KARACHI: Urdu’s future dependent on individuals, groups
KARACHI, Nov 15: Speakers at a seminar on the present state of Urdu language and literature said there is no permanent and pure status of any language as all the languages respond to social and economic changes.
They highlighted the role played by individuals and private groups for the patronage of Urdu and urged the government to make more efforts to promote the language.
The seminar was organised by the Pakistan Press International at its Vicky Zeitlin Media Library here on Thursday.
Prof Sahar Ansari, former head of Urdu department Karachi University, said on that there is permanent face of any language, therefore todays Urdu is different from what it was a couple of decades back. He said one must expect changes and adoption of new words in its usage.
Regretting that there was no government agenda regarding promotion of Urdu, he said its future now depended on private individuals and groups. He also stressed the need to promote Urdu journalism.
Eminent screenplay writer Fatima Surraiya Bajia presented a brief history of the language and said that it was formulated by Amir Khusro whose mother was a Rajput princess while his father spoke Persian and Turkish.
She deplored the dual system of education as a remains of colonial rule which had actually caused deep-rooted damage to the language.
She urged all those using and studying in Urdu medium not to feel inferior, adding that about six thousand words of Urdu were used in English and still Urdu was one of the major languages of the world.
Criticising those critics who oppose the use of words of other languages in Urdu, she said difficult and lesser popular words could not be used in common discussions.
President of the literary committee of the Karachi Press Club, Hasan Abidi, said that there was constant change in every language with the passage of time, but its usage depended upon the practical value it had.—PPI
