SANGHAR, Aug 31: A resolution adopted at a conference on “Sindhi Language: National Language” on Sunday called for declaring Sindhi a national language and making it a compulsory subject in schools.

The resolution also demanded declaring Seraiki, Pushto, Punjabi and Balochi as national languages and urged the print and electronic media to use correct fonts of Sindhi.

The conference was organised by the Sindhi Adabi Sangat’s Sanghar chapter.

Dr Abdul Jabbar Junejo, former chairman of Sindhi Adabi Board, who was one of the speakers, said that the British government had made Sindhi an official language in 1857 for revenue and education departments and it had remained so till the formation of One Unit.

He demanded implementation of the language bill, which was passed in 1972 by the then PPP government. Shah Latif’s language is like a Sindhi dictionary, which is spoken in villages of Sindh even this day, he said.

Taj Joyo said that Sindhi was an ancient language, which had complete alphabets and did not need any change. Teachers had not been recruited on merit since 1972, which was a major reason behind deteriorating standards of education. Besides, they lacked training in language and grammar, he added.

He said that former provincial education minister Hamida Khuhro had proved more harmful for Sindh than her father and demanded that Sindh University teach general science and social sciences in Sindhi.

Dr Anwar Fagar Hakro, Idress Jatoi, Allah Warayo Behan and Faheem Noonari said that registration of a primary school which did not teach Sindhi as a compulsory subject should be cancelled.

Our Larkana correspondent adds: Prof Muhktiar Samo has said that efforts will have to be redoubled to develop Sindhi language in line with the demands of changing world to be able to compete globally.

Delivering a lecture on “The Future of Sindhi Language and Our Responsibilities” organised by the Mugheri chapter of the Sindhi Adabi Sangat, he said that Sindhi electronic and print media was doing well but “we need to keep pace with changing times and devise methodologies and technologies to stand with other languages of the world”.

He called Sindhi a rich language with the highest degree of ‘absorbance’ and said “we have poetry, literature, and folk-literature which are the main ingredients of a rich language”.

To a question, he said that primary education must be imparted in ones’ mother tongue and called for raising salaries of Sindhi language teachers.

Writers were the real assets of a language because they toiled to preserve the originality of the language through their writings, he said.