পত্র-পত্রিকায় ভাষা-আন্দোলনের বিরােধিতা
Lingua-Franca
Editorial
With the approach of General election in East Pakistan interested quarters with a view to capture the imagination of the masses with the ultimate object at vote catching have been, of late. They mean to. win over the people by pandering to their parochial sentiment. Propaganda is afoot that Bengali is going to be banished yielding place to Urdu which is designedly alleged to be a language foreign to this Province. This is a distortion of facts and cuts at the very root of the conception of Pakistan. They fail to realise that by indulging in the propaganda they are knowingly or unknowingly playing into the hands of our enemies who will lose no chance of fishing in the troubled waters should the exponents of Bengali succeed in making any mark. In every state of the world there is only one state language. Of course, there might be Provincial languages or local dialects which thrive within their own spheres unhampered with. The fact that the state language is a language other than the Provincial one does not conflict with the existence of the latter. Pakistan is an Islamic State where the Muslims as such are to be thrive according to their own genius. The word ‘Islam’ is inseparable from the concept of Pakistan. Hence the choice of the state language we have to guard ourselves against the influences emanating from sources other than Islam.
The Provincial language in East Pakistan is Bengali. The choice of Urdu as Lingua franca does in no way conflict with the existence of Bengali as the Provincial language. Bengali does not owe its origin to Islam or Muslims but to sanskrit. Though it may be contended that Urdu also does not owe its to Islam, but it does in a sense to Muslims is Persian. The present vocabulary of Urdu, being mainly an admixture of Persian and Arabic, and developed mainly by the Muslim scholars has attained an Islamic status. Urdu in definitely richer in Islamic literature than any of the regional language of Pakistan.
The father of the nation, the Quaid-e-Azam, in his life time had to face this question. He gave his opinion. He emphatically asserted that there can be only one state language and that shall be Urdu. The propagandists for Bengali should bear in mind that they are attempting to unsettle the settled fact in contravention and disregard of the decision given by the father of the nation on the score.
It is time that we should cry (try?) a halt to this dangerous and nefarious game. No further latitude should be given. Urdu should be state language of Pakistan as already decided by the father of Nation.
The Eastern Herald, Sylhet, 16 February, 1952.
Quid-e-Azam on Our State Language
The Pakistan Prime Minister referred in his speech in Dacca on Sunday to the Quid-e-Azam’s speech in Dacca on March 21, 1948 about Urdu being the State Language of Pakistan.
The late Quid-e-Azam had said, “Let me tell you in the clearest language that there is no truth that your normal life is going to be touched or disturbed so far as Bengali language is concerned. But ultimately is for you, the people of this. Province, do decide what shall be language of your Province.
But let me make it very clear to you that the State Language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language. Without a State Language no nation can remain tied up solidly together and function. Look at the history of other countries. Therefore so far as the State Language is concerned, Pakistan’s language shall be Urdu..But as I have said, it will come in time.”
The Eastern Herald, Sylhet, 16 February, 1952.
Pashban (a Urdu daily published from Dacca) of 28th March publishes a letter from a correspondent containing the following:
“The active step which the Government of East Bengal have taken for the dissemination of our national language, Urdu, deserves praise. By fulfilling this greatest need of the hour the Government have furnished evidence of their true dutifulness and of being the true Government. It implementation of the resolution that “in the regions where Urdu is not generally spoken and understood, the instruction of Urdu should be made compulsory” arrangements for instructions in Urdu have been made and a programme for its further expansion is in view. In this connection there is one thing that deserves special attention and it is this — what should be the standard of Urdu education of the children whose mothertongue and a secondary language…. The standard of Urdu and the syllabus maintained in this province so far has been prescribed keeping in view the children whose mother tongue is Urdu. No regard has been paid for its aspect as a secondary language. To adopt the same syllabus as a secondary language will be to impede the progress of Urdu. The height of standard and difficulty of syllabus will lower the spirit of the students and make them hate the language. Inspite of its attractiveness Urdu will become a difficult problem for them. The current Urdu syllabus with which Urdu speaking boys start in class I cannot be adopted for Bengali speaking boys before class IV or V…. It is therefore necessary that a special syllabus should be adopted for the Bengali speaking boys who may adopt Urdu as a secondary language. Its standard should be easy and it should be useful for the boys. The Education Department has not issued any special.instruction in regard to the standard or Urdu in Bengali schools. The authorities should at once devise a scheme so that the work may proceed in a satisfactory and organised manner.”
Government of East Bengal, B-Proceedings, Bangladesh National Archives, Department of Education, Bundle 92, AprilMay, 1953, Proceedings No. 698-705.
Urdu is Universal
Bengal its Birth Place
Swami Kalijuganand Kabirpanthi
The state of “Azad Pakistan” was achieved through the medium of Urdu. In the same way Bharat became independent under the congress through the medium of Urdu. Our late Quaid-i-Azam learnt Urdu in his old age, and so did Gandhiji, Subhash Bose sang his songs of independence in Japan. His songs also in Urdu.
The Arya Samajists sprang from the Hindus to fight the evils of idol worship. They publish their propaganda tracts and Journals on a wide scale in Urdu. Raja Ram Mohon Roy has done a great work in Bengal for liquidating idolatry. He knew Urdu, Persian and Arabic well and through these language he became a famous reformer. Urdu was born in Bengal. The Muslims in Bengal owe their birth to Urdu. The script of Urdu has similarity with those of the languages throughout the Muslim world. Therefore, Urdu alone can be helpful in becoming familiar and friendly with other Muslim lands. Urdu is a Turkish word which means army. Thus Urdu alone can make once a soldier. In the world of democracy, the people of Bengal are the natural masters of Pakistan. Administrative facilities from the Jungle of Sylhet to the hills of Kohat, can be derived from Urdu alone. For this it will be essential to cry a slogan of “Speak Urdu” and “Write Urdu”. In this lies Bengal’s political, commercial and religious well-being. Among the refugees and Bharati merchants in Pakistan, who speak Urdu, there is no doubt some undesirable elements. These people have their one leg in Pakistan and one leg in Bharat. It lies in the hands of the Pakistanis to frame effective laws to prevent such hands of the happenings. But an indifference to Urdu would mean a tremendous loss to Pakistan itself. Urdu is universal language. The Beluchis, the Punjabis, the Paktoons and Shindhis have admitted this fact. Bengal is the master of Urdu in much the same way as it is the master of Pakistan.
The Hindus of Bengal used their all abilities and wealth and • made violent efforts for over fifty years to raise the standard of Bengali so high as to reach it to areas outside Bengal. But there were a complete failure. It remained a provincial language in the same way as Pushto, Punjabi, Shindhi and Baluchi. No provincial language has the strength to cross its frontiers. Urdu is not the language of one province or area. It is universal.
Lacs of Prophets, Rishis and Munis, Saints and Sadhus Sants and Mahatmas have appeared in the world. They wrote their scripts from right to left, and when there was weakness among them, they started writing from the wrong side i.e. from left to right. When the Congress Government wanted to force Hindi upon Madrais, the Adibasis (Achhuts and non-Brahmins) started a strong Boycott of Hindi and Sanskrit. They organised picketing and in this struggle about fourteen thousand Adibasi men and women courted arrests and went to jail.
Before the arrival of the Aryans in India when the people used utensils of gold and silver, the language of the Adibasis was written from right to left. They had their forts and castles of iron and marble. They all believed in one God. Real democracy (Panchayet) existed then. Remarriage of windows was permitted. Men and women were used to work and labour. In that age of writing from the right side, there was no trace of idol worship.
In fact, Urdu sprang up from the Muslim Mujahids of Bengal. The first Urdu Newspaper, translation and commentaries of the Quran in Urdu were published by the Bengali Muslims. The first poet of Urdu was also a Muslim of Bengal. The people of Laknow and Delhi got Urdu from Bengal and made it their own.
Today, Mr. Muhammad Ayyub Khan is taking a leading part in the conversion of West Pakistan into one unit. He has accepted Urdu as the language of the whole West Pakistan. According to the wish of the late Quaid-i-Azam Urdu alone can be language of Pakistan. West Pakistan has already succeeded in it.
It the people of Bengal, who are the real masters of Pakistan in this democratic world think sagaciously, they will find that Urdu is the only language which can help them in every sphere of their lives. The ignorance of this language is increasing idolatry and superstition. On the occasion of the last Dewali, 40 images of Kali were taken out in Dacca which is the important city of the masters of Pakistan. These images were on the shoulders of the poor Muslims. After all the poor also have their religion. But these poor fellows were illiterate and ignorant. This is due to lack of weakness of knowledge. This is what happened in a city like Dacca where there are about 700 mosques and a Government Arabic College in which there are learned professors drawing salaries from Rs. 200 to 1200 a month.
Urdu has played a great part in removing idol worship from our society. Quaid-i-Azam, as said before, learnt Urdu in his old age. He came over to Dacca to impress upon us the importance of Urdu and he did so as the Governor-General of Pakistan. Quaid-i-Azam was a great friend of the weak. He could never see the people of begging, lagging behind in the race of progress and prosperity. Quaid-i-Azam’s visit Bengal has a historical significance. His visit should be immortalised by erection a memorial and that should be a University, the Urdu University of Pakistan.
The well-wishers of Bengal would do well to take a lead in this matter. Urdu must attain perfection in Bengal. People in the habit of dinning and dressing in English fashion, generally think in terms of English they advocate adoption of Arabic. Their mentality is that if they themselves cannot remain as rulers, the people of Arabia and Egypt should take their place or beg other countries to lend the services of their officers to carry on Pakistani administration. Such a step will only embarrass the Pakistanis as a whole because the Arabic speaking population in this land is sadly negligible. People do not like even to think of Urdu in the larger interests of Pakistan. Now is the time for Bengal to think of its future carefully and cool-mindedly.
Al-Quaid, English Weekly
Dacca, January 24, 1955.
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