KARACHI – There is a need to initiate a move for the development of the Sindhi language just like religious scholars and leaders do for promoting their religions, said Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. He said this while addressing the two-day national literary conference on ‘Analysis of promotion of Sindhi language and literature’ organised by the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) Sindhi Department in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) at FUUAST Gulshan campus. Speaking as the chief guest on the second day of the conference, Khuhro stressed that awareness for the Sindhi language needs to be made on international level.
He suggested that a world language day should be celebrated like the other days and special measures taken for inducting Sindhi language in the list of world’s recognised languages. “We are using the names of Shakespeare and other internationally-acclaimed writers but have not taken any step for recognising our own writers and poets including Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Shaikh Ayaz and others,” said Khuhro. “Our language is very rich because we (Sindhis) have a rich historical, cultural and social background and a large number of foreign scholars have conducted research studies on our language.
“When the British ruled the region, they learned local languages but even our brothers are not willing to learn the Sindhi language,” he added. The Sindh Assembly speaker said that many laws have been made and resolutions passed by the assemblies but there is a need to enhance the efforts in order to make Sindhi richer. He stressed that more libraries should be established and more books written for involving the youth of the province in language-related activities. The government is working hard to meet the demands of the nation and the provinces.
The 18th amendment has been passed and the concurrent list abolished, so the provinces would now get provincial autonomy. “The 27-year-old issue of provincial autonomy was settled by the present government,” he said. On the occasion, Khuhro also announced one-year financial support for publishing the biannual research journal named ‘Karoonjhar’, to be published by the FUUAST Sindhi Department. Speaking at the conference, FUUAST Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Qaisar said the university was playing a vital role in the development of the Sindhi language and the varsity’s Sindhi Department was being fully supported.
“The English language is 600 to 700 years old but Sindhi has a 5,500-year-old historical background. We have to enhance the work for developing the Sindhi language and literature,” said Qaisar. Sindhi Language Authority former chairman Dr Nabi Bux G Kazi – presently settled in Germany – became emotional when he mentioned the works of Sindhi poets and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai during his speech. Stressing upon the need for working more for the progress of Sindhi language and literature, he said the youth of the province should also get involved in studying Sindhi literature. Pharmacy Dean Ali Anwer Siyal, Dr Jamal Haider, Humera Roshni, Dr Noor Afroz Khuwaja, Shazia Pitafi, Yasir Qazi, Dr Kamla Jamrro and others also spoke on the occasion.
It is to be noted that on the first day of conference, the FUUAST vice chancellor had announced the opening of admissions in MPhil leading to PhD in Sindhi language and literature.
