ROLE OF PARENTS, ROLE OF MINISTRIES, ART AND CULTURE

           Languages evolve with the evolution of humanity in all spheres of life, be it related to culture, social relations, scientific or economic development. Urdu is a language that has lost its importance, as well as its popularity over the years. As Pakistanis, we speak Urdu but we do not use it in its full spectrum as far as using its wide range of vocabulary and grammar is concerned. Urdu is soon becoming an obsolete language. Though words of Urdu might still be used in sentences, sentences composed solely of Urdu words and grammar is diminishing. As Pakistanis we use more and more English words which we pass off as Urdu in our communication. We write these English words in Urdu script and do not feel ashamed that we do not use its Urdu equivalent in our day to day communication, but when we write poetry or a script for a movie or lyrics of a song, we suddenly look up the thesaurus and use the unfamiliar Urdu word for a seemingly common object or expression. Illiterate as most Pakistanis are relating to their own language, we therefore never quite grasp the meaning of what is being said and think our language is complicated and confusing.

A revolution needs to occur; we need to reignite the practical aspect of Urdu for practical purposes. We need to bring back what is ours, we need to associate with who we really are and we need to understand why this is imperative for our prosperity and strength as a culture. Urdu is our history, our trademark and our identity. If we do not associate with it, we cannot associate with anything else in the world without feeling lost. You need to conquer who you are first and then conquer something else. 

STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY AND STRUCTURE OF EDUCATION

“Urdu has historical significance as the language developed during the Islamic conquests of the South Asian subcontinent, especially under the Mughal Empire, which promoted Urdu as a common communication language for its administrators and soldiers who came from different language groups. The word "Urdu" originates from the Turkish word "ordugâh", meaning "camp", denoting the language used in military camps in the Mughal Empire. It was chosen as the national language of Pakistan because it was a neutral common language that could be understood and spoken by the various language groups of Pakistan.”

Islam is the national religion of Pakistan and Urdu being the national language. Pakistan is a state of majority Muslims and minorities Christians, Hindus, Sikhs. We have 4 provinces in Pakistan each having its own language as a conversation tool. We were a national that was meant to be united under one roof of nationalism when we became independent on 14 August’1947. Over the past few years there has been a lot of discussion on the generation gap, decline of our language, so where did this all come in? It is we, you, me and I who created it. We are the ones who are not proud of ourselves and our loosing on our identity. In economic terms the rich is becoming richer and the poor is becoming poorer and to meet the ends its difficult. The middle class is called the “Confused class” as they are torn between the uppers and the lowers having no clue what to do where to fit themselves.

To meet up with the changing world we need to step up with the world and change ourselves, but does that mean that we forgot who we are, what are roots are, where we belong too. An article clearly states “Although English is generally used instead of Urdu in this regard. English is the lingua franca of the Pakistani elite and most of the government ministries.” A proof of where we are heading towards.

Furthermore, if we focus on the family structure of the Pakistani society even today we still value the importance of our elders and greet them with respect. Pakistan is a hierarchical society. People are respected because of their age and position; older people are viewed as wise and are granted respect. In a social situation, they are served first and their drinks may be poured for them. Elders are introduced first, are provided with the choicest cuts of meat, and in general are treated much like royalty. Titles are very important and denote respect. It is expected that you will use a person's title and their surname until invited to use their first name. Occasions play a very vital role be it Eid, weddings or funeral. Everyone steps up to help each other in good or bad times. Parents play the most important role when it comes to decision making, and Male still being the head of the family who dominate and take charge of the family. Women play the role of house wives mostly, men being the bread earns. But as the society is evolving over time women have stepped up and are working hand in hand to make both meets meet. Today many dynamic women work at the top most positions.

System of education has changed as new private institutions are being formed that dominate the public institutions. These offer high quality education following American or British system to education. The fee structure changes with the classes. English is the mode of communication of the subjects being taught where as Urdu is only given one slot. More emphasis is on the English language than Urdu.  

INTRODUCTION

Urdu is a language that is an amalgamation of many different languages. After collecting the essence of some of the most beautiful languages of various regions like Persian, Arabic, Hindi etc this language was created. It is the official language of Pakistan and also of five Indian states. The cultural and social history of the subcontinent is embedded in to this language which is why it holds a great amount of importance for us. The language has had a very rich variety of classical poets, calligraphers, novelists and literature authors that glorify its status as a language to have created some of the most wondrous pieces of literature in the past. One of the best qualities associated to this language is that it is expresses politeness when conversed in and has a great amount of versatility to fit in any language. If you ever have the fortunate event of travelling to turkey, you will realize that they just speak their national language and nothing else. Even their cell phone credit recharge cards are in Turkish language. The hotel staff, shop keepers, local people everyone refuses to understand any other language. Not even English! It is not just turkey but china too. All the top nations of the world tend to preserve and hold close their national heritages except us. Sadly we consider ourselves “paindu” (illiterate) if we have to converse in our national language in a group of people. This is what our advertising plan is all about. To protect an important jewel of our culture that is being tarnished.

First of all we segmented our market on the basis age group like children, teenagers, adults and elder people. Then we restricted out focus on teenagers. The reason being is that children are already taught Urdu as a compulsory subject in the elementary stage. But as soon as we pass on that level Urdu becomes an absent subject in our life. Parents want to admit their children in schools which prefer English over Urdu. Government and semi government schools are still playing some amount of role in preserving Urdu but the other education systems have policies that are suppressing Urdu as a language. So our main target is the O/ A levels schools and American system based schools because these are playing the most damaging role against Urdu in the society.

Youth is the future of our country and if we don’t focus on them we shall loose our identity. Weaken the connections with the past and create generation gaps. “Charity starts at home” if we train our children to speak Urdu at home, write in Urdu it is something that’s beneficial for all. A common Pakistan man speaks Urdu so to converse with the common man and to communicate its essential to learn Urdu language. English is a foreign language which the children can automatically pick up and learn when they study in educational institutions. We need to shape up our thinking and focus on what we are rather than being someone who is confused and is a lost.