A NATIONAL language not only represents the national identity of a nation but also serves as a mode of communication that binds people living in a country to a common cultural bond.

It fosters mutual understanding that is essential for attaining economic and social development and preserving peace and harmony in society.

The 1973 constitution of Pakistan, like the preceding two — 1956 and 1962 — constitutions, proclaimed Urdu to be the national language of Pakistan and required arrangements to be made for its being used for official and other purposes within 15 years from its commencement. However, after the lapse of more than 30 (60, if one takes into account similar obligations under the previous two constitutions) years, no specific arrangements have been made nor a clear plan or policy has been formulated to attain this constitutional goal (Article 251).

English language is allowed to be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu. Parliament has not passed any law or formulated any policy to date to ensure the replacement of English by Urdu for official purposes.

The prescription of Urdu as a national language in Pakistan is based on the perception that it is the most commonly used and understood language in the country. The importance given to the understanding of a language is evident in the administration of oaths under the Pakistan constitution, which prefers an oath of office under the constitution to be made to a person in Urdu or a language understood by that person (Article 255[1]). Thus understanding of a language is considered necessary for a person to fulfil his promise or discharge his responsibility.

A National Language Authority has been set up, under the administrative control of the cabinet division, to promote Urdu as the national language. However, the national language and other languages used for official purposes, including medium of instruction, are under the domain of the education division, which has oddly enough not been given the specific task to facilitate the implementation of the constitutional obligation through its educational policies.

Consequently, the 2009 education policy indicates the education division’s universal approach towards language: “English is an international language, and important for competition in a globalised world order. Urdu is our national language that connects people all across Pakistan and is a symbol of national cohesion and integration. In addition, there are mother tongues/local vernaculars in the country that are markers of ethnic and cultural richness and diversity.The challenge is that a child is able to carry forward the cultural assets and be at the same time, able to compete nationally and internationally.” (para. 21) The education policy thus merely seeks to overcome the linguistic divide in the country between English and non-English medium schools.

Despite the prescription of Urdu as a national language, the Pakistan constitution caters for a multilingual society in Pakistan. It empowers a provincial assembly to by law prescribe measures for the teaching, promotion and use of a provincial language. Consequently, the provinces of Sindh and Punjab have enacted laws for teaching, promotion and use of the Sindhi language and establishment of the Punjab Institute of Language Art and Culture for the promotion of Punjabi respectively.

The Pakistan constitution provides for the preservation and promotion of distinct languages spoken by any section of citizens. This provision is important to enhance the level of understanding of linguistic minorities in the country. It is also in accordance with Pakistan’s international obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires states to allow linguistic minorities to use their own language.

The Pakistan constitution also requires the state to encourage and facilitate the learning of the Arabic language to enable the Muslims of Pakistan to understand the meaning of life according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah so that they can live their lives in accordance with the Islamic way of life. The requirement to facilitate the learning of the Arabic language is based on the basic premise that understanding of the language is important for enhancing compliance with the tenets of Islam.

Realising the importance of global communication, a National University of Modern Languages has been established in Islamabad to promote the learning of other languages as well. Going beyond the call of duty, the Sindh government has recently announced that students in Sindh (who are already burdened with learning three languages: Urdu, English and Sindhi) would now be required to learn Chinese as well! Thus there seems to be languages galore in Pakistan.

Given the multifarious linguistic interests in the country, the constitutional obligation appears to have been out of focus. No tangible efforts have been made to date to replace English with Urdu or use Urdu for official and other purposes. This apparent constitutional disregard led to a constitutional petition being filed in the Karachi high court against the Federation of Pakistan (2004 CLC 1831).

The petition was, however, dismissed without any proper legal analysis or necessary judicial reasoning. The division bench judgment merely relied on the statements made on behalf of the National Language Authority and the cabinet without either examining the practical significance of the actions purported to have been taken by them or requiring the submission of a credible policy or plan.

The judiciary appears to be complacent about the language and the 2009 National Judicial Policy is, therefore, silent on the issue. Neither the legislature nor the judiciary appear to have done anything to facilitate the implementation of the constitutional obligation and the various efforts by the federal and provincial governments have had little impact on the development and use of national and provincial languages in the absence of a proper plan or policy in this regard.

What is required now is an integrated and concerted effort by all the organs of state to formulate and implement a uniform language policy based on constitutional requirements and their underlying principles.

The writer is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. law.hassan@gmail.com