Shanzay Ali, a mother of three, is upset over the changes she detects in her children’s everyday language. She says her children, Faizan, 8, Momina, 10, and Salman, 12, frequently use Hindi words in their everyday speech. “Cable television is responsible,” Shanzay says, “The language the next generation will speak is being transformed.”
The rise of Hindi
channels: While most imagined the Hindi-Urdu controversy would end with the creation of Pakistan, the debate is rising as inter-cultural interaction increases. The rise of Hindi-dubbed channels, with Hindi being the closest equivalent to Urdu, means children have begun to watch both informative and cultural programs in the Hindi language. Over 70% of channels being broadcast are either in Hindi or been dubbed in Hindi, with all children’s channels being broadcast in Hindi.
“What can be done? Children love watching cartoons and all cartoon channels have been dubbed in Hindi,” complained Shanzay.
Broadcast channels in Pakistan are transmitted from two sources; satellite and cable-networking. Cable operators have shown a preference for Hindi-dubbed over English channels to cater to an audience that rarely understands English.
Out of the top five channels watched by children; Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Baby Tv, Disney and Pogo; four are in Hindu, while one is in English. Similarly, all three informative channels, National Geographic, Animal Planet and History Channel are only available in Hindi on cable networks. Indian movie and Indian drama channels are also aplenty.
Only Hindi children’s programming: “All that children like to watch is available in Hindi. One can’t stop children from watching TV and I prefer my children not watch news channels,” said Ayesha Malik, a class 6 teacher and a mother of two. She said, “Children speak Hindi words in class too, but the school environment is not responsible for the change…televisions are.” Ayesha said, “Children subconsciously learn words like vishaal, shanti, mukti and adhikaar and use them in conversation at school.”
Talking to Pakistan Today, PEMRA Regional General Manager Khurram Siddique said only foreign channels given permission are being broadcasted. “All Indian channels are banned by PEMRA, and changing the language of the channel from English to Hindi is considered a violation,” said Khurram. He said cable operators are not allowed to change the language of approved channels and PEMRA keeps a check on the matter.
‘It’s public demand:’ Ijaz Mustafa, a cable operator in Allama Iqbal Town, said that they used to transmit children’ channels in English language but switched to Hindi on public demand. “People called and asked us to change the language to Hindi,” he said. He said competition between cable operators means that not- complying with a clients request means clients switch cable operators.
Culture guardians: Amjad Islam Amjad, a renowned poet and writer, looks at the picture from the perspective of globalization. Speaking to Pakistan Today, Amjad said, “We must understand that the world of today is the world of the economy and market. Instead of banning foreign channels, we must come up with better Urdu programming.” Amjad said, “The task begins at home. Mothers are responsible for reviving the value of Urdu and local languages.”
Orya Maqbool Jan, analyst and column writer, said media had no serious Urdu programming other than talk shows. He said no documentaries are made, no urdu cartoon channels are available and this is the media’s responsibility. He said media should operate in their own business environment and PEMRA should facilitate them. Jan demanded PEMRA ban Hindi-dubbed channels to create the space for new channels to come.
‘My children speak Hindi, what do I do?’
