Daily Times

Hurisa Guvercin beautifully articulates that every language spoken in the world represents a special culture, melody, colour and asset, and mother language is certainly one of the most precious treasures in our lives.

The first sound, symbols, words and phrases we listen, speak and read have a huge impact on us. Language is one of the primary sources of communication.

Various cultures have been persevered from generation to generation through languages. Mother tongue is the indicator of cultural identity. It is said that mother tongue is the language of heart and mind.

International recognition of mother languages

February 21 is celebrated as the International Mother Language Day. First announced by UNESCO on November 17, 1999, it was formally recognised by the UN General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages. The aim of this is to promote peace, multiculturalism and multilingualism.

On February 21, 1952, several Bengali students from the University of Dhaka, Jagannath University and Dhaka Medical College demonstrating for the recognition of Bengali as one of the two national languages of East Pakistan (modern Pakistan) were shot dead by police.

On January 9, 1998, Rafiqul Islam – a Bengali-Canadian – wrote a letter to Kofi Annan – then UN secretary general – asking him to take step for preservation and recognition of mother languages. Islam suggested February 21 on the pretext of 1952.

Mother languages in Pakistan

Pakistan is home to several languages. The names of different regions indicate what language its inhabitants speak like Balochistan-Balochi, Punjab-Punjabi, Sindh-Sindhi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -Pashtu, Kashmir-Kashmiri and Gilgit Baltistan-Balti. There are several other languages that symbolise the diversification of culture in the country.

UNESCO documented that around 27 small languages in Pakistan may face extinction, which is unfortunate to mention. According to the report, most of these languages are spoken in northern areas, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and surrounding border areas of Pakistan.

The reason behind the possible extinction may not be the small number of speakers, but lack of adequate facilities for those teaching mother languages at educational institutions. Therefore, they fall prey to a slow death.

Balochi: my mother tongue

I was gifted with Balochi Language by my ancestors who from generation to generation preserved and forwarded it through oral (poetry, Dastan) and written means. According to an estimate there are at least 20 million Balochi speakers. Most of them reside in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, while others live in Gulf countries, other parts of Asia and Europe.

With regard to mother languages here I would like to illustrate a reasonable example from Balochi literature. Sayad Zahoor Shah Hasmi – who worked tirelessly his entire life for Balochi langauge – was a prominent poet and linguist. With the aim of preserving the language, he travelled to various parts of Balochistan.

From the coastal belt to the mountainous areas of Balochistan, he left no place to compile the Balochi words, some of which were no more in use. Sayad Hashmi even visited Gulf countries for this purpose, and compiled the first ever Balochi dictionary – Sayad Ganj – which is the struggle of decades and is no less than a treasure for us. Indeed, he was a one-man army.

Balochi Syahag-e-Rasth Nabisag (Proper Balochi Orthography) – the first ever comprehensive grammar book that is widely used for Balochi reading and writing – remains the masterpiece of Sayad Hashmi contribution.

Today with much better facilities and international organisation like UNESCO, many languages are still on the verge of extinction which is a disappointment. I believe Sayad Zahoor Shah Hashmi’s struggle is a remarkable example and source of motivation for language lovers.

We have to preserve our mother language

A language whose intellectuals have burnt midnight oil is not being taught to its speakers at governmental schools. Mother language – which is the base of learning – is given less priority. This situation depicts the carefree attitude of the government towards the mother language.

Protests cannot solve problems surrounding our languages. The responsibility lies with every citizen of Pakistan to preserve our literary traditions. Everybody is a stakeholder when it comes to the mother language.