Urdu Dictionary Board woefully understaffed

The Urdu Dictionary Board (UDB) is woefully understaffed, with only 14 people working against 55 posts with only one expert, and the board failing to release any new volume in the last six years.

The situation has persisted even after the UDB was declared a field office of the National Language Promotion Department three years ago on the pretext of giving it financial autonomy and improve productivity. Its director general, Dr Rashid Hameed, told The Express Tribune that the staff shortage had forced employees to perform the duties of up to three people. "But the federal government is yet to take any steps to recruit staff at the vacant posts," he added, hoping steps would be taken soon. On Monday, PM's aide on federal departments Amir Muqam visited the UDB to inaugurate the parts of the building which had undergone renovation after falling into disrepair.

"Litterateurs Farhan Fateh Puri and Jameel Jalibi laid the foundation of this building in 1985. It is not appropriate for any literature-loving society to see the institutions connected with civilization weaken or disappear," remarked Hameed. But the director general hastened to add that buildings need people and a thriving culture more than it needs renovation.

Dr Hameed remarked that UDB has published 22 volumes spanning thousands of pages. Their last major publication was the merger of those 22 volumes into two volumes to make an abridged dictionary. He said people remark the board doesn't need new publications as it had already produced a copious amount of work. "If you examine the Oxford dictionary, it is getting wider than its previous volumes," he said in comparison and then talked about the nature of language. "Languages are alive, old words are modified," he said.

"We need dictionaries for different levels of expertise, including for students at the matriculation and intermediate levels," he said. "There is a need to prepare Farhang (dictionary) on Ghalib and Mir's kalaam (poetry), so that the words and their nuances can be better understood." Dr Rashid remarked that the board's output and productivity had not benefitted from its merger to the Islamabad-based department, while the output had shrunk.

The board would continue to do its work, including making additions to the dictionary. "All possible steps will be taken to bring the Urdu dictionary in line with present day requirements," he added/ Yasmin Sultana, the president of the Urdu department at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, remarked that the board had failed to publish an Urdu dictionary in the last six years.

It had also failed to engage lovers of language and literature as well as students, with people rarely coming to the board for research. She said that the facelift given to the UDB building was a welcome step but emphasized the need for the board to increase output and engage students.