Barah Mah & story of Punjabi magazines in Pakistan (A radio prog)

 

Barah Mah & story of Punjabi magazines in Pakistan (A radio prog)

The struggle for the Punjabi language, its literature, folk & media is still a forgotten past, thanks to centralist mindset. Here in this program you will listen a brief account of Punjabi magazines as explained by Jameel Paul, Zubair Ahmad & Nain Sukh. The occasion was celebration of 5th issue of  annual Punjabi magazine Barah Mah. 

Nationalism based on enemy construction is killer for the spirit yet nationalism based on language & folk lore may change things. Nationalisms in South Asia are the best examples to understand the phenomenon. 

Both the editors (Amarjit Chandan & Zubair Ahmad)  tried their best to maintain the standard well and published Punjabi writings not only from both Punjabs but also from Punjabi diaspora too. 

Now you watch few clips and listen program

  

Few video clips of the program

Jameel Paul sharing his views

Zubair Ahmad talk

Nain Sukh in his own style

There was a galaxy of unknown Punjabi stars who did struggle for the Punjabi since 2nd half of 19th century yet thanks to fake Hindi Urdu controversy,  misuse of religion card in languages as well as scripts the issue of mother tongues remained unresolved. After annexation of  Lhore Darbar (1849) colonial masters cleverly adopted a pre annexation policy and use religion card against Punjabi too. They said that Punjabi is a language of Sikhs. Hindi for Hindus, Urdu for Muslims & Punjabi for Sikhs and English for all elite as well as discouragement for Persian, Arabic & Sanskrit and Shah Mukhi Punjabi (Punjabi in persian script) was the policy. They also discourage Devnagri script for Sindhi, etc and Persian  scripts for Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil etc. In the Punjab after Wood's dispatch of 1854, they imposed Urdu as official & court language in 1865. Punjabi for Sikhs in Gurmukhi was used but Punjabi in Persian scripts remained absent from schools from 1880s till 1947. It was a clever trick because colonial masters knew that British Punjab had a massive majority of Muslim Punjabis. Even after expulsion of many Punjabi areas, first by creating J&K State 1850, than creating NWFP (1901) even than Punjabi Muslims were not only 57.1% but in all 8 divisions of the Punjab. Keeping in view the legacy, we witnessed that the policy continued after 1947 in both Punjabs. Rejection of Shah Mukhi remain present in East Punjab and rejection of Punjabi remain there in West Punjab. In both countries Punjabi was further divided in different languages Dogri, Haryanvi, Seraiki, Hindko etc without having a debate of language,dialect and the script. In such circumstances, few Punjabi Muslims & Punjabi Christians supported cause of the Punjabi well. Eric Spreen, Safdar Mir,Masood Kadarposh etc were pioneers at political front yet Ahmad Rahi, Josha Fazaldin, Faqeer Muhammad Faqeer, Asif Khan, Akhtar Shah, Sibtul hassan Zygum, Afzal Hasan Randhawa  and many played their role in 1960s and 1970s. In this discussion panelists tries their best yet some names still missing and we will do a detail program about it too. 

Complete recording of the program, click Here

Further links

https://punjabpunch.blogspot.com/2019/03/2nd-international-punjabi-conference.html

https://punjabpunch.blogspot.com/2022/02/an-interview-of-akhtar-shah-editor.html

Struggle & Paradox ..G M Syed: Gandhiite, Muslim Leaguer, Sindhi Nationalist (1904-1995)

 

Struggle & Paradox ..G M Syed

Gandhiite, Muslim Leaguer, Sindhi Nationalist (1904-1995)

The study of personalities often raise many unheard questions and that is why many historians avoid personality studies but it is a reality that people/personalities learn & unlearn many things. Many times, if someone get popularity with some specific notions, but her/his life story may have different opinions by the same personality too. Here in this post you will find few extracts from an important account of history of Sind written by journalist S M Sharma in the form of a book Peeps into Pakistan  (available online at archive,org). It is largely an account from Sindhi Hindu eye but has many interesting details yet it missed a lot more things. I will write about the author & politics of G M Syed but here you read extracts. Like infamous 280 pages Nehru Report (1928), Mr Sharma is also skeptical about separation of Sindh from Bombay. It is an interesting fact that many Hindu nationalists since infamous & tricky Lucknow Pact (1916) tried their best to mishandle muslim majorities not only in the Punjab & Bengal but also in Sindh too.That majority minority politics was problematic in pre partition days and still haunting South Asia. Why we fail to celebrate diversities in religion, sub religion ethnicity or languages or casts is a question that needs little more inquiry.  

The title of the book mentioned is

The 15th chapter is about G M Syed who is currently a known Sindhi nationalist but as author mentioned, he was Gandhiite and communalist too. 

Syed was ruthless in support and opposition too

Otherside of the medal

Arbicising Sindhi with the help of Daudpotta, DPI (Daud Putrays were old power players, fought with Kalhoras too, some of them migrated to the Punjab and after fighting annexed Bhawalpur area),,, The last line shows a visible bias against the Punjab and it is present in the author narrative too. 

Haris were all Muslims and Hindu Muslim controversy suited Waderas so that Haris remained busy somewhere else. it suited to many powe players including Sindhi Hindus

Both Allah Baksh & Syed enjoyed power at the cost of Hur massacre yet neither author nor Anti British Sndhis mentioned it, it is largely no go area in Sindhi politics 

Power struggle within Sindhis

Ghulam Hussain Hayatullah vs Syed

Linguistic diversity is the backbone of Mother Tongue movement: An unfortunate case of Bengali

 

Linguistic diversity is the backbone of Mother Tongue movement

An unfortunate case of Bengali 

In 1999 Bangladesh initiated 21st Feb as International mother tongue day, the date was important due to two incidents, first happened in 1940 in British India & second incident was of 1952 in united Pakistan. For initiator 21st Feb 1952 was an important day but when UN general assembly accepted resolution in 2007, same Bangladesh was against linguistic diversity & the supporters of the non Bengali mother tongues were struggling against Bengali majoritarianism since 34 years. I visited Bangladesh in 2008 and interviewed many people including Mr Kamal Lohani who accepted that during Bengali language movement in united Pakistan we were in favour of Bengali but were against linguistic diversity. He told me that in 173 it was Sheikh Mujib ur Rahman who had imposed majority Bengali language in a way to convert all non Bengalis. it is often observed that many language movements behaves exclusively and in their narratives linguistic diversity often missing and this is the vital issue. 

On 21 February 1940, Governor Erskine issued a press communique withdrawing compulsory Hindi teaching and making it optional

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution of 2002.

On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world". By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international unders.tanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism and named the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to serve as the lead agency for the Year

Currently, 40% of the global population lacks access to education in their native language, a figure that exceeds 90% in certain regions    https://www.un.org/en/observances/mother-language-day

 At least 45% of the estimated 7000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.

This year UN theme is Multilingual education – a pillar of learning and intergenerational learning

جنج بنگلہ دیش بنن بعد غیر بنگالی مادری زباناں نال دھرو ہویا اوس توں اسی51 سال بعد وی سبق نہیں سکھیا۔اس دھرو دا موڈھی کوئی ہر نہیں سگوں شیخ مجیب الرحمن تے بنگالی اشرافیہ سی۔اس دی وجہ اک زبان دی حاکمیت دا بھوت ہیگا جس وچ زباناں دی رنگارنگی توں انکار والا مائنڈ سیٹ چلدا ہے۔عالمی ماں بولی دیہاڑ تے ایس گل نوں چیتے رکھنا لوڑی دا ہے۔انٹرویو2008 ڈھاکہ،بنگلہ دیش

اس دن کے لیے 21 فروری کا انتخاب اس لیے بھی موزوں قرار پایا کیونکہ ایک بنگالی رفیق السلام نے اس کے لیے انتھک کوششیں کی تھیں۔ یہ وہی دن ہے جب 1952 کے سال خواجہ ناظم الدین سرکار نے متحدہ پاکستان کے صوبہ مشرقی بنگال میں بنگالی زبان کا حق ماننے والوں پر گولی چلوائی تھی۔ اس زمانے میں پاکستانی ریاست کے کرتا دھرتا "واحد قومی زبان" کو وطنی قوم پرستی کے لیے ضروری گرداننے کے لیے اسی زغم میں مبتلا تھے جسے یورپ والے بھی خیرآباد کہتے جارہے تھے۔

بنگلہ دیش میں اس دن کی مناسبت سے شہید مینار بھی بنایا گیا ہے مگر خود بنگلہ دیش کے بانی اور وزیراعظم شیخ مجیب الرحمن نے بنگلہ دیش بنانے کے بعد "واحد قومی زبان" کے ہی راستہ کو اپنایا اور بنگلہ دیش میں موجود دیگر زبانوں بشمول چٹاکانگ کے پہاڑی علاقوں میں بولی جانے والی زبانوں کو بنگلہ دیشی قوم پرستی سے نکال باہر کیا۔

Further Links

https://punjabpunch.blogspot.com/search?q=mother+tongue

In memory of Saqlain Shaukat : Writer, Editor, Translator & Political Worker

 

In memory of Saqlain Shaukat 

 Writer, Editor, Translator & a Political Worker

ثقلین شوکت یاداں تے باتاں

ثقلین لکھاری وی سی، ترجمے وی کیتے، پورا کھوجی سی تے سب توں ودھ ایہہ کہ دھرتی نال جڑیا اک سیاسی کاما وی سی۔

 گل بات ڈاکٹر محمد ہارون عثمانی ، محمد شفیق، سرمد بٹ، تے فون تے ڈاکٹر اشفاق احمد،نین سکھ، کاشف بخاری،عمر فاروق،امجد رضا اور اعظم خان سواتی

Aamir Riaz, Majid Khan & Mahmood ul Hasan

Aamir Riaz, Majid Khan & Saqlain Shaukat

Saqlain Shaukat (Feb 01, 1979- Feb 10, 2024)

Date of Birth: Feb 01, 1979

Place if Birth: Mirowal (Ancestral village near Narowal)

Madrassa: UET (Jamia masjid near gate #2)

Pre School: Latif Academy Darogh e wala, Lhore 1984

Matriculation: Pakistan Railways High School Mughalpura, Year: 1995-1996

Intermediate: Forman Christian College Lahore, BA Private

Listen the complete recording of the Punjabi Program Lok Lhar recorded at MastFM103 Lhore Studios 17th Feb 2024

https://voca.ro/1c4eOrnEeQm1

Saqlain translated many books, Jumhori Publications & Readings published his books , his upcoming book Bashr e Kamal is in press

Translated by Saqlain Shaukat

Child Marriages & views of Youth in the Punjab

 

Child Marriages & views of Youth in the Punjab

بالڑیاں دا ویاہ۔۔۔۔ مارو دھکا، پاو پھاہ

Punjabi Radio Program Lok Lhar recorded at MastFM103 Feb 14, 2024

Guests Hussain Sajjad Hashmi, Christina Daud, Muzamil Majeed, and Fiaz ur Rahman Watto, Jayaa Jaggi,  Babar Hashmi & Sabiha Shaheen

1.      Ms. Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director at Bargad

2.      Ms. Jayaa Jaggi, Development Practitioner and Founder She Matters, setlled in Islamabad, from Pindi Gheb, District Attock. 

3.      Ms. Muzammil Majeed, BVN District Coordinator Lahore & Student at Kinnaird College for Women, Lhore

4.      Ms. Christina Daud, Student of BS Urdu Literature at Lahore College for Women University Lhore

5.      Mr. Hussain Sajjad Hashmi, Research Scholar, Institute of Special Education, University of Punjab Lahore, from Jhang

6.      Mr. Faiz ur Rehman Wattoo, BVN District Coordinator Lahore & Student at the University of Punjab Lahore

7.      Mr. Babar Hashmi, Founder & Chairman of Life Savors Multan

Muzammil Majeed 

https://www.facebook.com/100055331460522/videos/940003694452682/

Listen the complete program

https://voca.ro/1kJJTbfAPHA9

Further links 

Let Us discuss the pinching issue of Child marriage in Pakistan (Listen discussion) 2020
https://punjabpunch.blogspot.com/2020/05/let-us-discuss-pinching-issue-of-child.html

Vote, Election Process, Democratic Struggle, Importance of Youth & Election 2024

Vote, Election Process, Democratic Struggle, Importance of Youth & Election 2024

 

Voter number is increasing & ratio too improving.  If we check last 100 years history of elections, we can easily understand the situation well. In 1920, first election was held in British India only in provinces with limited rather very thin Franchise , it improved in 1923 when except Gandhi and Ali brothers, others including Swaraj party, khilafat committee Punjab ,UP, Bengal , etc participated in elections, In 1937 franchise increased and in 1946 it added more people but still there was not any adult franchise at all. After 1947 , both India and Pakistan adopted adult franchise but there was not any election commission not chief election commissioner till 1956 , what to talk about voting lists. Election act 2017 empower election institutions yet lot of work still ahead.

As par numbers, ratio & gender gape Punjab is ahead,

Lok Lhar radio program recorded at Mast FM 103 , Feb 02, 2024

Guests

Sabiha Shaheen Christina Daud, Muzamil Majeed, and Fiaz ur Rahman Watto

A reel of the program 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/947459786607108

A story of the program 

https://www.facebook.com/stories/1951860848210056/UzpfSVNDOjE0NDQ4MjUyNjMxMTgyMTc=/?view_single=1

Another clip

listen the complete show by clicking the link below

Click here & listen

Issues of Punjab & Punjabi at Desi Radio, London

 

Issues of Punjab & Punjabi at Desi Radio, London

Interview @ Desi Radio with Basant recorded 8 Jan, 2024, South Hall, London

پنجابی زبان دے وڈے مسلے؟ پاکستان تے بھارت وچ اک زبان نوں قومی زبان آکھن نال دوجی وڈی زباناں وچ اضطراب ودھیا۔۔۔ پنجاب دی  انگریز توں پہلاں دی تریخ نوں سمجھن لئی فارسی زبان وڈا حوالہ جے جس نوں انگریز مکایا سی پر 75 سالاں وچ اساں وی اس بارے کجھ نہ کیتا۔ پرلے پنجاب وچ گورمکھی رسم الخط یا لپی وچ لکھی جان والی پنجابی زبان نوں ہندی تے سنسکرت دا تڑکہ لاون نال دوناں پنجاباں وچ پاڑ ودھیا۔۔۔۔ڈیجیٹل دور وچ ملن ورتن ودھ چکیا ہے تے جرافیے دی اہمیتاں گھٹ گیاں جے۔ اج نویں ملک بناون دی تھاں برادریاں  یعنی کیمونیٹیاں وچ ملن ورتن ودھانا لوڑیدا ہیگا۔۔۔نفرتاں دی سیاستاں تے پاڑ نوں بیانئیے توں کڈہنا لوڑی دا ہے۔ امیگرنٹ، مہاجراں، بے وطنیاں تے پناگیراں دے سوال نوں سرمائے دے ارتکاز دی عینک نال وکھنا لوڑی دا ہے کہ جتھے شہد ہوئے گا مکھیاں اتھے ہی جاندیاں جے۔

For the link of the complete gal bat, scroll down

Punjab, Punjabi, Inclusiveness, Connectivity, Colonial Past, Gurmukhi, Shahmukhi, Biases, Enemy Construction, Gender, Anti Punjabi mindset both in India & Pakistan, Playing with scripts & dialects, Linking language with power, career, immigration linked with concentration of wealth and many more issues 

A clip of the program 

Team of the desi radio

Ammar, 

Anita with Kalvant

Pammi

The link where one can listen the Desi radio https://desiradio.org.uk/listen-now/

Listen the complete radio program gal baat by clicking the link below

https://voca.ro/19CTBdNO18yM

Post Program dinner  with Saag & Makyi di rooti at Kalvant Place

Kalvant, Nuzhat & Iffat

Abbas, Aamir & Anas

Kalvant, Nuzhat, Iffat, Aamir, Asim, Anas & Mansor