|
|
|
April 14, 2002
REVIEW: Politicization of language
DR TARIQ Rahman, Professor at the Quaid-i-Azam university, Islamabad, has earned respect and fame as a serious scholar. His book Language and politic in Pakistan became a classic on the subject. The book under review is a continuation of his previous study to analyze the role of languages in making the worldview of a society. Language and religion both play a very effective and lasting role in creating consciousness and building an intellectual base in a society. For example, German thinkers and intellectuals used the German language as a vehicle to bring together the German nation. That resulted in the unification of Germany in 1872. The same model was adopted later on by the Arabs to create Arab nationalism on the basis of language rather than religion.
Instead of taking up both religion and language, as Paul Brass did in his book Language, religion and politics in North India (1974), Dr Tariq Rahman focuses only on language and its dynamic role in Pakistani politics and ideology.
In the first part of the book, he outlines the theoretical framework of his thesis. According to him, language reflects the mind and maturity of a society because it is a repository of culture and intellectual achievements of its people. It is historically evident that the life of a language depends on the creative contribution of its thinkers and men of letters. If a society fails to respond to the new challenges and does not advance its knowledge system, it makes language stagnant.
Tariq Rahman points out the relationship between language and power and how the classes wielding power develop standardized language to distinguish them from the common people. For instance, in the Urdu language, the ahl-i-zaban (people of the language) were those who claimed to speak chaste and pure language. In this case, a language being the mother tongue was not the criterion for its being a standardized language. Inshahallah Khan Insha, a renowned Urdu poet, regarded only the inhabitants of 13 mohallas of Delhi as the people of the language.
In Pakistan, Urdu has lost its privilege and instead it is English which has emerged as the language of power. It has been adopted by the bureaucracy, army officers, businessmen, the media people and educationists. However, interestingly, on the other hand, big landlords and ulema enjoy high political and social status although they do not know English either. That is because landed property and religious knowledge are their power bases.
Historically, Sanskrit was the language of religious knowledge in ancient India and only the Brahman class had monopoly over it. The other castes were not allowed to learn Sanskrit. Their exclusive hold was challenged when the Turkish invaders conquered India and Persian became the court language. This is very significant because Islam came to India through Iran and Central Asia. That is why Arabic could not achieve a higher status and remained the only language of the ulema.
Persian became the language of power and the curriculum of the elite classes incorporated the works of Hafiz, Sa’adi, Rumi and Jami and the Persian knowledge system that subsequently developed and shaped the Persian worldview. During the Mughal period, when the borders with Iran were opened and the court welcomed Persian scholars, it made Persian the key to success for those aspiring for an official career. That would explain why the Khatri caste learned it and acquired a high position in the Mughal bureaucracy.
Tariq Rahman rightly observes that during the British rule when the Persian language lost its official status and English replaced it, the Hindu community adopted it without any hesitation. The Muslims asked the question from their ulema whether to learn English or not. As a result there was confusion. Some ulema gave a fatwa that Muslims could learn English but should not adopt the Western lifestyle. But some ulema totally opposed the learning of English. It took a long time for the Muslim community to understand that without knowing English they could not take up a career in the government and would be denied worldly success. This left them far behind the Hindus.
However, the Muslim community was divided into two classes: those educated in the European system and those with mastery over Arabic and Urdu. This division created two conflicting worldviews and consequently affected the social and political culture of our people which has not changed to this day.
The language crisis intensified after Independence in 1947. Interesting proposals were put forward: some suggested that Arabic should be made the national language in order to unite the Muslims of East and West Pakistan. Some proposed that Persian be declared the national language to promote closer ties with Iran and Central Asia. Attempts were also made to change the Bengali script to the Arabic one. As a result of this shortsightedness, the language crisis in Bengal intensified and ultimately was the cause of the break-up of Pakistan.
Tariq Rahman concludes correctly that teaching of different languages in Pakistan is resulting in different worldviews. As English has a more advanced system of knowledge, therefore, those who have access to it are enlightened, progressive, and liberal. Since Urdu and other regional languages do not possess the same depth and richness of literature and knowledge systems, they provide limited vision to their speakers.
The author criticizes the ruling classes for keeping English as an official language and Urdu as the national language. They have neglected the regional and ethnic languages and that has excluded the masses from the power structure. He concludes, “The Pakistani ruling elite seems to be satisfied with the present policy. However, if public opinion, or at least the opinion of the articulate section of the intelligentsia, can persuade the ruling elite to understand that its own long-term interest lie in the satisfaction of the ethnic and subaltern groups which constitute the ‘people’, it might agree to allow a dilution of power to take place.”
This well-researched book provides an insight into the role of language in the working of politics, shaping of ideology and the creation of the power structure.
Language, ideology and power: language-learning among the Muslims of Pakistan and North India
By Tariq Rahman
Oxford University Press, 5 Bangalore Town, Sharae Faisal, Karachi-75350 Tel: 021-4529025
Email: ouppak@theoffice.net
ISBN 0-19-579644-6 689pp. Rs725
|
|
|
|
