ISLAMABAD: The three-day Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival, curated by the Indus Cultural Forum, came to a close at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) on Sunday.

The packed event included more than 20 sessions with book launches, tributes, talks and discussions showcasing various indigenous languages of Pakistan and emphasising the need to preserve, protect and promote those languages.

The festival was supported by Unesco Pakistan, Forum for Language Initiatives, Government of Sindh Culture Department, Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC), Sindhi Language Authority, Pakistan Academy of Letters, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Higher Education Commission and other organisations.

Interim Minister for National Heritage and Culture Division Syed Jamal Shah was the chief guest at the event. Speaking on the occasion, he said: “The languages we are speaking of are associated with our land, they are known as local languages, and this is something I vehemently oppose. One of the first things I did in my tenure as the caretaker minister, was hold a conference of experts of all the languages of Pakistan to identify and compile basic poems, idioms, parables, tongue twisters, stories and songs for children. Children across social strata know English nursery rhymes but are unfamiliar with their own languages. These children are growing up with a vacuum.”

“We decided to convert these compilations into animations, videos and illustrated books so that our children are familiar with our own material and they have a local, indigenous context.

“They know where they come from, what matters, who our heroes are – and who our zeroes are - so their cultural identity is strengthened.

There can be no national cohesion without a strong cultural identity,” he added.

Stating that governments have ignored indigenous languages but that these languages are the real languages of this land and should be taught in schools, Jamal Shah reiterated an enduring theme of the festival that state policies must recognise and preserve indigenous languages.

While linguistic research is a key tool to safeguard languages, authors also suggested that one way to enrich local languages and make them more current could be to enrich their vocabularies by borrowing words from each other.

In a session on ‘Role of Provincial Governments in Promotion of Languages and Culture’, caretaker Education Minister Madad Ali Sindhi shared that the Sindh province had been unique in maintaining Sindhi as a medium of instruction and that the Sindh Culture Department had done exemplary work in preservation and protection of Sindhi literature, archives and ancient books.

With proponents of more than 20 Pakistani languages present, various writers, researchers and activists asserted that indigenous languages gave voice to otherwise voiceless communities. Pakistan is home to more than 70 languages of which 25 are endangered.While state policies had not played an adequate role in preserving and promoting indigenous languages, there was a need for people to take ownership of their own languages and start using their own mother languages in their homes.

Recognising the contributions of prominent writers, lifetime achievement awards were presented to Kishwar Naheed (Urdu), Razwal Kohistani (Shina Kohistani), Akash Ansari (Sindhi), Baba Najmi (Punjabi), Aziz Shahid (Seraiki), Iqbal Hussain Afkar (Pashto) and Allah Bux Buzdar (Balochi). The lives and works of these legends were celebrated at the event.

A fascinating session on the lost glory of drama and film in Pakistani mother languages revealed that local culture had been diluted in recent decades with the import of external narrative, symbols and concepts while the indigenous culture was stigmatised.

Zafar Mairaj, the author of the recent hit playKabuli Pulao,spoke about the lost glory of drama and film in Pakistani mother languages.

Some 80 books were launched over the course of the festival. On the last day, books featuring life sketches, profiles, biographies and interviews of different contemporary authors, Madad Ali Sindhi (Sindhi), Aziz Gopang (Sindhi), Mohammad Saghir Khan (Pahari), Iqbal Hussain Afkar (Pashto) and Sara Khan (Pashto and Urdu).

A session about novels in mother languages featured the launch of seven novels in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindko, Seraiki, Potohari, Pahari and Balti languages. Collections of short stories by Ibrahim Roman (Pashto), Dr Mohammad Saghir Khan (Pahari), Ayazullah Tarakzai (Pashto), Muddasir Bashir (Punjabi) and Fatmah Usman (Urdu) were also launched.

The book launches and discussions were interspersed with colourful cultural dances, including a performance by Asfandyar Khattak, and musical concerts by Chitrali singer Mansoor Ali Shabab and Punjabi folk singer Fazal Jutt.

Secretary General of Indus Cultural Forum Ashfaq Chandio announced that the next year would mark the 10th edition of the festival and shared the intention to make it a travelling festival spread over one month, in different cities of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2024