festival was a treat for all literary enthusiasts, especially those writing and reading works in the indigenous languages of Pakistan.
One such hour long session, with nearly full attendance, was conducted on Saturday. The topic under discussion was, “What are we not writing?/ Hum kya nahi likh rahay?”, moderated by the eloquent Farnood Alam. The panelists for this session were Dr. Khalid Sohail, Dr. Manzoor Soomro, Nargis Sultana and Abid Mir.
Alam, who is an Urdu columnist, began with how several topics are not written about due to either legal limitations or lack of socio-cultural acceptance, often the primary causes for a tightened reign on works of literature.
The first panelist to take the floor was Dr. Sohail, writer and psychotherapist, who is known in the literary community to write extensively on oft-ignored controversial topics seen as taboo within Pakistani societies. When asked about why he tackles such subjects, he began with an illustrious quote, “Is dariya-e-riwayat ki deewarein uthayein, naslon se kisi shakhs ne bahir nahi dekha.” He elaborated on how our cultural conditioning has taught us to steer away from certain topics; otherwise we must pay a price, which is usually an alienation from family or society. Yet, not writing the whole truth and repressing it is also dangerous. A controversial writer or artist shall always be persecuted or challenged, and such is the way of the world. In conclusion, he spoke about how questioning religion and gender is so deeply suppressed in our society, when exploring these should only be thought of as natural.
The next panelist to speak was Abid Mir, who was questioned about the various journalistic and literary challenges in Balochistan. Mir spoke about how journalistic freedom is an elusive concept, “Azadi hai. Humein aadha sach likhnay ki ijazat hai. Aadha sach buray jhoot se zyada khatarnaak hai.” (We are free. We are allowed to write half-truths. But half-truths are more dangerous than lies). He spoke about how the literate segment of society has stopped questioning what they view or read, because they live in fear of their security. According to him, it is every citizen’s responsibility to seek the truth in literature and journalism.
Dr. Manzoor Soomro, President of ECO Science Foundation, took to the floor with his perspective on how science has become a part of our day to day lives. He felt that there are not enough written texts trying to understand and explain scientific processes as found and used within technology. He mentioned how such information should be made accessible to the general public through writings in simple vocabulary and syntax. Scientific activity is important to understand, because it is such a prominent part of our lives and who we have become as social beings.
The last speaker on the panel was Nargis Sultana, a prominent figure from the field of economics. She spoke of our current curriculum policies, specifically why education within Pakistan does not have a strong relationship with critical thinking. She felt that quality education is extremely important and yet our systems function on rote memorization. “Humein woh kitaab, woh nissab chahiye jo zindagi badal de,” (We need those books and curriculums which will change lives) she said, while speaking of how we must provide students with the opportunity to creatively express themselves.
The concluding Q&A session had the panelists elaborate on the same, with the gist being that freedom of expression is every citizen’s right. Thus, artists and writers must be provided with platforms which allow them to present their creative truth in its entirety. All in all, the session was extremely insightful, with the unveiling of many truths that are known, unknown or even taboo in the complex fabric of our society.
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