KARACHI: The role of Urdu in our social and cultural development and its status were discussed at a seminar held by Halqai-Niaz-o-Nigar at Nipa Auditorium to remember the great writer and visionary Allama Niaz Fatehpuri.

Dr Manzoor Ahmad was in the chair and members of the presidium included Dr Pirzada Qasim, Dr Salim Akhtar, Dr Mohammed Ali Siddqui and Prof Fateh Mohammad Malik, chairman Muqtadara Qaumi Zaban.

After long speeches had been made and the government’s failure to implement Urdu as the official language of Pakistan much lamented, Prof Malik pointed out that the NWFP and Balochistan had adopted Urdu as the official language without making long speeches. Adoption of Urdu, he said, was now a matter of political action which was lacking on the highest level.

Talking about Niaz Fatehpuri and Josh Malihabadi, Prof Malik said those secular men of profound knowledge were given the highest award— Padam Bhoshan— in India, but when they saw that Urdu and its culture had no future in India they came over to Pakistan.

He said: “We demand that Urdu be made the medium of instruction at the highest level, but where are the institutions to translate textbooks of scientific studies into Urdu from foreign languages?”

Dr Manzoor Ahmed admired Niaz Fatehpuri for the task of “deconstruction” which was essential to progress. “In a society stagnant and inactive, Niaz challenged the traditional and accepted thoughts and motivated people to discuss literary, political and religious beliefs before taking them for granted,” he said and added that the method of criticism and counter-criticism most continue.

While Dr Manzoor Ahmad welcomed the founding of Urdu University, he stressed the need to have institutions to meet the requirement of textbooks and translations. The area of knowledge, he said, was expanding with great speed and translation into Urdu also needed the same speed.

Dr Pirzada Qasim said Niaz Fatehpuri initiated and maintained the tradition of intellectual discourse and transferred his knowledge and thought to the next generation as well. This process, he said, could not be maintained through a courier service; it was the duty of the thinking persons to educate the next generation as the legate of the rich intellectual past.

Talking about the language issue he said Urdu had no conflict with the regional languages and the progress and popularity of the regional languages would add to the development of Urdu.

Z.A. Nizami, chancellor Sir Syed University, said the university, with all its financial resources and manpower, was willing to prepare an Urdu software, but proper cooperation from the other quarters concerned had not been forthcoming.

Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui said that Pakistan was a nation state, therefore it must have a national language and Urdu was given that status in the constitutions of 1956 and 1963. He lamented the backwardness of the Islamic world and its appalling poverty which, he said, could only be removed by knowledge and massive educational plans.

At the outset papers were read and speeches were made by Dr Farman Fatehpuri, Dr Salim Akhtar, Prof Aqeela Shaheen, Dr Najeeb Jamal, Dr Anwar Ahmad, Prof Rubina Tareen and Syed Javed Iqbal.

Dr Farman spoke on the great literary merits of Niaz Fatehpuri and the notable role his paper Nigar had played for promotion of intellectual freedom and rational thinking in the tradition of Sir Syed and his journal Tahzibul Akhlaq. Niaz was a dominating personality in the realm of thoughtful discourse, holding a powerful pen, a realist who never compromised his beliefs. With his encyclopaedia knowledge, he could edit his paper all alone. He annoyed many people but promoted liberal values.

Prof Robina Tareen from Bahauddin Zakria University opined that the traditional curricula and methods to teach Urdu must be changed.

Dr Najeeb Jamal, Prof Jamia Islamia Bahawalpur, traced the origin of Urdu in the south of India and its promotion by the rulers of Golkanda and Bijapur.

Dr Anwar Ahmad’s satirical short piece of writing was most admired. “You cannot think of people’s rule in a country where after every fifteen years you need to call a national assembly only to sanctify deviations from the constitution,” he said. Umrao Tariq and Sarshar Siddiqui conducted the programme.