A MOVE by 22 members of the Pakistan National Assembly leads to a situation somewhat akin to Heller`s catch-22 — you are in trouble if you ask and in trouble if you don't. A private “languages” bill introduced in the assembly is full of contradictions and omissions that could cause fissures too difficult to heal. The Dawn newspaper said the bill seeks to replace Article 251 of the constitution that specifies Urdu as the only national language of the country and a move to replace it now could cause sharp divisions. Excerpts: The proposed replacement reads: “The national languages of Pakistan are Balochi, Punjabi, Pushto, Shina/Balti, Sindhi, Seraiki and Urdu.” A report in the Dawn questions why Shina and Balti have been bracketed together, while three other major dialects of the region have been ignored. Now if that slash is there because of geographical reasons, the same formula could arguably be used to club together many others on this list itself. Many in Punjab will be offended by the “divisive” mention of Seraiki and there will be voices defending the current exclusive status of Urdu as a language that “binds Pakistan together.” The Dawn's report also lists some other major languages spoken in Pakistan that are missing from the proposed clause. These include Brahvi and Gujarati and of course Hindko, a language which the parliament in Islamabad should be familiar with only if its members were listening. The idea is, or should be, that formal recognition by the state would bolster these languages and the groups which speak them, and remove misgivings that are based on sometimes perceived but quite often real discrimination. It could well have been described as a long-awaited step towards realizing the demand that, right from the primary school level, students should be taught in their mother tongue. But how do you react to the suggestion that something as personal as religion should be taught to students in a language that they may find foreign? The bill's proposal for teaching Arabic as a compulsory subject at school level is as debatable as its selection of the languages that it deems should be declared national. The 22 backers of the bill will be under pressure either to add to the list or back off. Tongues are going to wag. The national house is poised for divisions. __
