ISLAMABAD: The impact of the media on mother languages was discussed in a session at the second Pakistan Mother Language Literature Festival in Lok Virsa on Sunday.

Speakers called on the government to make all regional languages part of the school curriculum and demanded that a bill regarding local languages, which is currently before the Senate, be passed immediately.

The session was moderated by senior journalist Mujahid Barelvi, who said the Pakistani media focuses more on ratings and is not so concerned about regional languages. He said this is the reason why there is a lack of regional-language TV channels and newspapers in the country.

He said that media networks produce more and more political talk shows for better ratings and do not make an effort for promoting indigenous languages.

All the panel members in the session represented various regional languages and were asked to share their experiences.

Former editor of The News Daily, Hussein Naqi said that the Punjabi elite and feudals are the biggest hurdles in the promotion of the Punjabi language in the media who, he said, were more interested in the promotion of Urdu.

Punjabi is a secular language, Mr Naqi said. It does not propagate violence and extremism, he added.

Mr Naqi shared the findings of some research he had conducted together with human rights activist, I.A Rehman, and said that Urdu is being consciously propagated.

He claimed that many media networks were issued licences for the purpose of giving politicians more coverage.

“I joined the Karachi University soon after the creation of Pakistan and I saw that they had Urdu, English and Persian departments. When I demanded that a Sindhi department should also be set up, I was suspended from my job,” he said.

Representing Seraiki, programme director at Radio Pakistan Khurshi Malik said his organisation makes broadcasts in 23 regional languages every day and that transmissions of Radio Pakistan reach even the most remote places in Pakistan. He said speaking in mother languages is the safest and most reliable method of communication.

Mr Malik said that the number of people listening to news in their mother languages exceeds the number of people listening to news in more common languages. He said it is the duty of the educated class to promote mother languages and that all mother languages should be included in the curriculum, which will also promote regional integration.

“We Kashmiris used to be ashamed of speaking in our mother languages. There was a feeling of inferiority in speaking Pahari. But our hesitation ended with the establishment of a channel in our mother language,” said columnist Israr Ayub.

He applauded India for declaring all of its 26 languages official languages.

“It is our right to read and write in our mother languages. The state should provide us with this basic right and pass the bill which is pending with the Senate,” he said.

Representing Sindhi, journalist Atta Raja said that Sindhi media has a huge influence on the language and that Sindhi was the official language of Sindh even before partition. He said the curriculum and official work have always been in Sindhi.

There are more news channels and newspapers in Sindhi than in any other regional language and it is also taught in schools, colleges and universities.

Press secretary at the Literary Society of the Balochi Academy, Habitan Umar Baloch said the media is not serious about promoting regional languages.

He added that Pakistan Television allows very little air time for reports in Balochi and that there is only one private Balochi channel, two or three daily newspapers and about five magazines in the language.

He urged the concerned authorities to focus on the issue of promoting regional languages.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2017