February 21 is the international day of the mother tongue. The mother is always the first one to talk to a newborn. This is true for all species and especially for humans. Before the advances in modern travel, language was always localised to small areas. Thus, a very large number of local or indigenous languages evolved all over the inhabited world. Knowledge of another language was very rare, except for frequent travellers or immigrants. Long before the evolution of written script, pictographic scripts were a sort of universal language. Even after the evolution of writing, and later alphabets, dialects were always local.

Since parchment was expensive and clay or wooden slabs were unwieldy, writing got a big boost from the introduction of paper-making technology, which was acquired from some Chinese prisoners in the early years of Islamic caliphate. However, books were limited because they could only be hand-written. The translation of ancient Greek texts into Arabic required learning other languages. Many scholars from Christian countries travelled to Cordova to learn Arabic to benefit from books thus translated. These texts were later translated into Latin and other languages in Europe. A period of learning multiple languages started, at least for the scholars. Even the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics were deciphered with the help of the Rosetta Stone. Knowledge of a language in addition to one’s mother tongue was useful only to a few literature enthusiasts. In the West, great importance was given to the learning of Latin. Anyone not knowing Latin was considered uneducated as all scientific knowledge was imparted in that language. Many terms in legal parlance are still in Latin.

There have always been linguistic differences between the ruling classes and the ruled. For instance, the Turkish Sultans’ family language was Persian while the masses spoke Turkish. In some religions the scriptures were deliberately kept in a language that the masses could not easily comprehend. When Shah Walliullah translated the Holy Quran into Persian, a language understood by most literate people, he was opposed by conservatives. Later, his sons translated it into Urdu. Classics of Punjabi literature were produced by the likes of Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. The verses of sufi poets were memorised even by those who could not read or write. This led to the growth of an oral tradition in the Punjab. Ustad Imam Din, from Gujrat, was a popular folk poet. Faiz, too, wrote some verses in Punjabi, but acknowledged that he was unable to write anything comparable to the likes of Bulleh Shah.

With the invention of the printing press (which was sadly either resisted or banned in much of the Islamic world), the age of reason and the industrial and scientific revolution, knowledge became increasingly available to the masses. Income from the colonised countries helped the imperial powers to mass produce manufactured goods to be exported to the colonies. The establishment of English and Urdu as lingua franca afforded a certain class of people access to certain jobs and privileges. With the rise of nationalist movements and greater political awareness due to more education, the Arya Samaj movement and the Muslim resistance, various regional languages became a subject of debate.

The introduction of steam ships, and later locomotive trains, brought many nations and areas in contact with each other, enabling them to learn different languages. Now, the children of migrant families often grow up multilingual. I have seen the children of Turkish workers in Germany speaking fluently in their own language, despite the fact that their parents had acquired reasonable proficiency in German.

The language controversy in Pakistan is a multipronged problem. All children must be encouraged to speak in their own language. When it comes to education, the mother tongues of the various regions of Pakistan should be adopted. A child in Peshawar has the right to learn to read and write in Pashto. This is also true for Sindh and Balochistan.

It has, however, become a trend to speak in Urdu or English when talking to children. This comes from a sense of inferiority that is covered up by using a foreign language. It is also because the government has abdicated its responsibility by not establishing enough schools. The void has been filled by prohibitively expensive private schools, colleges and universities. Now, more children are taught the ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels curricula, for which examinations are conducted by a foreign board. These children know very little Urdu or their own family’s language. Urdu is the one language that is understood by a vast population, from Rangoon to Mashhad. It should not be discouraged as it is a binding force. The English language, which is fast becoming an international language, should be retained, as most books on various subjects are available in it. It also allows our students to compete in other countries.

Lately, there is a lip-service campaign to demand that attention be paid to the mother tongue or maan boli of the Punjab. Some ‘walks’ from the Assembly Chambers to the Press Club were organised and a press release was issued. The Punjab Institute of Languages, Art and Culture (PILAC), too, held a function on the occasion. Minister for Culture Khayal Ahmad Castro presided over the event moderated by PILAC director general, Dr Sughra Sadaf. Asim Chaudhry, Parveen Malik, Talat Fatima Naqvi, Aslam Kamal, Naeem Tahir, Mudassar Iqbal Butt, Iqbal Qaisar, Dr Jamil Ahmad Pal, Baba Najmi, Rashid Mahmood, Nisho Begum and Ahmad Raza Punjabi were in attendance.

I told the audience about my experiences in Turkey, where Turkish is the medium of instruction from nursery to the highest academic levels for all subjects, including medicine and engineering. Turkey has almost 100 percent literacy among boys and girls alike. They publish books in Turkish language for all sciences. It is at high school level that the students are given the option of studying a foreign language. Another language is compulsory for a doctoral thesis, so that researchers can consult a wider range of books.

In summation, it can be argued that children should be taught in their mother tongue because they can learn it instinctively. Urdu should remain a common national language and English should be taught at higher levels. The option to learn French, Italian or some other language should be available. Dr RA Butler and Muharram Guzeldir taught Italian and Turkish evening classes at the Oriental College for many years.

(This dispatch is dedicated to Perveen Malik)

The writer is a painter, a founding member of Lahore Conservation Society and Punjab Artists Association, and a former director of NCA Art Gallery. He can be reached at ajazart@brain.net.pk