Yesterday when I posted the song ‘Sapne mein dekha sapna’ on Ulta Phulta, I could help sharing this dialogue of Utpal Dutt: 'Apni mother tongue ka mazak nahin ooraogay tou broad-minded kaisay khelaogay.' It sounds funny but it’s very, very deep & we know that many people have this complex.
I think the mess was created in my country when schools were nationalized in the 70s. Even though all the children & grandchildren of Bhutto have studied from abroad but people in this country are suffering from amnesia. Since they went to English medium schools, they don’t have time to think about those who couldn’t afford to go to better schools even though it is their basic right. One person deprives them of their basic right & thousands of them still appreciate such leaders.
On top of it, we as a nation have a deep-rooted complex. We look down on those who can’t speak fluent English. Spoken English is the 1st thing to judge people. I know it’s a low standard of assessing people but nevertheless this is how things stand. People much older than me even suffer from this complex & their complex is even worse. Meet anyone in his 40s & 50s, you would have the urge to puke after hearing their views. Honestly speaking, when I meet teenagers & someone in his/her 20s, I find them better humans & they don’t have so many complexes. Even the ones in their 30s are a strange breed.
Some people even try to speak tooti phooti Urdu just to make an impression. You know I’ve heard innumerable views on it & I even had arguments with all these people who were my friends, but all of them firmly believed that in order to have an upper hand on someone, you must converse in English. Then I also know some people who refer to many as UMT (meaning Urdu medium type). It’s funny how they forget to have a look at themselves in the mirror before labeling someone as UMT.
We don’t give this issue a fair thought. There is also a certain breed that we have nurtured over the years which cannot speak their national language. And at the same time, we have people who pretend that they don’t understand Urdu. And some try to adjust by resorting to a strange blend of the two lingos, because they want to be labeled as Urdu medium.
You know Urdu is our linguistic identity. I believe it deserves a bit of respect. It’s great to learn another language but I think turning your back on your culture, tradition & national language also speaks something about you. I don’t think language is ever a barrier, but we make it one when we discriminate. I don’t want to go into details about regional languages & how discriminatory people are. But I must say they are damn sensitive about their regional language but they can’t help being insensitive about their national language.
I think the mess was created in my country when schools were nationalized in the 70s. Even though all the children & grandchildren of Bhutto have studied from abroad but people in this country are suffering from amnesia. Since they went to English medium schools, they don’t have time to think about those who couldn’t afford to go to better schools even though it is their basic right. One person deprives them of their basic right & thousands of them still appreciate such leaders.
On top of it, we as a nation have a deep-rooted complex. We look down on those who can’t speak fluent English. Spoken English is the 1st thing to judge people. I know it’s a low standard of assessing people but nevertheless this is how things stand. People much older than me even suffer from this complex & their complex is even worse. Meet anyone in his 40s & 50s, you would have the urge to puke after hearing their views. Honestly speaking, when I meet teenagers & someone in his/her 20s, I find them better humans & they don’t have so many complexes. Even the ones in their 30s are a strange breed.
Some people even try to speak tooti phooti Urdu just to make an impression. You know I’ve heard innumerable views on it & I even had arguments with all these people who were my friends, but all of them firmly believed that in order to have an upper hand on someone, you must converse in English. Then I also know some people who refer to many as UMT (meaning Urdu medium type). It’s funny how they forget to have a look at themselves in the mirror before labeling someone as UMT.
We don’t give this issue a fair thought. There is also a certain breed that we have nurtured over the years which cannot speak their national language. And at the same time, we have people who pretend that they don’t understand Urdu. And some try to adjust by resorting to a strange blend of the two lingos, because they want to be labeled as Urdu medium.
You know Urdu is our linguistic identity. I believe it deserves a bit of respect. It’s great to learn another language but I think turning your back on your culture, tradition & national language also speaks something about you. I don’t think language is ever a barrier, but we make it one when we discriminate. I don’t want to go into details about regional languages & how discriminatory people are. But I must say they are damn sensitive about their regional language but they can’t help being insensitive about their national language.
