Since President Zardari stepped in six months ago to show-down the Sharifs through full-throated support to Seraiki province supported by almost half of people’s traditional feudal representatives from south Punjab belonging to almost all parties, especially the PPP.

This was the weakest point of Zardari’s anti-majority province campaign, which actually started with his declaration that the chapter of Kalabagh Dam had been closed forever and conversion of purely ethnic province formerly known as the Frontier.

Incidentally, the Frontier was the bitterest opponent of Kalabagh dam and in 2008 the America for her Afghan policy was warmly wooing the Pushtoon parties, particularly the ANP headed by Asfandyar Wali Khan. The PPP now has the only way to show-down with the PML-N through a demand for partition of the Punjab on linguistic basis.

PML-N’s performance in the process of 18th Amendment renaming of the former Frontier province, and water and power issues was at the most amateur. Theirs’ think-tank consisted of people like Raja Zafarul Haq who during Zia’s regime “invented” a diary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in which the founder of democratically created Pakistan was shown as deadly against democracy. Being trader and feudal combination, they are culturally opposed to Punjab people and consequently they are against people’s language i.e. Punjabi. Had they known the strength of this oldest language of the Indus Valley they would have introduced it as medium of instruction at least at the primary level in 1990s.

It was in their regime when their benefactor, Ziaul Haq, without official declaration accepted Seraiki as a separate and independent language. He raised Seraiki Qaumi Movement on the pattern of Mohajir Qaumi Movement to counter the popularity of Bhutto’s PPP in central and northern Punjab. Sharifs are culturally and linguistically neither Kashmiris nor Punjabis. Consequently, it is in their regime that Seraiki dialect (without any solid linguistic basis) started threatening traders’ leadership and deprivation of the south earned attention of Seraiki-speaking feudal leadership and causes of the deprivation were attributed to central and northern Punjab which was even accused by Zardari after he became president. He wrote articles in American newspapers in which he declared his (being a feudal) deep-seated hatred for the emerging semi-capitalist class.

With this background the Urdu and English media totally ignorant of the linguistic merits favourably projected the Seraiki demand taking word Seraiki as the symbol of deprivation of the common people of the area. They (the media people) least bothered to see the hatred roots being fast intensified by the locals against the Mohajirs of 1947 and settlers of early period of colonisation of 20th century. The media people least bothered to have the comments of recognised linguists and teachers of language and literature. Their direct and indirect support to Seraiki emboldened the limited Seraiki-front media, which came out with shrieking headlines plus threats to Punjab with reference to Takht-e-Lahore.

Almost all publications including newspapers like Jhoke never forget to associate Ranjit Singh with all Punjabis and Khan Nawab of Multan with Muslims. All religious differences and social and political prejudices are frequently used against central Punjab, giving a very bitter taste. Punjabi newspapers, including Daily Lokaai and Bhulekha remained sober and avoided any wordly clash with Seraiki media, which has at least three TV channels also with full support from Pakistani TV channels.

Linguistically, no Punjabis’ TV channel used the true dialect spoken by the majority of Punjabis and used by all Punjabi Sufi poets. They (the channels) invariably use the ‘Urduised’ version of Punjabi.

Punjabi politicians, parliamentarians, teachers, rights activists, lawyers, writers and intellectuals proved that they have been alienated from their mother tongue therefore stand confused. On the central Punjab front a very small number of Punjabi activists and writers felt the need to clarify the linguistic confusion with special reference to Punjabi Sufi poets, particularly Khwaja Ghulam Farid who owned Punjabi as his own language. He called it Punjabi dialect of his own area (Bahawalpur State).

Punjabis asserted that provincial or feudal political expediency apart, the language was one and its 1000 pears of literary and linguistic heritage and assets should not be bifurcated otherwise according to Seraiki poet and teacher Abid Ameeq from Multan both parties will incur irreparable loss.

Among the writers who expressed their views on the issue, Bahawalnagar-based Farooq Nadeem contributed many columns to Daily Waqt, Lokai, Bhulekha, monthly Takhleeq and Swer International. He thoroughly discussed this linguistic issue in the broad-spectrum of politics, culture, social conditions, colonization, migration (1947), settlement in 20th century and the class of locals and settlers. In the latest issue of quarterly Sanjh (edited by Javed Boota, Ahmad Saleem, Zubair Ahmad; PP 172; price Rs1,000 and published by Sanjh, 46/2, Mozang Road Lahore) Farooq Nadeem’s article, Punjabi language and the Slaughter House of its dialects, is spread over 15 pages. Another journalist-writer based in Lahore Azhar Muneer involved himself in Punjabi issue started by bureaucrat-short-story writer Masud Mufti in Urdu monthly Al-Hamra. After that he researched the roots of Punjabi and Seraiki which appeared in the three consecutive issues (52, 53, 54) of Punjabi Adabi Sangat’s monthly organ, Suneha (edited by Snawar and Shahzad Framosh. PP 60; price Rs.25; published from 6 Khyber Park, Outfall Road, Sant Nagar, Lahore). Azhar’s one research paper also appeared in monthly Lehran (Editor Kulsoom Akhtar, published from Sodiwal Colony, Multan Road, Lahore). Another veteran Punjabi activist, poet and writer Tanveer Zahoor in his monthly Saanghan’s previous issue (pp 82; price Rs.30; published from Nasir Park, Bilal Ganj, Lahore) evaluated the fake or self-invented factors on which the Seraiki issue was based. Tanveer also contributed article on the issue to many Urdu dailies of Lahore.

Monthly Likhari (edited by Arshad Iqbal Arshad: pp 40; price Rs.25; published from Jia Musa, Shahdara, Lahore) published an article on one lakh students (of IX and X class) of Punjabi for whom the Punjab government has not appointed even a single teacher in government schools. This has been translated by Mian Adeel Arshad from English into Punjabi, the Punjabi department of the Punjab University magazine has not appeared so far while another official body, Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture has brought out special issue on Waris Shah of its irregular monthly Trinjan (edited by Sughra Sadaf and Khaqan Haider Ghazi, pp 190; price Rs.50; published from Punjabi Complex, Qadafi Stadium, Lahore) in not even a single of the 13 critical articles was about the language of Waris Shah, which undoubtedly embraces all dialects of Punjabi including Seraiki, Potohari and Pahari. PILAC managers have always been found shy of current burning issue of Punjab, its language and culture. Waris Shah’s Ranjha addresses Sehti, the sister of Heer’s husband Khirra.

May God bless you, spare us, long live you parents, O innocent girl Waris Shah has given his final verdict Now no need to waste time (do not seek fishes from Urine).