Urdu, English, and our collective inferiority complex

You do not need to be physically captured to be a slave.Why is it that in Pakistan, Urdu has no value?

Saad Lakhani July 13, 2011
When I was eight years old, my family returned to Pakistan from the United States and a lot of things in the world suddenly changed for me.  

I remember (and my relatives won’t ever let me forget) that one of my very first statements was:
“Why is everything broken?”

I’m pretty sure I was referring to the buildings and streets at the time but today, I believe many other things are broken too.

I remember thinking about the prospects of going to Pakistan; a place my parents taught me was home. I remember being worried about whether I was going to be easily accepted. One thing I knew was that I had been raised, till now, in a very different environment than the one I was going to.

One thing that really troubled me was that I wouldn’t be able to speak the local language. English was all I knew. I wondered how I’d manage in Pakistan, as I was sure to have problems in interacting with people. I imagined myself struggling to utter words in broken Urdu and people thinking I was dumb.

But, in reality, society was adjusting to me instead of the other way round. Instead of me struggling to speak to others, I saw people trying to speak to me. I also got the whiff of the ‘show-off’ factor in people.

People desperately tried to speak in English. And I could see by their faces the difficulty many were going through. Personally, I felt embarrassed seeing everybody put all their efforts in trying to speak in such a broken way. And after each exhausting attempt at it, it was as though they asked through their facial expressions and body language:
“How was I?”

Some may not think this was awkward but for an eight-year-old, it was. And it should be ten times more so for a seventy-year-old. Just imagine yourself going to the US from Pakistan and seeing everyone around you work their tails off just to speak to you in Urdu. And not only this; you also notice that people are competing with each other to prove who is the better speaker of ‘your’ language.

I was taught to have pride for my country and was disturbed to see people looking down upon their own language. Soon I reacted by refusing to reply in English. Instead, I tried my best to answer in whatever broken Urdu I knew.

People were shocked at my behaviour. I think they found it equally awkward. My aunts often said that I was lucky that I was fluent in English as people looked up to those who were. I would always get the what-do-you-mean-isn’t-it-obvious look whenever I tried to know the reason behind it.

Why are people looked up to just because they know English? The reason is that knowing this language is considered a sign of superiority. It’s as if just knowing it makes us more smart and knowledgeable. We can suddenly speak with more authority. When we want to make a point, or an impression, we throw a sentence or two in English. As if doing so would make the content matter more than it would otherwise be.

It is because of this attitude that a particular class dominates our society. The reason: they could afford an English language education. And if you were to analyse more closely you would realise that this has caused chaos in the lives of ordinary Pakistanis.

And so my question is:

Why is there a dearth of opportunities for people who can’t speak a particular language which is not even native to them?

Why is it that in your own country, your own language has no value?

In my opinion it's all because of our mental slavery. By admitting the West’s superiority, we give up our identity, our pride and our humanity.

In 1948 the Duke of Gloucester, the brother of the British emperor, came to Pakistan, and the British envoy requested the Quaid-e-Azam to receive him. Jinnah replied:
“If I do so then the British head of state (King) would have to reciprocate when my brother would visit London."

Today our president feels no shame in carrying out a press conference with a third level US representative like Holbrooke. Today, our most senior ministers goes thorough body scans when entering US airports, whereas, US citizens are given visas with zero scrutiny.

Just recently, Senator and acting president of the ANP, Haji Adeel, was not allowed to enter the US embassy despite an official invitation. He was told by a guard that he needed a specific sticker on his car to get in or he could park outside.

You do not need to be physically captured to be a slave.

Was our land occupied when our authorities handed over our people to the US?

Were we not independent when Dr Aafia Siddiqui was taken to trial in the US?

No, we were a sovereign entity!

Or were we?
WRITTEN BY:
Saad Lakhani A motivated young writer and a student of Social Sciences from Karachi.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (33)

Hina | 12 years ago | Reply How can you talk about Pakistan when you are not a Pakistani yourself? And why do you have to be so unappreciative? Mr. we have not lost our identities and humanity just because we can speak more than one languages. And Hey! your relatives were trying to talk to you in English because you didn't understand Urdu then. If they only had, your article would be different now. You must have written about "Why don't Pakistanis try and learn English. Its the language of the world". People like you who are raised in Western world look for mere excuses to hate Pakistanis. Would you now come back to Pakistan, live here and get your kids admission in an Urdu medium school? Will you do that? if you would then you can write a million articles like that BUT IN URDU...
Atif Ali | 12 years ago | Reply Shocking how this article is written without a single mention of the other 'native languages' of Pakistan,. A word of advise for the ignorant author would be to try to understand and appreciate the diversity in Pakistan. It would only be a great disservice to our rich and complex culture if we were to pit a language against other languages or advocate one or the other when there is clearly no language which is inherently native to the entire population. Also, may I also inquire what Afia Siddique has to do with the language issue. Few, if any, would dispute the superiority of American courts in terms of their ability and willingness to deliver justice in an impartial fashion when compared to the decrepit institutions vulnerable to politics and bullying in Pakistan.
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