“Maan Boli” conference arranged on the occasion of International Mother Language Day

Lahore: Provincial Minister for Education, Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan has said that Punjabi is the mother language of crores of people living in Pakistan and means of communication of a vast majority of the country. He said that there is diversity in the languages of people living in Pakistan and instead of dividing the society on linguistic basis, there is a need to promote folk lore and folk wisdom as failure in this regard would result in depriving the people of their culture.

Addressing “Maan Boli” conference arranged on the occasion of International Mother Language Day at Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture, the Provincial Minister said that the Punjabis are broadminded. He said that the mother languages of all the regions of the country are given due respect as they are a means of progress. He said that Punjab is the identity of the people of the province and they should be proud of their language. He said it is unfortunate that instead of taking Punjabi language a source of pride, it has been made a symbol of ignorance and illiteracy during the last 65 years. He said that the new generation considers Punjabi as the language of the poor used only by servants and labourers. He said in view of the results of latest research, establishing the importance of mother tongue in imparting basic education, Punjab government has decided that Urdu instead of English will be medium of instructions from Class-1 to Class-3 from next year and English will be taught only as a subject. However, English will remain medium of instructions in all schools after Class-3.

The Minister for Education disclosed that Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has constituted special committee to consider the possibility of giving Punjabi synonyms of Urdu titles of pictures and geometrical shapes in the Urdu primer of Class-1. He said that the launching of Punjabi book for Class-1 as a separate subject from next year is also being considered.

Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan appreciated the role of public sector universities, radio and Punjabi newspapers in promotion of Punjabi language and literature at graduation, MA and PhD level. However, he said, these efforts are inadequate as there is a need to strengthen the foundation. He said that shortage of Punjabi teachers in schools is another problem. He invited Punjabi Adbi Board to assist Punjab government in teachers’ training in Punjabi. He said that most of the issues between India and Pakistan can be resolved amicably if the barrier of the scripts of Punjabi language is removed.

Chairman Punjabi Adbi Board, Mushtaq Sufi in his key address said that no language can guarantee national solidarity. He said that Arabic is the language of 22 states of Middle East but they have their separate identity but India, having 40 languages, is one country. He said that promotion of regional languages will pose no threat to national unity.

Scholar Lahore University of Management Sciences, Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, intellectual from Islamabad Dr. Jameel Ahmed Dar, Sarwat Mohayuddin, Director PILAC Dr. Sughra Sadaf and other experts also addressed the conference.

It was informed that ceremony for Punjabi Scholars Award 2014 named after renowned Punjabi intellectual, late Shafqat Tanvir Mirza would be held on Friday in PILAC.