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    Restoring Pakistan's Linguistic Heritage

    Written by: Syed Hashir Ali
    Posted on: June 15, 2017 | | 中文

    Nils Haveresch with a local in the Northern Areas of Pakistan

    In a postcolonial state like Pakistan, it is important to maintain the cultural and linguistic identity of its people. There seems to be global consensus on the necessity of teaching children in their mother tongue, or the regional language, in primary school. This is particularly important in a country such as Pakistan, where at least 70 languages are spoken. The national language and the unifying factor in the federation, Urdu, can be the second language, while English, the international language, can be introduced at the secondary school level. This would help Pakistanis retain their rich linguistic and cultural diversity, and facilitate early educational attainment of children.

    A flawed education system and language policy in Pakistani schools has resulted in many of our regional languages becoming endangered. A recent nationwide survey of 2,136 students revealed an overall low competency and negative attitude towards regional languages in Pakistan. The most endangered dialects are now spoken by only a few hundred people, such as Domaaki, an Indo-Aryan language confined to a handful of remote villages in northern Gilgit-Baltistan. Even regional languages spoken by tens of millions, such as Sindhi and Punjabi, are losing popularity. The dominance of English in the country’s best schools is proving to be a barrier to quality education for all, except a small elite.

    Baloch folk singer Akhtar Chanal Zahri - Restoring Linguistic Heritage of Pakistan

    Baloch folk singer Akhtar Chanal Zahri (source: Ishraqi)

    In order to get a neutral perspective on our local languages, we decided to ask a few foreign students who were visiting Pakistan to describe their experience here. Our first respondent (who has asked to remain anonymous) was a college student from Bremen in Northwestern Germany. She is doing her Bachelor’s in South Asian Studies at Heidelberg University, and recently visited Pakistan as an exchange student. She learned to read and write in Urdu and Farsi at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and took calligraphy classes at the Naqsh School of Arts. She was amazed to discover that while German is the only major language spoken in her country, most people in Pakistan grow up to be bilingual or trilingual. After being exposed to classical works by Mir Amman, Ramchandra, Zauq, Zafar, Momin, Ghalib, Mir Anis, Mir Taqqi Mir, Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Nazir Ahmad, Manto and many others, she soon began to appreciate the poetic beauty of Urdu. However, she also noticed that Pakistanis, although very proud of their nationality, were not as appreciative of a language as deep and rich as Urdu. She was surprised to discover that many students in Lahore believed that Punjabi and Urdu were “old-fashioned”, and not particularly suited for use in modern times.  

    Handmade Ralli (Sindhi quilt) - Restoring Linguistic Heritage of Pakistan

    Handmade Ralli (Sindhi quilt) (source: Getty Images)

    Nils Haveresch, who grew up in Dortmund, Germany, visited Pakistan in August 2016. He had heard mixed views about the country, and wanted to experience it for himself. Nils was fascinated to see the devotion of many Pakistanis towards their faith. He was also amazed by the fact that in a university setting, he could easily find people who spoke Urdu, Punjabi, Siraiki, Balochi, Pashto and Sindhi, sitting at the same table and conversing in Urdu, their lingua franca. Nils discovered the elegance of Urdu, Punjabi and Farsi through Qawwali. In Germany, he used to read subtitles on YouTube as he listened to Qawwalis; however, during his stay in Pakistan, he decided to learn Urdu from a private tutor. He was also fascinated by the hospitality of the people, the flavourful traditional food, and the majestic Northern Areas.

    Zakee Imam from New Jersey - Restoring Linguistic Heritage of Pakistan

    Zakee Imam from New Jersey

    Zakee Imam, an American student who traces his ancestry to Sindh, also visited Pakistan recently. Imam is a second-generation Pakistani-American who speaks English, Mandarin Chinese, and a little Spanish. He is also learning to speak Urdu. Growing up in New Jersey, he did not find many opportunities to learn Sindhi; however, he had always been amazed by the history and richness of the language. He felt some kind of affinity with Sindhi and the culture of Pakistan. Hence, he decided to visit the country to try and learn more about it. He visited his hometown and spent quite some time with the locals. He noticed the close-knit families which acted as a support system for people during difficult times. He also realized that although a large segment of the population was uneducated, they were less materialistic as compared to most people he encountered in the US.  

    Perhaps Pakistan can look to other nations that have been successful in promoting linguistic diversity. Switzerland is often cited as a success story in this regard, as it has enacted legislation to safeguard and promote its diversity. It has four widely spoken official languages: German, French, Italian and Rhaeto–Romanic (Romansh). German is the first foreign language taught at schools in French-speaking Switzerland, while French is the first foreign language taught in Italian-speaking areas. Pakistan could benchmark such policies and establish a similar framework in different regional schools.

    A typical Hujra (meeting room) - Restoring Linguistic Heritage of Pakistan

    A typical Hujra (meeting room) of a Pashtun house (source: FATA Research Centre)

    It is about time that our government reformed the policies inherited from British India, so that our future generations better reflect our multilingual identity, and take ownership of our rich and diverse cultural heritage.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021