The Terrorland Report
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| HRS for The Terrorland |
THE four-day 4th International Urdu Conference has started in Pakistan’s business capital Karachi. Senior writers, poets, critics and journalists, as usual, are urging their favorite targets – government and the youth – to promote Urdu language and literature, particularly stressing on the need to translate scientific works into the national language (without any contribution to the sciences).
These elderly guys have gathered to talk bookish, eat lavishly and go away hopefully to meet again next year. This is the general impression among the youth, and it’s the way people often do at such conferences in Pakistan. The gurus of “organized literature” and leaders of “organized religions” work in almost the same authoritarian way especially under the influence of an unknown fear within! And thus the condition of both is crystal clear in our polarized world.
Ah! Urdu language and literature!
Reality check: Forget regional literature – Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi etc – even Urdu literature is virtually on the deathbed! On the eye-roll of the almighty military establishment – the self-styled champion of the ideological borders of Pakistan which uses English but stress on the masses to use Urdu to maintain the decades-old relation of a slave (that speaks Urdu or regional languages) and the master (that prefers English) in the country – you may write a scholarly essay, book or give lecture for hours on the importance of the national language… but the fact will speak louder!
Like women, the ruling class has made Urdu a case of “honor” and is dishonoring both!
The fact: Urdu including other vernacular languages has lost its poetic charm! Both the globalized government and Cyber generation love English to get financial benefits as economy runs life! The language of international business and the internet is English. Any other language, including Hindi and Chinese, has little to offer as compared to English. Therefore, gradually English is replacing other languages not only in Pakistan but also in other parts of the world.
According to
Habib Sulemani, people shouldn’t worry about the loss of one language and be mad at the popularity of another. They should try to communicate properly in any language. A language is nothing but just a means of communication, and whatever treasure is in the vanishing language, it must be transferred to the dominating one to benefit humanity at large. “If one tool is not working, try another one.”
Remember: English is no more the language of the once arrogant English—now it’s the language of everyone who wants to use it anywhere in the world. Don’t care for the spelling-bees and clerical minds around you, who make fun of your use of the language—never hesitate to speak or write in English, and feel free to make mistakes—just do it—and things would be normal sooner or later!
Rehman: This guy is a self-styled cyber activist and member of The Terrorland Team. Some team members besides cyber critics dub him as a virus, however, some times he does good job. The other day he left a comment on a well-known Pakistani journalist’s Facebook status that asked: “I like to be extremist but I am just unable. I don’t what should I do?”
Mr. Rehman’s answer describes a very important aspect of the vernacular languages and literature. This comment is relating to our topic. It discusses the literature for literature’s sake and literature for the sake of life debate in a commoner’s way.
Rehman answered:
Write something about the social injustices in the militarized and Talibanized Pakistan… And, yes, sir jee, the write-up should not be for the sake of a “write-up” or the sake of “literature” but it it must hit the bull’s eye… that is the demand of pen… but Pakistani writers have made pen “
azarband” that is why our nation is suffering in the world. A post of
The Terrorland group blogs says:
“Like the journalistic atmosphere, the situation of the Pakistani literati is also under the influence of the secret agencies. Iftikhar Arifs (poets) and Fakhar Zamans (fiction writers) are enjoying perks and privileges of their government jobs. Whenever needed, they recycle the poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib of the gone century… (They don’t know the 21st century needs cyber age writers)… The poor common writers, especially poets, keep silent out of fear… no one dares to write about the tyranny of the generals. Can you, Mr. Khan, give the example of a single critical poem, especially in Urdu, published in any newspaper or magazine (public recitation is beyond imagination)? You know it all…!”
Plogs: Here are some poems of Mr. Sulemani, which were written during his ongoing 20 months of solitary confinement, and have been appeared in this group blog from time to time as plogs (poetry blogs). “Pakistani writers are more powerful than the intellectually-bankrupt generals,” he claims, adding that writers are terrorized to express themselves, but gradually they’re gaining momentum in to resist the militarization and Talibanization process of our society.
Those of you, who have missed the poems, fearless comments on national and international issues, can read them here right now. Feel free to share them with your friends and relatives to create public awareness so that Pakistan comes out of the crises it’s facing since 1947.
These poems are examples of the New Wave of Pakistani Resistance Literature in English. Click on the titles below to read:
