Daily Times

On September 8, under the lordship of Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Chief Justice (CJ) Jawwad S Khawaja, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan issued orders to the government to implement Article 251 of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. A critical evaluation is required of both the relevant article of the Constitution of Pakistan and the relevant decision of the SC.
On the issue of national language, Clause One of Article 251 of the Constitution says: “The national language of Pakistan is Urdu and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within 15 years from the commencing day.” In continuation of the same idea, Clause Two of the same article says: “Subject to clause (1), the English language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu.” No doubt, Clause One (along with Clause Two) enjoins upon the government to make arrangements to use Urdu for official purposes; neither the Constitution nor the decision of the SC delineates the meaning of the words “other purposes”. It means that the focus of both the Constitution and the SC was on the point of what should be the official language of Pakistan and not more than that. Furthermore, the words “other purposes” do not automatically mean the medium of education.
Clause Three of the same article says: “Without prejudice to the status of the national language, a provincial assembly may by law prescribe measures for the teaching, promotion and use of a provincial language in the addition to the national language.” No doubt, this clause enjoins upon the provincial governments to take measures for teaching a provincial language in addition to the national language, besides promoting and using a provincial language. Neither the Constitution nor the decision of the SC is vocal on the aspect of which language should be declared the provincial language. For instance, in Punjab, Punjabi and Seraike are both spoken. In Sindh, Sindhi and Urdu are both spoken. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pashto and Hindku are both spoken. In Balochistan, Balochi and Pashto are both spoken. Nevertheless, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi are already promoted at the provincial levels. More than that, these languages can be opted for as optional subjects in the examination of the Central Superior Services (CSS) held by the Federal Public Service Commission.
On the issue of right to education, Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan says: “The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to 16 years in such manner as may be determined by law.” No doubt, this article makes it obligatory on the government to offer free and compulsory education to all children of a certain age. The article does not finalise the medium of education. Instead, it leaves the space open for “such manner as may be determined by law”. In Pakistan, children already learn their regional mother languages at home for conversational and communication purposes. However, to learn a language for educational purposes is altogether a different matter. Neither the Constitution of Pakistan nor the decision of the SC has addressed this point.
Another point both the Constitution of Pakistan and the decision of the SC have overlooked is that the post-1991 world is governed by mechanics different from those that were operational in 1973. The flow of technology in terms of the internet, computer and satellite has brought the world closer. The resultant global propinquity does not mean dissociation and reclusion but association and communication. Deriding or denigrating English by phrasing it as the “colonial language” is to blink away the fact that English has fast surpassed the phase of a colonial language and is now the current language of understanding, knowledge and global communication.
The origin and outflow of the modern day technological revolution has taken place in English speaking countries. The phenomenon of immigration on the basis of skill continues to enrich host countries with people of talent and abilities. English is a pre-requisite to be recognised as a skilled immigrant. The top 100 universities of the world run advanced courses, the medium of which is English. These universities are overwhelmingly placed in English-speaking countries. Human genetics and gene technology are current medical research areas. No research article is recognised unless it is published in a journal publishing research in English. Despite their historical anti-English rancour, both German and Japanese people have been learning English and their scientists prefer to settle in English-speaking countries. East Europe, which was once a part of the former Soviet Union, has been learning English.
Even the British, the native speaker of English, learn English, especially standard English. In markets, there are available a number of books on the topic of how to write English written for the natives of English-speaking countries. There are incidents where professors in scientific research institutes in the UK were forced to write letters to the government to improve the standards of English (both in terms of grammar and vocabulary) at the school level. The question is this: why is a Pakistani (whether a child or adult) hesitant to learn English? Why is a Pakistani fearful of learning English, a language of science and technology? Is it not a sickness of the mind to dissimulate one’s aversion to English (whether or not rooted in one’s slackness) by hiding behind Urdu or the cliché, the loathsome legacy of the colonial age? The world has entered a phase of pro-active learning but Pakistanis still ask the Constitution and SC to come to their rescue, and both oblige them.
Pro-English realities are so harsh, glaring and adamant that neither the Constitution of Pakistan nor any decision of the SC can save Pakistanis. Neither of them should be incongruent with the age the world and Pakistan are passing through. Let Pakistanis learn English.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com