Speaking at the convocation of Dacca University in March 1948, the Quaid-e-Azam emphasised that he wanted Urdu to be the sole national language of Pakistan because it had been ‘nurtured by a hundred million Muslims of this sub-continent’ and that it is a language which ‘embodies the best that is in Islamic culture and Muslim tradition.’ On the same issue, the Prime Minister of the country, Liaquat Ali Khan, had also argued a month earlier that, ‘the language of a hundred million Muslims is Urdu,’ and that any moves to even allow another language to be co-equal to it (since some wanted Bengali to have equal status), were threatening the very existence of the Muslim community in South Asia. Liaquat thundered in the Constituent Assembly that any such question is ‘a question of life and death for the Muslim nation not only for Pakistan but throughout this whole sub-continent.’
The status of Urdu has been undermined by the wholesale imposition of Arabic words, not as mere additions, but with a clear aim to undermine the language itself. . . Our national anthem uses the Persian word for the Almighty — Khuda
Throughout the Pakistan Movement and even beyond, after the creation of the country, the Muslim League and its leaders were clear that Urdu was a Muslim/Islamic language. This argument was part and parcel of the Two Nation theory which argued that Muslims and Hindus form two different and distinct nations in India; hence a separate language, differentiated not on the basis of area, syntax and other things, but solely on the basis of religion, became part of the argument. Obviously, this claim of Urdu as a ‘Muslim/Islamic’ language complicated the existence of those people who claimed Urdu as their mother tongue but were not Muslims, as a large number of people in the erstwhile United Provinces, and especially the Pandits of Kashmir who had excelled in Urdu literature and language. It also problematised the existence of those people who were Muslims but did not speak Urdu, like those in the Bengal, Sindh, Pakhtun areas, and South India. Were they not fully Muslim, they wondered?
Despite all the above misgivings, Urdu was always thought of as ‘Muslim’ in Pakistan and its Islamic nature strengthened Pakistan, it was argued. Therefore, even when Bengali was begrudgingly accepted as co-equal to Urdu in 1954, several attempts were made in all the subsequent years to make Bengali more like Urdu with proposals for a change of script, infusion of more Urdu words, etc. Even during the more ‘liberal’ period of Ayub Khan it was never accepted that Bengali was ‘Muslim’ enough to be a national language in Pakistan. Hence, Urdu retained its special character and position.
But then the 1980’s complicated the status of Urdu. Even though General Ziaul Haq was by far the largest proponent of Urdu, the fact that under his regime (starting from Bhutto in fact), Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia, had begun to have a massive impact on Pakistan, changed the reality. Under Saudi influence, the local interpretations of Islam began to be questioned. Where most of Pakistan went to mazars to pray and pay homage, the Saudi influence called it un-Islamic. Where Sunnis and Shias were living in comparative peace, sectarian violence, predicated in the belief that the other sect was completely wrong and outside the realm of Islam, became the norm. Under these circumstances, the basic construction of Pakistan also came under threat.
So whereas in the past it was unequivocally claimed that Pakistan was created as a ‘homeland for the Muslims of South Asia,’ it became problematic because people were now unsure who these ‘Muslims’ were. Similarly, where Urdu was clearly the ‘Muslim’ language, it was not unclear if it was ‘Muslim’ enough as it had not originated in the Middle East (read Saudi Arabia). The most obvious means by which the status of Urdu was undermined was by the wholesale imposition of Arabic words in it, not as mere additions, but with a clear aim to undermine the language itself. First went the Persian-originated word for God, followed by even the name of Pakistan, which can now be read as ‘Al-Bakistan’ on a host of number plates, and most recently, ‘Ramzan’ has become ‘Ramadan.’ Therefore, a large number of people now prefer to use Arabic terms, when Urdu ones exist, not as a matter of preference but as something ‘better’ or ‘more appropriate.’ In fact, some even consider using Urdu terms as even wrong, hence, deeply problematising Pakistan’s relationship with the theory, and the language, which is supposed to be its foundation.
Pakistan’s national anthem, sung in every school, every day in the country, was written in the 1950’s when Pakistan still thought of Urdu as Muslim and its Persian heritage as legitimate. Hence, the end of the anthem — very rightly — asks for the Almighty’s shadow to remain on the country, but uses the Persian origin word, ‘Khuda’. Will it be acceptable today?
The writer is an historian based in Lahore. He can be contacted at: [email protected]