Daily Times

History is a witness to how the
literacy rate in England surged when Latin and French were replaced by the English language. The growth rate of literacy, which remained sluggish, moving at snail’s speed, gathered momentum and rocketed with the introduction of English. The other countries of the world had similar experiences. For the British, introduction of Urdu in Punjab proved to be even more beneficial than they had initially expected. The literacy rate in Punjab took a free fall; from 92 to 96 percent it came down to only two percent. Then the dangerously rebellious Punjabi became a faceless, blind and loyal protectorate of the UP and CP’s politics and culture, which was all about loyalty to the British.

Pakistan became a free nation in 1947. The seeds of the destruction of Punjab and Punjabis sowed by the British are still bearing fruit in Pakistan. In fact, here the British system is still alive and kicking. Presently, the dismal literacy rate of 57 percent in Pakistan gives one shivers, and it is hard to believe that Pakistan is part of the civilised world of today. According to some scholars and researchers, that too is an inflated rate, and in fact, the reality is different. This literacy rate is the government version, and it is no secret that in Third World nations, the real statistics are always different from the ones projected by the administration. Measures and norms used to assess the literacy rate in Pakistan are different from the ones used in the western world. In Pakistan, an individual who can just write his/her name is enumerated as literate, whereas for the rest of the world such an individual is illiterate.

Even if we accept the 57 percent literacy rate to be correct and accurate, it is dreadfully lower than the average international literacy rate and the literacy rates of Pakistan’s neighbouring countries. China’s literacy rate is 96 percent, Iran 85 percent, Sri Lanka 91 percent, Bangladesh 79 percent, India 74 percent, Pakistan 57 percent and Afghanistan 28 percent. Afghanistan has the lowest literacy rate among the 56 countries in Asia. Bhutan is the next in line with 47 percent literacy rate, and Pakistan with 57 percent is next. Thus, only four percent of the nations of Asia have a lower literacy rate than Pakistan.

Now when we compare Pakistan with the most backward and underdeveloped regions of the world, one can visualise only one region marred and ravaged by famines, poverty, dictatorships and wars: Africa with its 55 countries. Even here, only 14 percent of the countries have a lower literacy rate than Pakistan, which include Burkina Faso (21 percent), South Sudan (27 percent), Mali (27 percent), Niger (28 percent), Ethiopia (39 percent), Chad (34 percent) and Benin (42 percent). Only five percent of the countries have an almost equal literacy rate to Pakistan, which include Morocco 56 percent, Central African Republic 56 percent and Mozambique 56 percent, and 81 percent of the countries have a higher literacy rate than Pakistan.

In 1947, the undivided Punjab had the same literacy rate, but today in west Punjab (Pakistani Punjab), it is 57 percent, and in the east Punjab (Indian Punjab) it is 77 percent. This gap in the literacy rate is one reason why west Punjabis and east Punjabis are drifting away from each other.

What really needs to be looked at is that when both — west Punjab and east Punjab — began their journey at the same time, how do we explain this gap in the literacy rate? Here it is worth mentioning that even Bangladesh, which was called the land of the ‘poor and hungry Bengalis’, has 81 percent literacy rate, which until 1981 was only 27 percent.

Why is there so much difference between the literacy rates of east Punjab, Bangladesh and Pakistan? The answer to this question is evident in the European past. As long as French and Latin remained the medium of instruction, the state of the rate of the growth of literacy was the same as in Pakistan, but when education was imparted in the mother tongue, the literacy rate increased by leaps and bounds, as it has in east Punjab and Bangladesh.

There is no denying that Pakistan is an epicentre of troubles and tribulations, about which journalists, scholars, leaders and political pundits are continuously beating their drums, but still nothing gets solved and nothing gets done. The situation in Pakistan has only worsened and is deteriorating even further. The reason is that none of the parties involved go to the root of the problem or issues, their focus being only on the superficial. Illiteracy is the root cause of many problems in Pakistan, in its Punjab, and the illiteracy itself is deeply rooted in the alien language: Urdu. This so-called Islamic language was forcibly imposed on the people by the British, which instead of wiping out illiteracy, is actually becoming a source of escalation in the growth of illiteracy in Pakistan. No one can deny the fact that illiteracy is a perfect breeding ground for serious problems in any country. We have seen it with our own eyes in Afghanistan. Many nations of the world wisely recognised this problem; they labelled illiteracy as their national enemy and did everything in their power to wipe it out from the lives of their people.

Unfortunately, there are others who adopted the policy of nurturing this enemy to keep their people ignorant and blind. Sadly, Pakistan is one of such nations. The Punjabis make the largest portion of the total population of Pakistan, and unless the literacy rate in Punjab grows, the literacy rate of Pakistan will stand still. It is vital for everyone, as illiteracy not just breeds poverty, corruption and criminal activities, it also poses a serious threat to harmony and peace. The most vile and devilish offspring of illiteracy is terrorism, which victimises not only the people of that country but easily spills over borders and endangers its neighbours.

Scholars, researchers and politicians are well aware that one reason behind the high rate of illiteracy is Urdu — an alien language that was forced upon the people. It has been proved in east Punjab, where the literacy rate skyrocketed when Urdu was replaced with Punjabi, their native language, their mother tongue.

It was the vested interest and selfish motives that galvanised the British to blind the Punjabis, but even after almost 67 years of their departure, the same politics of anti-Punjabi is alive and is being nurtured. Punjabi, the mother tongue, has been banned in their own homeland. Punjabi nationalism has been replaced by ‘Pakistani nationalism’, the brand of nationalism that was devised and crafted in the drawing rooms of the UP. The vacuum of true nationalism breeds corruption. Western nations have been able to harness the reins of corruption with the help of law and nationalism.

In the past, the British benefitted from the blind Punjabis. Today Pakistan and Punjab are the big time losers, the neighbouring countries being the next in line. Lawlessness and terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan gush out of illiteracy and ignorance. The target of terrorism is not only their own people, but it has already spilled over the borders, posing a serious threat to the neighbouring countries and world peace.

Punjabis are humans too! Like everyone else they have their rights. They have their desires and aspirations. Alas! They have been marginalised and reduced to being a nonentity, left to walk in the lines of the blind, a line where the blind in the lead, with a begging bowl in his hand calls out,

“We are Pakistanis, Urdu is our national language.” All the blinds following him chant in chorus. “We are Pakistanis, Urdu is our national language.”

The blind leading the blind! The blind following the blind! With each day, moving closer and closer to the abyss of complete destruction and self-annihilation.

(Concluded)

The writer is a serving Justice in Sweden