‘Urdu should be used for CSS examinations’

The Nifaz-e-Urdu conference held at Arts Council lauded the SC's decision to make Urdu the official language


Our Correspondent September 13, 2015
The Nifaz-e-Urdu conference held at Arts Council lauded the SC's decision to make Urdu the official language. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: The biggest feat of the Supreme Court's decision to make Urdu the official language of Pakistan will be when the language will be used during CSS examinations, said Mubeen Akhtar of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Urdu. Although it is appreciable that Urdu has been made the official language, its implementation is yet to be seen, he said.

"The policy will finally end the discrimination between Urdu and English," said Akhtar. It can prove to be an auspicious achievement, he added.

Read: The impractical adoption of Urdu

Akhtar was addressing the Nifaz-e-Urdu conference at the Arts Council on Sunday. The speakers commended the Supreme Court's decision to make Urdu the official language of the country. It is a historical moment for the nation, they said.



As Urdu is set to become the official language of Pakistan, there is a dire need to raise awareness about the Urdu Dictionary Board in Karachi, said Dr Fatima Hasan of Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu. Worldwide, Urdu has been ascribed the status as the third language to have a scientific encyclopedia of its own, she added.

Quoting the work of Munir Niazi, Hasan said that Urdu has played an integral role in the ideology endorsed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal. To further emphasise the significance of Urdu she quoted Baba-i-Urdu Moulvi Abdul Haq's book, 'Urdu Zaban Ka Almiya [Urdu Language's Dilemma]', that Urdu united Muslims to attain freedom from the British.

Read: US ambassador launches Urdu websites for US Mission Pakistan

During the conference, a student, Hadi Naqvi, voiced his opinion regarding the discrimination between Urdu and English. "Every year, 80,000 students are registered to appear for their matriculation exams", he said. "But they are taught to rote learn under the claims such as "jitna ratta lagao ge, utna mind sharp hoga [the more you rote learn, the sharper your mind will be]".

The students are not explained the concepts by their teachers, who do not have a strong grasp of English and are unable to explain basic concepts, claimed Naqvi. "Only 200 students out of 80,000 make it to PhD and MPhil level and that is when the need of English arises", he claimed.

"How does it make any sense that to benefit these 200 students, we continue to compromise the future of the rest of the students?" questioned Naqvi.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th,  2015.

COMMENTS (13)

Sodomite | 8 years ago | Reply Brilliant. In fact Urdu plus the 3 regional languages should be allowed so all can participate in putting the carcass of Pakistan together.
Zain | 8 years ago | Reply Its a good step but taking to to css and other advanced stages is inappropriate as most of the fields in CSS need English as in foreign services diplomats need to speak and communicate in English now what?? You will hire translators for that. . . many officers are sent abroad for advanced trainings how will they manage that if our policy implementers are insisting to do everything in Urdu. It should be kept as optional for competitive exams.
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