Govt departments asked to gradually introduce Urdu as official language
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ISLAMABAD: The federal government has asked heads of departments to implement a cabinet decision to gradually introduce Urdu as official language.
According to a circular, heads of government departments have also been asked to propose ways in which Urdu could take the place of English as the official language.
On May 14, the cabinet decided that Urdu would be the official language as per Article 251 of the Constitution.
Article 251 says: “(1) The National language of Pakistan is Urdu, and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencing day. (2) Subject to clause (1), the English language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu. (3) 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 addition to the national language.”
Also read: Language debate
The heads of the departments have been informed that working papers for cabinet meetings will be prepared in Urdu and all its proceeding and minutes will also be in the national language.
They have been asked to seek suggestions and recommendations in this regard from the Higher Education Commission and the provincial authorities concerned.
The bureaucracy has been asked to write notes and orders on official files in Urdu, instead of English. All the ministries have been directed to correspond with each other and with other departments in the national language. And all the government policies should be translated into Urdu.
According to the circular, all tests for basic pay scales 1-16, which are given by the National Testing Service, should in Urdu.
Departments like the passport office, the income tax department, the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue, the Auditor General of Pakistan, Wapda and the Election Commission of Pakistan have been given three months to start issuing their documents and forms, including utility bills, in Urdu.
A task force headed by the information secretary will be set up to monitor and review progress on the matter on a monthly basis.
But correspondence with other countries and competitive examinations like that of the Central Superior Services will be in English.
Talking to Dawn, a government official said employees would have to undergo comprehensive training before the cabinet decision could be implemented fully.
“We do not have a dictionary which provides proper Urdu substitutes for English words, for instance,” he said.
The cabinet had conceded that the National Language Authority set up in 1979 to promote Urdu had now become dormant.
The official added that the entire government record would have to be translated into Urdu.
Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2015
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Jun 08, 2015 07:12am
Bad decision for Pakistan.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:13am
Good move
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Jun 08, 2015 07:15am
This was long over due. Most people speak broken English in Pakistan. And English is simply used to "look cool".
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Jun 08, 2015 07:16am
Great decision...
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Jun 08, 2015 07:17am
Everything seems to be backwards... One advantage Pakistanis have had on the international stage, especially in higher education, has been that of their proficiency in English. Now the government comes up with this brilliant idea...
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Jun 08, 2015 07:28am
Of course there is much research, technology and science available in URDU that it is a must for people to move over! HA HA HA. How insane.
The worst fool is one who fools himself.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:29am
Yet another way to ignore real problems in the country. At least the change would allow current PM to read and understand government communication. He would also have excuse of not giving statements in English.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:35am
There is no need to substitute English into Urdu....as my mother tongue non other than urdu and having got early and higher education in English it will b very difficult for us adjust ourselves for urdu plz stop this notification to pass through
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Jun 08, 2015 07:38am
So....planning to dumb down and slow down the governmental procedures even more? and to make them less transparent to non-urdu speaking individuals and institutes? what a BRILLIANT IDEA.
confound government even more? WHY NOT.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:39am
With urdu we can communicate with only India. With English the whole world is opened up. Urdu is an indian language anyway - so if we adopt foreign languages it might as well be the most useful one.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:39am
Just another non-sensical move to draw attention away from major issues.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:40am
Finally, a sensible decision in the right direction. We became free in 1947 in name only; ideologically we are still slaves.
No civilization has ever progressed in the language of another. We do not need to go very far to confirm this; Japan, China, France, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Malaysia all use their own language.
There are many reasons for this. Foremost, the best way to subjugate a people is to impose a language; because with language comes culture.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:51am
At least some sanity is coming back to Pakistan (after 67 years of Independence!!). We (Bangladeshis) got rid of English (as official language) in 1986 and this is the main reason that we are now ahead of Pakistan in most of the human development indices. I am not saying we don’t need English, we definitely need that but our own language should be supreme in our own lands & waters—this gives us a moral boost--a high sense of self-esteem that is very important for National Development.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:52am
Most of the knowledge, information (about science and technology) and top class literature is published in English. English is a must for our youth to move forward. Why are we going backwards?
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Jun 08, 2015 07:53am
Very good move! While English is extremely important it can never take the place of Urdu which hold 800 years of our culture and history.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:56am
First I would present 3 facts:
1) Our education system must be uniform and in Urdu but it's mainly in English
2) Departments must function actively and no body bothers to talk about their efficiency
3) Pakistan is the 3rd country in the world having largest number of English speakers
Given the facts, It would be wise to declare both languages as the official languages. There are many countries in the world who have two or more official languages.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:10am
Pakistanis will be at a great disadvantage when seeking work overseas, climbing the corporate ladder or interacting with foreign investors. This is a bad idea for a country that already has a pathetic education system.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:14am
Way to go! Yet another step back for Pakistan. Get with the programme people. Urdu is only spoken or understood in the subcontinent. Government should focus more on educating the masses not worry about implementing "Urdu"!
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Jun 08, 2015 08:15am
Mandarin should be made official language as this will help in integration with China , which is inevitable and in interests of Pakistan for future prosperity and rise of Pakistan as global power.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:15am
The world is progressing by using more and more English and we want to use less and less.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:18am
What needs to be done is purification of Urdu from all the English words. On the other hand English should continue to be used in tandem with Urdu. Let us face it that in as much as I lament the dilution of Urdu with English words, English has the global status of a language that every educated and upwardly mobile person must learn it. It is a historical fact that be it secondary to colonialism or any other factor, English will remain the language which will dominate the world for years to come. It will be a big mistake and tantamount to shortsightedness if an attempt will be made to replace it with Urdu. It is bound to fail. I love Urdu but one has to be realistic.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:21am
"What foolish thing..they should make 'Arabic' the national language and gradually introduce it,till than Urdu should be used for business and should lay more emphasis on Chinese because Chinese is the language of future and also should introduce chapter related to communism and lessons on great leaders like Mao and Stalin"
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Jun 08, 2015 08:22am
Excellent move. Urduisation was long overdue.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:34am
Step in the right direction, this was long over due. Make sure all our government's leader should give speech in Urdu in UNO or any other international conference, they way German, French,
Itlian, Japanise, Russian, Chinese do when they address UNO.
Also all Urdue TV station should not mix Urdu and English when they are talking, majority of Pakistani don't understand English.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:43am
I fully support this move. All those who believe we cannot progress without English should look at China, Japan, Germany, Francr etc. English can continue to be our second language.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:48am
good. urdu and hindi are best languages and are almost 100% similar.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:48am
Very bad idea its not the language of Majority and it should not be forced on others.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:48am
sum total, Urdu like English stays a foreign languages to 96% of the population as it is mother language of only 4%.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:51am
Very Nice... No more debates about languages at the Federal level. Looking forward to the days when average person will be able to understand his/her basic rights and can standup in the courts and understand the proceedings.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:53am
'English' can't be replaced as International link language.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:54am
I deal situation should be English and Urdu. US supports English and Spanish and we should do the same. Also it is hard to understand why Sindhi is official language in Sindh. India has so many local languages but english unites them. Time to learn form neighbors.
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Jun 08, 2015 08:58am
World going forward and these guys going backward.
Malaysia introduced a similar policy of using Malay only at government and school levels. Now they are reverting back to the policy of using English as medium of communication.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:00am
so i expect CNIC, driving license, wedding certificate all written in Urdu except for the international cards like NEW CNIC, Passport, degrees ...
like it if you agreed :-)
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Jun 08, 2015 09:07am
Pakistan is officially going to be failed state now. Replacing English with Urdu is not going to work and it will only make Pakistan worst
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Jun 08, 2015 09:11am
Awful idea. It is language of very few people. Let English be the official language . Let regional languages flourish. Donot perpetuate Liaqat,Jinnah,s mistake.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:13am
Why move backward. Introduce Urdu and also keep English. In Canada they use both French and English.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:18am
appreciable decision
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Jun 08, 2015 09:19am
this step should have been taken long ago
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Jun 08, 2015 09:24am
ATLAST! they realized the significance of the 'lingua franca'. Maybe the condition of illiteracy and backwardness pushed 'em to take this major decision after years of ignorance.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:31am
I read in Wiki, less than 15% people speak Urudu ( mother tounge) in pakistan !! Why then govt impose this on !!! I'm from India, i don't know hindi , i prefer english ...
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Jun 08, 2015 09:32am
Correspondence made in Urdu would force government servants to work as they would not required to send a file received from competent authority to different departments for its understanding.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:33am
While the world economy, science and arts operate in English, Pakistan picks Urdu.
Another step backward from the global economy for Pakistan. How is being fluent in Urdu going to allow Pakistan to compete on a global basis?
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Jun 08, 2015 09:34am
very good step. cnic, driving license , tax papers - all local docs should be in national language urdu except those that are required abroad like passport, smart card shall remain in english.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:35am
This is one of the major reasons of 1971 Debacle . It is not a wise move to impose Urdu language as it is a secondary language for a majority of Pakistanis.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:40am
I love Urdu but i think it is a bad move. Language is already used to enforce class difference in Pakistan. It would be much better if Government spend efforts to teach English to poor and underprivileged.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:41am
@Sayyar Khan , Only pakistanis and few Indians know this language so I don't think it will work. Keep in mind what happened when Urdu become an issue in Bangladesh (former East Pakistan).
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Jun 08, 2015 09:43am
Well there should be a national consensus done on this language issue and put it to bed once and for all.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:47am
Why Urdu, is this another rebuff to Saudi Arabia.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:47am
Urdu should be alongside English, not second to it. It connects us easily to the world and helps in trade. Don't lose the advantage. Arabic and Farsi should be second as optionals.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:54am
@Sayyar Khan Urdu is the lingua franca and hence, like Hindi in India for example, has to be used as a national language. The rest are regional languages and cannot be understood by the majority.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:01am
Another nail in the coffin of Pakistan, world is moving ahead, Pakistan has only gear, that's reverse one
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Jun 08, 2015 10:13am
@Sayyar Khan As if English is the language of majority and therefore you are opposing its replacement.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:14am
@AA
Hindi has not replaced English in India. Hindi will never be able to replace English. The progress made by India in the IT field is entirely on the strength of English speaking population. If you replace English with Urdu in functioning of the Govt. or its business, it is going to be a step in the backward direction.
R.S. Menon, Bangalore
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Jun 08, 2015 10:15am
It has been announced several times in past but results are drama.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:17am
Official documents in Urdu may turn out to be a relief for Govt to survive on the ambiguity aspect of documentations in any legal proceedings. This change will help them to hide their corruption under a not very well optimized system of documentation in Urdu. For example we don't even have a word for 'Minutes" in Urdu, so how professionally they will be able to capture the real essence of the Minutes of the meetings in Urdu.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:25am
Quaid E Azam has announced that Urdu will be our national language. How many more years should we need to implement. One hundred more years or thousand.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:25am
Action need one day and HYPOCRISY need thousands of years.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:27am
great move
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Jun 08, 2015 10:32am
@Khan now it will again take hundred more years to implement. Action need one day and HYPOCRISY need at least thousand years.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:33am
@ALi BUT wait thousand more years for implementation this is the luck of Pakistani masses to wait for generations for one betterment.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:35am
How many nations are expert of HYPOCRISY in this age?
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Jun 08, 2015 10:36am
@Sayyar Khan Do you think English is the language of majority in Pakistan ?
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Jun 08, 2015 10:40am
we keep going backwards and adamant to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. Bravo
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Jun 08, 2015 10:43am
@Mustafa English is majority in the world if you get out of your cave. Who speaks Urdu compare to English. This is a big step backwards if Pakistan wants to only stay within its boundaries and not move forward then go with Urdu.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:43am
Excellent decision! Now as a native speaker of Pashto I have a reason to teach my kids Urdu - The national language of Pakistan.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:47am
@lalit I totally agree. Even majority of Pakistanis mother tounge is not Urdu the people who's mother tounge is Urdu consider themselves Mahajirs this is the only country in the world where national language is those of immigrants as far as I know who don't even consider themselves Pakistanis.
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Jun 08, 2015 10:49am
Should I laugh or cry?
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Jun 08, 2015 10:56am
@think_then_speak
But urdu is the only language in which people from one province can talk to people belonging to other provinces
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Jun 08, 2015 10:57am
this should be done as early.but 100% correct decision to return to our national language.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:03am
@nafas
These figures only represent people whose first language is urdu, not the people who can speak urdu. Most people belonging to other provinces can understand and communicate in urdu. And there is no other language that provides this link between provinces.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:15am
@Sayyar Khan Almost all Pakistanis do use it for communication and world over it has its importance.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:18am
Pathetic. Keep going back to stone ages.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:20am
In India we have many local and hindi as a language, but english has been taught along with hindi and local language since child start learning in nursery.. hence we never had a problem with official or unofficial language.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:27am
Can the govt plz concentrate on real issues. We have no problems with English being an official language.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:30am
Yeah!! should give higher importance to urdu as well as english shall also be apart of education content even in rural areas.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:32am
good step of Govt indeed, appreciable
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Jun 08, 2015 11:33am
Please don't do this. This is a reverse gear.
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Jun 08, 2015 11:49am
To those making these decisions - Why dont you bring you children back from foreign countries and make them study in govt schools first !
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Jun 08, 2015 11:49am
As a student of languages and English language in particular, I consider it to be a move towards self realization, however, no language is bad but it is the yoke of colonization which we need to get rid of. Post colonial mentality still remains unchanged as CSS exams and bureaucracy would remain in English. encouraging further divison in the Education sector. keep both languages or rather introduce regional languages too as optional subjects in school. everyone should have the right to learn whatever language they feel need for! Why the philosophy of imposition and control!
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Jun 08, 2015 11:54am
We are sending out a message to the rest of the world that Pakistan is closed for business
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Jun 08, 2015 11:57am
Living in Turkey and being a Pakistani I used to feel so bad for our people and language who have English imposed on them. The Turks do not use English simply because they do not need it. Everything is in they layman's language hence everything is understood by them. they make right political choices and right life choices. The lower class is at ease with the upper class and they have almost similar opportunities. there is no language divide. Most of Urdu is such a diverse language that it can easily show the boot to English.
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Jun 08, 2015 12:07pm
@NASIR From how many years, China business has closed ?
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Jun 08, 2015 12:12pm
Finally a most basic thing gets attention, the banishment and exile of national language!
Hundreds of millions Pakistani nationals who couldn't express their God gifted talents merely because of a language barrier which so detest-fully separating privileged few from the rest from 'ages'!
Even countries with 10,000 people work in their national languages.
Each day in any office of Pakistan near half of working hours are wasted on just drafting, revising and redrafting a mere trifle which can be done with in 5 minutes. No wonder, due to English!
As no country, no people can excel more while working in a language, which is not the language of his dreams, thoughts and adjacent environment, no matter how smart they may be.
We have been sacrificing just opportunities for all, out put, national bondage, history, culture and unity over altar of English. What a doomed fate, that even too far being cool and for seeking immortality to our inferiority complex!
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Jun 08, 2015 12:16pm
They're implementing part of unanimous constitution. Urdu needs a lot of hard work to compete with English but that's not an excuse. Even 1000 mile away destination can be reached travelling on foot. Just be gradual and wise in implementation.
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Jun 08, 2015 12:16pm
Chinese are ahead of us. Do they speak English as their official language? No. Good decision. I see people are raising concerns over this move, they should be instead proud of their national language. Or they should win elections with majority in hand and remove that clause from the Constitution. This is in accordance with our constitution. If you don't accept it, then please leave Pakistan
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Jun 08, 2015 12:26pm
Not to be introduce, but it should be implemented on emergency basis.
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Jun 08, 2015 12:38pm
No people can progress while conducting work in a language which is not the language of their dreams and thoughts. plainly simple. . 'Being cool' (i.e. our entrenched inferiority complex) and national progress are mutually exclusive.
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Jun 08, 2015 12:50pm
its easy, least make,in departments circulars and applications in urdu compulsory.
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Jun 08, 2015 01:25pm
Good decision....... May this be implemented.
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Jun 08, 2015 01:31pm
@Sam We are which is why we have Urdu. In India one has to learb several local languages simply to run an election. Ask modi on the other hand one easily holds his own in Pakistan with the mere knowledge of Urdu from Khyber to Sindh if that doesnt unite, than what does? English is barely understood by the masses try speaking a few sentences in proper English and you will see. Urdu on the other hand is understood by a vast majority, yes many do not speak it well but its the optimum mode of communication nation-wide.
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Jun 08, 2015 01:32pm
@QSS you can have them in both, Turkey is a pretty good model for including both languages on documebts required abroad.
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Jun 08, 2015 01:35pm
@Ali Agha There are plenty of words for minutes a) the local adaptation Mint b) an English borrowing Minute or the very purist Daqiqa and Daqa'iq. All are very much pqrt of Urdu vocab juat pick up a dictionary. Lutfan i.e. BARA'E MEHRBAANI
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Jun 08, 2015 01:35pm
Awesome... Every great nation is proud of it national language and takes pain to implement and promote it so why can't we???
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Jun 08, 2015 01:41pm
everyone have misunderstood they are using it as offical language for offical documentation this doesnt mean that there are the changing the education system this simple that is
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Jun 08, 2015 01:43pm
Do so at your further peril. Just look within your own borders and imagine how Sindhis, Bolochis and Pathans as well as others will feel about their languages. English is not only a binding language within Pakistan but gives young Pakistanis a chance to further their prospects in every field from commerce to science. It simply is THE lingua franca unashamedly, nay proudly by millions of Chinese! Unfortunately, since Zia's days Pakistan's education system has gone backwards and a simple comparison even with India shows how much India has benefited by placing a much heavier emphasis on the retention of English in its education, government and legal systems, as well as throughout the armed forces, while also nurturing Hindi and a multitude of regional languages and dialects. The standard of English cannot be allowed to slip any further (judging from the construction of sentences posted on this site) if Pakistan wants to keep abreast in a world that is advancing apace.
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Jun 08, 2015 01:49pm
wow. brilliant.
English is a language and one must learn to communicate in the world but that does not permit us to make it our official language.
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Jun 08, 2015 02:08pm
Awesome great going Pakistan.
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Jun 08, 2015 02:12pm
Very late decision but this is going to be a huge daunting task. This should have been done in the 50s like Turkey as they established a national language authority to oversee its promotion. Here, unfortunately, Urdu has never been developed along with the advancements in every field, e.g., Urdu does not have words for many things IT & science. What are they going to do now ... convert the education curriculum to Urdu? change the language of offices to Urdu.. seems impossible.
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Jun 08, 2015 02:15pm
praise the lord.
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Jun 08, 2015 02:18pm
Urdu ...??
Forgot 71 Already ..?? its not the mother tongue of 92.5 % of Pakistanis
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Jun 08, 2015 02:20pm
Terrible decision for Pakistan. This will further isolate Pakistanis from the international community, and poor from the privileged. Are PM, CMs, Governors, Ministers, Advisors, MNAs, MPAs, and senior military and civil officers and their families are ready to abandon English schools for their loved ones?
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Jun 08, 2015 02:23pm
Excellentt! About time to start feeling proud of our rich and expressive language and get off with this infatuation with English everything.
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Jun 08, 2015 02:25pm
Thats a right move
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Jun 08, 2015 02:40pm
its a good or bad decision is yet to be seen.
if they really want to have "Urdu" as official language, it should be from the roots, ie schools, colleges and universities where it should be implemented to achieve the targets .... else its nonsense.
frankly URDU itself is not a language its combo of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Sanskrit, Hindi, Saraiki, Sindhi, Balochi and last but not least English as well. find same on google and you will come to know about same.
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Jun 08, 2015 02:55pm
A very bad decision. This will further complicate issues
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Jun 08, 2015 03:10pm
keep Urdu, English and your other regional languages as official languages.... like we have in India.
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Jun 08, 2015 03:17pm
thanks God, there are still some sane minds exists in our society
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Jun 08, 2015 03:17pm
@Ayaz What is Bad here? could you elaborate ?
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Jun 08, 2015 03:22pm
@Erum These Science Journals are also read in progressive world where the language is not english. No I wonder how they are still progressing while we are lacking far behind?
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Jun 08, 2015 03:25pm
@GA Well! in Germany they like to hire Pakistanis who possess good command in German Language. Fluent English (ONLY) speaking Pakistanis are finding hard to get a job in the industries. This is happening allover Europe now. So how about that?
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Jun 08, 2015 03:31pm
This is what is going to drive a wedge. About time. keep it up.
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Jun 08, 2015 03:53pm
Another confused decision of a confused country. PTI want all English curriculum in pakhtunkhwa. Why not mother tongue
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Jun 08, 2015 04:10pm
Aoa. I am surprised to read the comments and most of them seems to be not in favor of this decision. Perhaps I would say its good decision and for those who are not happy I would like to remind them that if you ever visit Asian developed nations like Japan you will definitely admire them as they never lag behind national language. I learn that national language gives more confidence to understand and foster the ideas.
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Jun 08, 2015 04:16pm
The order is neither here, nor there. If the inclination is towards west and growth, the official language should be English. If the inclination is self pride, it should be the mother tongue. Panjabi or Sindhi. Introducing Urdu is neither self pride nor would indicate development.
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Jun 08, 2015 04:39pm
Bad move, please revert, we can't afford to go back again.
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Jun 08, 2015 05:01pm
@Ridwan Urdu is the language of Pakistan.
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Jun 08, 2015 05:15pm
Imagine a Pakistani chap standing in front of American embassy and requesting for visa in Urdu.Who goes where than?
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Jun 08, 2015 05:17pm
@haris Have you seen the positions/posts given to Pakistanis in Germany. All are mostly in low levels. More like grade 11 12.... here.
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Jun 08, 2015 05:25pm
What will be the fate of Urdu speaking. In 1950, the strength of urdu speaking in Govt. Posts was 90% due to their educational qualifications and now it is less than 2%, that too from grade 1 to grade 7.
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Jun 08, 2015 06:08pm
Great! So now they will have to either hire or train the existing 'steno' pool in Urdu typing. Now machines will be procured, software purchased, perhaps even printers and typewriters(!); new books, dictionaries, and what have you will be purchased; large amount of existing stationery will become redundant and necessitate printing of tons of paper,; etc. etc.
Than the Competitive Examinations will be held in English where a lot of people wanting to get promoted from say grade 16 to grade 17 will have to learn English for fear of being left behind.
Why this sudden focus of Article 251, when life is going on smoothly?
I am sure there are many articles of the constitution that beg focus and can usher in a perceptible change if implemented in earnest and in their true spirit.
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Jun 08, 2015 06:31pm
Even after 67 years we could not decide what our official language would be? What about those kids who are given lessons in English in centre and Punjab. Even KPK has made it medium of instruction which has been much eulogized. How would they transform into Urdu? Don't know when our Govt. start teaching Chinese medium of instruction. Still we are bewilder nation in search of direction.
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Jun 08, 2015 07:02pm
@Oops
There is no language named Chinese. In China there are two languages viz. Mandarin and Cantonese
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Jun 08, 2015 07:17pm
Urdu is not the mother tongue of majority of Pakistanis. Promote regional languages especially if you want to improve quality of education and learning and discourage the culture of rote memorization so prevalent in our society. Basic education in mother tongue will lead to much better conceptual understanding, it's not rocket science, it's the way it is in most of the world except probably here in south asia
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Jun 08, 2015 07:20pm
@TARIQ there is lot of research on natural language processing of urdu is done ... problem is u dont know about it ... pakistani universities , foreign universities and indian universities have done allot of research on urdu . long gone the days when urdu suffered from technical difficulties on computer ...
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Jun 08, 2015 09:34pm
@Sami any advantage that we have is far outweighed by the slave mentality that comes with adopting english. Yes we speak better english than the Russians and the French but we cut a sorry figure in terms of national pride.
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Jun 08, 2015 09:55pm
urdu will be the best when we will be at the top in science (urdu version). we will hardly find a research paper in any field in urdu language. so what is the rationale behind this nonsense decision. By introducing urdu as an official language what will we get? poverty alleviation? increase in GDP? nothing... and yes it will be best for the uneducated person who contest for the election but can't speak English and are the part of the governance! the world is turning into a global village and instead of doing something valuable they do politics on the name of provinces, languages etc. Alas!
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Jun 08, 2015 11:28pm
About time!
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Jun 09, 2015 07:48am
this would be yet another decay and giving up our higher IQ for letting English go where from most recent stories invasion etc comes to us...Some thing is wrong with our learning just imagine for years army would follow English commands now they daubed it into Urdu and the smaller provinces want it into their language so is the sciences which mean wastage of time and energies on such transfer dubbing etc
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Jun 09, 2015 09:12am
@R.S. Menon - Pakistanis and Indian will stay backward until they let go their Colonial legacy and learn to appreciate their lingua franca - Urdu or Hindi or any other local language.. No nation ever succeeded without being proudly instructed in a lingua franca - look at China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and America - all have adapted a single language proudly regardless of the origin of the language. Pakistani and Indian minds are full of inferiority complexes and they are contend with being slaves in their caste driven societies. The status qua and others use English to dominate and treat the under privileged unfairly.
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Jun 09, 2015 11:50am
Feeling sorrow. How cheap can you be not to even promote or favor your own language. According to one of the Russian writer "your language is nothing and is of no value unless and until you value it yourselves and work for it." As for this decision it was a long overdue to be done by the time of our independence. But it is our self lack attitude. Be a man of your country not to be one promoting those other ones. It is a great news but if implemented and implemented rightly. There are many countries using their own national languages, so what happened to them of not being familiar with English. ALWAYS PROMOTE THE GOOD THINGS NOT TO BE FINDING ILLNESS IN EVERYTHING.
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Jun 09, 2015 02:39pm
late but good... decision.
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