‘Urdu as medium of instruction can help national development’

Karachi Deputy Mayor Syed Arshad Hassan said on Sunday that Baba-e-Urdu (Father of Urdu) Maulvi Abdul Haq had rendered unparalleled services for the promotion and dissemination of the Urdu language.

Hassan said that living nations keep their civilisations and traditions alive, adding that this purpose can be fulfilled when everyone participates in it according to their means. The deputy mayor expressed these views on the 59th death anniversary of Maulvi Abdul Haq after laying a wreath on his grave and offering Fateha for the soul of the departed.

He said the Urdu language is doing an effective job of communication all over the world, adding that Urdu is the only effective means of communication between Pakistan’s provinces and cities.

He also said the Urdu language is the third most spoken language in the world, adding that research on it is under way in universities and research institutes all over the world, while the language is flourishing in science and literature.

Hassan said the establishment of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology (Fuuast) for the promotion of the Urdu language was the result of the efforts of Baba-e-Urdu, adding that higher education was imparted in Urdu through the institution.

He said Maulvi Abdul Haq had declared Urdu a symbol of the Pakistani nation, a monument of their forefathers and a trustee of their civilisation. However, he added, due to the dual-language educational system, the national language could not be accorded the status it deserved.

He also said that if Urdu is made the medium of instruction, national development will be improved. Urdu is a beautiful bouquet of words included in different languages of the world, and this language has the potential to absorb the words of different languages of the world, he added.

“We should pledge today on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maulvi Abdul Haq, the Father of Urdu, that we all will work together for the promotion of the Urdu language.”

The deputy mayor was accompanied on the occasion by Fuuast Registrar Dr Sajid Jahangir, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Media Management Director Ali Hassan Sajid, Culture Director Shams Masoodi, Dr Rizwana Jabeen, Afshan Brohi and other KMC officials.