Moalims

LAHORE: Students, teachers, poets, intellectuals, members of Punjabi organisations, under the aegis of Punjabi Parchar staged a protest rally in front of Lahore Press Club on Saturday urging the Punjab government to impart primary education in the native language.

Addressing the rally, speakers said that Article 251 of the Constitution binds the provinces to adopt necessary measures for promotion, teaching and usage of regional languages, but despite of continuously repeated request, the Punjab government has not taken any step in this direction and has not adopted measures to teach Punjabi in the schools.

Participants of the protest rally demanded the government to take immediate steps to start teaching the langue of 150 million people. They also warned government that if the right of education in mother language is not given, a hunger strike will be staged in front of the Punjab assembly till the fulfillment of their constitutional demand.

Punjabi Parchar president Ahmad Raza alleged, “ The Punjab government Punjab government is deliberately making the children of Punjab ignorant through banning the education in their mother language.” The right of education in the regional languages has been given to other provinces but in Punjab such a right is still denied by the government,” he added.

Writer and scholar Mushtaaf Soofi told Daily Times that Pakistan’s Constitution has given right to people to learn right from their primary schooling in their mother language and after the 18th Amendment it is now the responsibility of the provinces to implement that right but Punjab has been committing sheer violation.

Soofi said, “The model is successfully implemented in other provinces of our country like in Sindh, where whole structure of education is based in their mother language.” The constitution has given right in 1973 in Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where they are teaching in the regional languages but despite being the large number of Punjabi language-speaking people living in province, the Punjab government has reluctant to implement.

In the rally, large number of students, teachers, poets, intellectuals, members of Punjabi organisations and members of civil society were present. The really was headed by Punjabi Parchar president Ahmed Raza along with Tariq Jatala, Afzal Sahir, Mushtaq Soofi, Mazhar Tirmazi, Biya Gee, Farhad Iqbal, Deep Saeeda, Khalil Ohjla, Jamil Ahmad Paul, Tohid Ahmad Chatta, Bilal Shaker Kahaloon and other activists.

News Reference