Language is intimately related both to ideology and power in Pakistan. The state has made Urdu a marker of Pakistani identity and an integrative device in a country which has at least five major ethnic groups with their own indigenous languages. The ethnic groups have countered the centre which, in their perception, practices versions of internal colonialism.
Besides the level of the national or ethnic groups, there is the level of the social class. Language is very much a marker of the socio-economic class in Pakistan too. English is associated with the upper-middle and upper class; Urdu with the lower middle and middle class while the local, indigenous languages are the preserve of the peasantry, unskilled labourers and the working class in general. This refers more to official, formal interaction typically in urban contexts rather than to informal interaction. However, in Sindh there are areas where Sindhi is used even formally in domains in which Urdu is used in other parts of Pakistan. Being connected with class, English has the highest snob value followed by Urdu and other local languages. This equation does not remain constant all over the country. In Sindh and parts of the Pashto-speaking belt, pride in indigenous ethnic identity is strong enough to counteract the prestige of Urdu however much it may be in demand for purely pragmatic reasons.
At the individual level, the necessity of learning a standard, printed language is dictated by pragmatic considerations. People want to learn English and Urdu because, under the present circumstances, they need these languages to obtain employment i.e. to empower themselves. The knowledge of English opens the doors to the most lucrative and powerful jobs in the state, the private sector and the international bureaucracy. It also gives ones prestige, influence through informal social contacts and a certain snob value. Urdu too gives access to jobs though only at the national level and not very high ones even then. It too is a marker of middle class status and a badge of education and urban socialization. In short, it too is empowering as far as middle class, salariat-based urban Pakistani society is concerned. The indigenous languages alone, other than Sindhi, do not give access to jobs in the salariat and the power which comes from them. Those who know only these languages are either restricted to working class jobs or, if they possess power, to quasi-feudal land ownership, tribal leadership, political manipulation or trade.
Besides being part of ideological claims and counter-claims and power struggles between ethnic groups and classes, languages are also associated with certain ideological biases in Pakistan. Thus, English is seen as the carrier of western, liberal values; Urdu is seen as an Islamic and Pakistani-nationalist language while the indigenous languages of the country are associated with ethnic nationalism and identity. However, English is being appropriated by the Islamic revivalists and under-privileged Pakistani groups who are impressed by the fact that it is a language of empowerment in the modern world.
To sum up, language is a very important factor in modern Pakistan. It is the key to the complex issues of the distribution of power between the ethnic groups, the socio-economic classes and individuals inhabiting the country. To understand how language provides the ideological and pragmatic basis for the different dimensions of these struggles at various levels is to understand at least some part of why such struggles take place.
Besides the level of the national or ethnic groups, there is the level of the social class. Language is very much a marker of the socio-economic class in Pakistan too. English is associated with the upper-middle and upper class; Urdu with the lower middle and middle class while the local, indigenous languages are the preserve of the peasantry, unskilled labourers and the working class in general. This refers more to official, formal interaction typically in urban contexts rather than to informal interaction. However, in Sindh there are areas where Sindhi is used even formally in domains in which Urdu is used in other parts of Pakistan. Being connected with class, English has the highest snob value followed by Urdu and other local languages. This equation does not remain constant all over the country. In Sindh and parts of the Pashto-speaking belt, pride in indigenous ethnic identity is strong enough to counteract the prestige of Urdu however much it may be in demand for purely pragmatic reasons.
At the individual level, the necessity of learning a standard, printed language is dictated by pragmatic considerations. People want to learn English and Urdu because, under the present circumstances, they need these languages to obtain employment i.e. to empower themselves. The knowledge of English opens the doors to the most lucrative and powerful jobs in the state, the private sector and the international bureaucracy. It also gives ones prestige, influence through informal social contacts and a certain snob value. Urdu too gives access to jobs though only at the national level and not very high ones even then. It too is a marker of middle class status and a badge of education and urban socialization. In short, it too is empowering as far as middle class, salariat-based urban Pakistani society is concerned. The indigenous languages alone, other than Sindhi, do not give access to jobs in the salariat and the power which comes from them. Those who know only these languages are either restricted to working class jobs or, if they possess power, to quasi-feudal land ownership, tribal leadership, political manipulation or trade.
Besides being part of ideological claims and counter-claims and power struggles between ethnic groups and classes, languages are also associated with certain ideological biases in Pakistan. Thus, English is seen as the carrier of western, liberal values; Urdu is seen as an Islamic and Pakistani-nationalist language while the indigenous languages of the country are associated with ethnic nationalism and identity. However, English is being appropriated by the Islamic revivalists and under-privileged Pakistani groups who are impressed by the fact that it is a language of empowerment in the modern world.
To sum up, language is a very important factor in modern Pakistan. It is the key to the complex issues of the distribution of power between the ethnic groups, the socio-economic classes and individuals inhabiting the country. To understand how language provides the ideological and pragmatic basis for the different dimensions of these struggles at various levels is to understand at least some part of why such struggles take place.
