Muslim Language Education in Pakistan and India

TARIQ RAHMAN

National Distinguished Professor of Linguistics and South Asian Studies

Quaid-i-Azam University

Islamabad

Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Language education has always been considered important by the Muslims of South Asia for utilitarian and identity-related reasons.

Persian was the major subject of education in medieval India as it conferred gentlemanly status and led to employment till 1835. Arabic, the primary language of Islam, was also part of education. Its script, which is common to most other Muslim languages, was, and still is, learnt by most Muslims without understanding the language. Urdu, associated with the Muslim identity both in India and Pakistan, is taught widely in Pakistan and at the upper level in India. English is acquired for utilitarian and status-conferring reasons by everybody. The indigenous languages, with few exceptions, are not media of instruction though there is popular reading material in them and they are studied for identity-related reasons.

KEYWORDS

Language-teaching; language-learning; South Asia; Muslim languages; Islamic languages; Education; Muslim education; Islamic education; Indian Muslims; Pakistan; Pakistani Muslims; linguistics; educational linguistics; educational policy; literacy.
Muslim Language Education in Pakistan and India (ms: 4281)

The Muslims of Pakistan and India live in multilingual societies (India has 387 languages and Pakistan 69 according to the Ethnologue 2000. For major Pakistani Muslims’ languages see Box-1. Thus, while Muslims in Arabic-speaking countries have to learn only classical Arabic through formal schooling, the Muslims of India and Pakistan learn the Arabic script for religious reasons and the language of the domains of power for instrumental ones. Thus language-learning has always been an important aspect of education in South Asia.

This article is divided into three parts dealing with the teaching of (1) The Classical languages (2) The modern languages (3) The Indigenous languages of the Muslims of Pakistan and India.

1. Classical Languages

1.1 Persian

Traditionally a Muslim child was supposed to have his bismillāh (beginning with the name of God) at the age of four years, four months and four days but usually this happened at seven years of age. Children were taught Persian, the marker of elitist identity and the language of the domains of power till the 19^th century, through the khaliqbārī (a rhyming primer giving Hindvī equivalents of Persian words) and the karīmā (a rhymed compendium of moral sayings) of Sa‘adī. Later, they were taught the Persian classics (Box-2). Letter writing was an important part of education and several models of composition (inshās) were taught.

Persian lost its power when it was substituted by English at the higher level and the vernacular languages of India at the lower ones between 1835 and 1837. After this it became either a specialized interest for scholars or historians or, which was more often the case, an easy option for students. At present both in India and Pakistan Persian is compulsory in some Islamic seminaries (madrasās) but the students do not learn how to use the language in real life situation. In secular institutions Persian is sometimes an option but its teaching is so deficient that students do not learn the language in any meaningful sense of the term. However, functionaries of the state are taught modern Persian in a fairly efficient manner. The Iranian embassy too has made arrangements to teach modern Persian in the Khonā-i Farhang centres in Pakistan. In short, Persian is now a foreign language in India and Pakistan which people acquire for instrumental reasons.

1.2 Arabic

The other classical language of Indian Muslims, Arabic, was always a religious, liturgical language which Muslims learnt to read as a religious obligation. It came to South Asia with Arab merchants who traded on the Malabar Coast and Sri Lanka before the Arab conquest of Sindh in 711-12 C. E. It was used extensively by religious figures, including the mystics (sūfīs) whose letters and other writings in Arabic are extant. Books on Arabic grammar and literature were taught in India in the 13 C. E (Box-3).

Arabic was taught in the madrasās which were attended by educated people intended for religious teaching (tadrīs), issuing religious decrees (iftāh), leading prayers, the judiciary (qazīs) and the bureaucracy (munshīs). The curricula of Arabic grammar and literature was standardized in the Dars-i Nizāmī by Mullā Nizām Uddīn of Sihalī (a town near Lucknow) (d. 1748).

During the British period, as secular educational institutions developed, Arabic became more strongly identified with Islamic education and the religious identity than before.

In present-day Pakistan and India Arabic is strongly associated with the Islamic identity. Its script is learnt in order to read the Qur’ān but the language itself is not learnt by ordinary Muslims. It is a major subject of studies in the madrasās where canonical texts, explained through commentaries and marginal exegesis in Arabic, are still used. However, these texts, ranging from as far back as the 12^th century, are used to provide a symbolic continuity with the past. Arabic is actually taught in the madrasās through modern, accessible texts such as are used in secular institutions (Box-4). The Pakistani state also uses Arabic as a marker of Islamic identity. During Zia ul Haq’s military rule (1977-1988), it was emphasized in the educational system. It is still compulsory in the state-controlled government schools at the middle level. These attempts, intended to counteract ethnicity and emphasize the Islamic identity of Pakistan, led to the strengthening of the Islamic pressure groups in Pakistan.

2. The Modern Languages

2.1 Urdu

Though Urdu, or rather its earlier form called ‘Hindī’, ‘Hinduī’ or ‘Hindvī’, has been traced back to the 11^th century, it is a modern language in its present form. There were simple books on religious and romantic themes in circulation among the common people since the 18^th century. Poets taught the language informally to their apprentice pupils. However, it was formally taught first by the British at the Fort William College where its early prose works and grammar were written. The British also introduced it in some schools from 1826 and widely in the 1840s when they established schools in U.P.

By the 1870s Urdu became an identity symbol of the elitist (ashrāf) Muslims who opposed Hindi in the Devanagari script as its rival. A number of institutions, such as Delhi College (established 1792), made it suitable as a medium of instruction at the higher level by translating works of English in it. There are ‘Urdu Universities’ both in India and Pakistan which are supposed to teach all subjects through the medium of Urdu but still teach some in English. Urdu is not used in the elitist domains of power in Pakistan where, like India, English continues to hold sway as it did in British times.

Urdu is, however, the major language of ordinary state schools in Pakistan except in parts of Sindh. Moreover, it is the language of the media and urban life in Pakistan. In India, although it is visible at the upper level of academies and university departments, its script is not taught effectively except in Kashmir where it is the official language. Muslims regard it as an identity symbol and complain that the market conditions discourage their children from learning its script. However, its spoken form is so close to the spoken Hindi of Indian cities and the entertainment sector (songs, films, dramas etc), that it is acquired naturally.

2.2 English

It is the major language of power since British rule in both India and Pakistan. Although none of the major Islamic ‘ulemā opposed its learning, ordinary Muslims regarded it as a symbol of alien rule and a threat to their religious identity. Thus, they did not study English in large numbers though some did as early as 1814. Travelers, such as Dean Mahomet (1759-1851), wrote in English after settling down in Britain in the 18^th century. Muslim prejudice against English was overcome by the efforts of Abdul Latīf (1828-93) in Bengal and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-98) in North India including the areas now in Pakistan. These interventions, however, came after T. B. Macaulay’s ‘Minute’ of 1835 had officially established the ‘Anglicist’ policy of making English the language of higher and elitist education in India.

English is now regarded as the language of prestige and power and can only be acquired fluently in expensive private English-medium schools or cadet colleges (public schools on the lines of elitist English boarding house institutions). In Pakistan the latter type of institutions are influenced, generally through boards of governors, by the military and the bureaucracy. They are also subsidized by the state (see Box-5). There are also non-elitist, so-called ‘English-medium’, schools which charge lower fees than the elitist ones but still high enough to impose a painful burden on the upper working and lower middle class parents who send their children to learn English in them. In short, English serves as a marker of socio-economic class in Pakistan as well as India. While some of the more conservative Muslims, especially in the traditional madrasās, feel that this language undermines or dilutes the Islamic convictions and identity of Muslim children, most regard it as an empowering language and, hence, one which Muslims should acquire.

3. The Indigenous Languages

As the indigenous languages of most Muslims of India and Pakistan were neither the languages of power nor of wider communication, they were generally not taught formally. However, these languages were maintained for reasons of identity. Both Bengali and Sindhi developed into powerful identity symbols because of their ancient literary traditions and because they were used as the languages of the lower domains of power in the Bengal and Sindh respectively during British rule. The other languages of Pakistan—Punjābī, Pashtō, Balōchī, Brahvī etc—have also been used as markers of ethnic identity to mobilize a pressure group to force the Centre to distribute goods and services more equitably.

Except for Sindhi no indigenous language is used either in the domains of power, including the educational system, at all levels. Pashto is used as the medium of instruction up to class-5 in some parts of the country and in the madrasās. However, as students switch to Urdu in the schools after that level and the examinations of madrasā students are held in Urdu, they gain more proficiency in Urdu than Pashto. The major indigenous languages—Sindhī, Pashtō, Balōchi, Brahvī and Punjābī—are optional in some Pakistani non-elitist state schools and colleges. There are also masters degrees in all of them. Though language and ethnic activists demand more teaching and jobs in them, students opt for the utilitarian options of acquiring English and Urdu. However, some do study these languages as easy options just as they study the classical languages.

There are primers and textbooks in all the major indigenous languages. In addition to that there are also chapbooks on religious and romantic themes. Most Pakistani languages are still unwritten and even those which are written (Box-6) have little material suitable for teaching them. In the absence of a policy to teach the minor languages in Pakistan, there is no official support for developing such material.

In India, Kashmiri is the only major language besides Urdu, which is associated with Muslims though both are spoken by people of other religions too. The official language of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is Urdu which is taught through the schooling system. Kashmiri written in the Urdu script is also taught but either as an optional subject or at the higher level.

To conclude, Muslim language education has been governed by both instrumental and identity conscious reasons. The languages of power (Persian, English, Urdu) were learned because they were the languages of the domains of power while the languages of identity (Arabic for Muslim identity; Urdu for Pakistani nationalistic identity; indigenous languages for ethnic identities; and English for modern, educated, upper class identity) were learned, or merely acknowledged, for the maintenance, promotion or assertion of identity.

REFERENCES

These references are for further reading but they also cover most of the sources used in the preparation of this article.

Baumgardner, Robert S. (ed). 1993. The English Language in Pakistan Karachi: Oxford University Press.

Farouqui, Ather. 1994. ‘Urdu Education in India’, Economic and Political Weekly of India April 2: 782-785.

Fishman, Joshu A.; Rabal-Lopez, Alma and Conrad, Andrew W. (eds). 1996. Post-Imperial English Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Grimes, Barbara F. 2000. Ethnologue: Languages of the World Vol. 1 Dallas, Texas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Harlech-Jones, Brian; Sajid, Shamshad; Rahman, Shams Ur. 2003. ‘The Spread of English in Two Parts of the Northern Area of Pakistan, 1980-2002’, English World-Wide 24: 2: 163-200.

King, Christopher R. 1994. One Language, Two Scripts: The Hindi Movement in Nineteenth Century North India Bombay: Oxford University Press.

Makdisi, George. 1981. The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Mansoor, Sabiha. 1993. Punjabi, Urdu, English in Pakistan: A Sociolinguistic Study Lahore: Vanguard Press (Pvt) Ltd.

-------. 2002. ‘The Role of English in Higher Education in Pakistan’, Unpublished Ph. D Thesis, University of Reading U. K.

Mansoor, Sabiha; Meraj, Shaheen and Tahir, Aliya (eds). 2004. Language Policy Planning and Practice: A South Asian Perspective Karachi: Aga Khan University and Oxford University Press.

Rahman, Tariq. 1996. Language and Politics in Pakistan Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2003 reprint.

-----. 1999. Language, Education and Culture Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2003 reprint.

-----. 2001. ‘Language Learning and Power: A Theoretical Approach’, International Journal of the Sociology of Language 152: 53-74.

-----. 2002. Language, Ideology and Power: Language-Learning Among the Muslims of Pakistan and North India Karachi: Oxford University Press.

Rai, Amrit. 1984. A House Divided Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Safi, G. M. D. 1941. Al-Minhāj: The Evolution of Curriculum in the Muslim Educational Institutions of India Delhi: Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i-Dilli. 1977 Reprint.

Shackle, C. 1970. ‘Language, dialect and local identity in Northern Pakistan’. In Zingel, W. P and Lallemant, S. (eds), Pakistan in its Fourth Decade Hamburg: Deutsches Orient-Institut, pp. 101-110.

Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove. 2000. Linguistic Genocide in Education or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights London: Erlbaum.

Spolsky, Bernard. 1986. Language and Education in Multicultural Settings Rowley, M. A: Newbury House.

Tollefson, James and Tsui, Amy B. M. (eds). 2004. Medium of Instruction Policies: Which Agenda? Whose Agenda? Mahwah, N. J: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Tollefson, James W. (ed). 2002. Language Policies in Education Mahwah, N. J: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Box-1
Language	Percentage of Speakers	Number of Speakers
Punjabi	44.15	66,225,000
Pashto	15.42	23,130,000
Sindhi	14.10	21,150,000
Siraiki	10.53	15,795,000
Urdu	7.57	11,355,000
Balochi	3.57	5,355,000
Others	4.66	6,990,000
Source: Census 2001: Table 2.7. The population is assumed to be 150 million in 2003 as it was 132, 352,000 in 1998 and the growth rate is 2.69 per cent.

Box-2 Persian

Attār, Farīduddīn. c. 12-12C. Pand Nāmā. Multan: Maktabā Shirkat-i Ilmiā, 1959 [Urdu meanings in margins by Sajjād Hussain].

Bukharī, Sharfuddīn. c. 14C. Nām-i Haq. Karachi: H. M. Saīd Company.

Ghanīmat, Muhammad Akram. 1684. Masnawī Naurang-i Ishq.

Hāfiz, Shams Uddīn. c. 14C. Dīwān-i Hāfiz, numerous reprints.

Inayatullāh, Sheikh. 1650-51. Bahār-i Dānish. Lahore: Punjab Adabī Academy, 1962.

Jāmī, Abdur Rahmān. c. 15C. Yūsuf Zulaikhā, numerous reprints.

Nizāmī, Jamāl ud Dīn Abu Muhammad Ilyās. c. 12C. Khamsāh [containing Makhzan ul-Asrār (1188), Shīrīn-Khusrao 1180), Haft Paikar (1197) and Sikandar Nāmā (1197)].

Sa‘adī, Muslehuddīn. 1257. Gulistān, translated into English. R. P. Anderson. Calcutta: Thacker Spink & Co, 1861.

------. 1258. Bōstān. Multan: Maktabā Haqqāniā [Urdu meanings in margins by Sajjād Hussain].

-----. c. 13C. Karīmā. Multan: Bairūn Bōhar Gate [Urdu words in margins by Qāzī Sajjād Hussain].

Box-3

ARABIC TEXTS USED IN THE MADRASAS

The following books have been commonly used in South Asia madrasās. Those not in use nowadays are marked with an asterisk. Those in the original Dars-i Nizāmī as given by Sufi (1941:73-75) are in bold type.

Sarf (morphology)

Abwāb. c 19C. Abwāb al-Sarf by Hāfiz Muhammad bin Barak Allah Lakhwi (d 1893).

Bahāī. c 16C. Sarf-i Bahāī by Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Samad al-Harīsī, known as Sheikh Bahā’ al-Dīn (1546-1621).

Fusūl. c. 17C. Fusūl-i Akbarī by ‘Alī Akbar Allahābādī (d 1680).

Irshād (S) n.d. Irshād al-Sarf by ‘Abd al-Karīm.

Mirāh .n.d. Mirāh ul-Arwāh by Ahmad bin ‘Alī bin Mas ‘ūd.

Mīzān. n.d. Mīzān al-Sarf by an unknown author (Sheikh Sā ‘di; Hamzā Badāyūnī; Muhammad ibn Mustafā (d. 1505-06) are named in different sources).

Munsha‘ib. n.d. Munsha‘ib by Hamzā Badāyūnī (Sirājuddīn Awadhī is also named in some sources).

Muqaddamāt. n.d. Jama’al-Muqaddamāt [two works on sarf: Amsalāh and Sharh Amsalāh. Taught in Shi’ā madrasās].

Panj. c. 14C. Panj Ganj, probably by Sirāj al-Dīn Usmānī al-Awadhī (d. 1356).

Sarf (M). c. 14C. Sarf-i Mīr by ‘Alī ibn Muhammad Mīr Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (1339-1413).

Shāfiyah. c. 13C. al-Shāfiyah by Jamāl al-Dīn Abi ‘Amr ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Umar ibn al-Hājib (1174-1248).

Sīgha. 1859. ‘Ilm al-Sīgha by ‘Ināyat Ahmad Kākōrvī (1812-1863).

Nahw (syntax)

‘Aqīl. c. 14C. Sharh Ibn-i ‘Aqīl by Bahā’ al-Din ‘Abd Allāh bin Ahmad Ibn ‘Aqīl (1298-1367).

Hidāyat. c. 14C Hidāyat al- Nahw by Sirāj al-Dīn al-Awadhī or Hayyān al-Andalūsī.

*Irshād (N). c. 15C Al-Irshād fi’ l-nahw by Qāzī Shahāb al-Din al-Ghaznawī ad-Daulatābādī (d 1455).

Jāmī. c. 15C. Sharh kāfiyāh (Mullā Jāmī) by Abū Barkat Nur al-Din ‘Abd al-Rahmān Jāmī (1414-1492).

Kāfiyāh . c. 13C. Al Kāfiyāh fī ‘l-Nahw by Ibn- Hājib.

Mi’at. c. 11C. Mi’at ‘Āmil by ‘Abd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī (d. 1078).

Misbāh. c. 13C. al-Misbāh fi‘l-Nahw by Abul Fath Nāsir bin al-Sayyid Abī‘l-Mukarram ibn ‘Alī al-khawārizmi al-Mutarrizī (1143-1209 or 1213)

Nahw (M). c. 14C. Nahw-i Mīr by Sharīf al-Jurjānī.

Sharh. c. 14C. Sharh Mi’at Āmil by Sharīf al-Jurjāni or others?

Rhetoric/Poetics

*Miftāh. c. 12 C. Miftāh al-‘Ulūm by Sirāj al-Dīn Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf ibn ‘Alī ibn Muhammad al-Sakkākī (d. 1228).

Mukhtasar. 1355. Mukhtasar al-Ma‘anī by Sa’d al-Dīn Mas‘ūd Ibn ‘Umar al Sa‘d al- Taftāzānī (1322-1389).

Mutawwal. 1347. al-Taftāzānī.

Talkhīs c. 13C. Talkhīs al-Miftāh by Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Rahmān Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Qazwīnī (1268-1338).

Literature

*‘Ajab c. 19 C. ‘Ajab al-‘Ujāb fī mā Yufid al-Kuttāb by Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Shirwānī al-Yamanī (d. 1840).

Hamāsah. c. 9C. Dīwān-i Hamāsah compiled by Abū Tammām Habīb (786-845).

Maqāmāt. c. 12 C. Maqāmāt al-Harīrī by Abū Muhammad al-Qāsim al-Harīrī (1054-1121 or 1122).

Mutamabbī. c. 10C. Dīwān al-Mutanabbī by Abū at-Tayyab Ahmad Ibn Husayn al-Mutanabbī (915-965).

*Nafhat al-Yaman. c. 1820S. by Ahmad al-Yamanī.

Nafhat. c. 20 C. Nafhat ul-‘Arab by Muhammad ‘Aizāz ‘Alī (1883-1955).

Nahj al-Balāghah. c 10 C. by ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib [mostly taught in Shi’ā madrasās]

Qasīdāh. c. 7C. Qasīdāh al-Burdah by Ka‘b bin Zuhair (d. 645).

Sab‘a. c. 7C Sab‘a Mu‘allaqāt by several pre-Islamic Arab poets narrated by Abul Qāsim Hammād bin Sabūr bin al-Mubārak al-Rāwiyah (d. 772).

Box-4

Newer Textbooks of Arabic

Only the most commonly used textbooks are given below. Otherwise, most Arabic texts have translations and explanations in Urdu.

Textbooks of Arabic of all the Textbook Boards of Pakistan from class VI to XII.

Charthāwalī, Mushtāq Ahmad. n.d. ‘Ilm al Sarf. 3 vols. Rawalpindi: Raza Publications.

------. n.d. ‘Ilm al Nahw. Hazro: Maktabā-i Siddīqia.

------. n.d. ‘Arabī Zubān Kā Āsān Qā‘idā [Primer]. Hazro: Maktabā-i Siddīqiā.

------. 1962. Rōzatul Adab. Multan: Maktabā Imdādia.

Misrī, Muhammad Amīn ul. n.d. Al-Tarīqat ul-Jadīdiah fī Tālīm ul Arabia. 2 vols. Al Jamiat ul Islāmiā bil Madīnā Munawwarā.

Nadwī, ‘Abdul Majid. 1951-52. Mu‘allim ul Inshā, vol. 1. Karachi: Majlis Nasharāt-i Islām.

-----.1954-55. Mu‘allim ul Inshā, vol. 2. As above.

-----. 1955. Mu‘allim ul Inshā, vol. 3. As above.

Nadwī, Abul Hasan ‘Ali. n.d. Al-Qirat ul Rāshidā, 3 vols.

-----. n.d. Mukhtārāt Min Adab ul ‘Arab, 2 vols.

-----. n.d. Qasas al Nabi’īn.

Razzāk, ‘Abdul. 1980. Al-Tarīqat ul-Asriāh fī Talīm al- Lughat al ‘Arabia. Rawalpindi: Urdū Bazār (copy used in Pakistani madrasās is dated 1980).

Box 5
DIFFERENCES IN COSTS IN MAJOR TYPES OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (in Pakistani rupees)
Institution	Average cost per student per year	Payer (s)	Cost to the state
Madrassas	5,714 (includes board and lodging)	Philanthropists + religious organizations	Rs. 1.55 in 2001-02 an additional sum of Rs. 28.60 for subsidies on computers, books etc in some madrassas in 2003-04.
Urdu-medium Schools	2264.5 (only tuition)	State	2264.5
Elitist English medium schools	96,000---for ‘Ā’ level & 36,000 for other levels (only tuition)	Parents	None reported except subsidized land in some cantonments.
Cadet colleges/public schools	90,061 (tuition and all facilities).	Parents + state (average of 6 cadet colleges + 1 public school	14,171 (average of 5 cadet colleges only)
Public universities	68,000	Parents + state (parents pay an average of Rs. 13,000 per year)	55,000
Public Colleges (provincial)	9,572	State + parents (parents pay Rs. 1,591 per year on the average).	7,981
Public Colleges (federal)	21,281	Parents pay Rs 2,525 for B.A on the average.	18,756
Source: Data obtained from several institutions.

STATE OF LANGUAGES OF PAKISTAN

This chart provides information on the availability of written material in a language, especially that which is suitable for teaching small children or illiterate adults. Blank columns mean that no material is available. The information has been obtained from various field researchers and is reasonably sure till February 2004.

Box-6
Language	Material available
Aer
Bagri
Balochi	Alphabet book, primers, folktales, health books, phrase book Balochi-Urdu-English dictionary, printed books on Islamic observances, poetry, modern literature, textbooks etc.
Balti	Ancient records (Devanagari based script); Grammar, parables (Roman); verse, folksongs etc (Nastaliq script)
Bateri
Bhat
Bhaya
Bhil Sindhi	Material in Sindhi may be used.
Brahvi	Alphabet book, primers, folktales, health books, phrase book; Brahvi-Urdu-English dictionary, printed books on Islamic observances, poetry, modern literature, textbooks etc.
Burushaski	Transition primer (Urdu to Burushaski), folktales, bilingual vocabulary: Burushaski-English
Chilisso
Dameli
Dehwari
Dhatki	Alphabet book, primer, transition primer, folktales, stories for children.
Domaaki
Gawarbati
Ghera
Goaria
Gowro
Gujari	Poetry books, short stories, songs etc.
Gujrati	Primers, grammars, textbooks, books etc. (in India also in computers).
Gurgula
Hazargi	Alphabet book, folktales, health books, proverbs, stories for children. Material in standard Persian may also be used.
Hindko	Primers, literature, prose, dictionaries, magazines etc.
Jandavra
Jatki	Primers, word lists, grammars. Naskh/Nastaliq
Jogi
Kabutra
Kachchi	Primers of Sindhi may be used
Kachchi (Bhil)
Kachchi (Katiawari)
Kalami	Alphabet book, transition primer, poetry books, collection of texts from Gawri writers’ workshop, proverbs, phrase dictionary Gawri-Urdu-English
Kalasha	Alphabet book, pre-reader, dictionary.
Kalkoti
Kamviri
Kashmiri	Primers, folktales, poetry, textbooks, other books etc. (most of this literature is in India).
Kativiri
Khetrani
Khojki (script not a language)	Ancient records, Ginans, old documents, primers, school textbooks, others books.
Khowar	Primers, grammar, dictionary, folktales, poetry, religious books, other popular books.
Kohistani (Indus)
Koli (Tharadari)
Koli (Kachi)	Alphabet books, folktales, health books, stories for children, primer.
Koli (Parkari)	Alphabet book, primer, folktales, health books, bilingual vocabulary: Parkari-English, stories for children.
Koli (Wadiyara)
Kundal Shahi
Lasi
Loarki
Marwari
Memoni	Primers of Sindhi may be used
Od
Ormuri	Primer, grammar, word list [Roman] verse, prose, grammar, word list Ormuri (Pashto script)
Pashto	All kinds of textbooks and books; usable in computer. (also used in Afghanistan in some domains of power).
Persian	All kinds of books (usable in computer).
Phalura
Punjabi	Books on literature; history; textbooks etc in Nastaliq script. (All kinds of books in the Gurmukhi script in India).
Sansi
Shina	Poetry, grammar, word lists, folktales, songs, religious books etc.
Sindhi	All types of books and in the computers.
Sindhi Bhil
Siraiki	Ancient poetry, modern literature, magazines etc.
Torwali	Lexicographic work using Nastaliq is in progress.
Urdu	All types of books and computers.
Vaghri
Wakhi	Primer, word list, folksongs, proverbs, word lists.
Wanetsi	Primer, songs, folktales, word lists Nastaliq (Pashto variant)
Yidgha

Biographical Note

Tariq Rahman Ph.D is National Distinguished Professor of Linguistics and South Asian Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He has lectured in several countries as a visiting lecturer. He has also been Visiting Professor at the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and the University of Castellon (Spain). He has published nearly ninety research papers in academic journals as well as book reviews and books. His books Language and Politics in Pakistan (Oxford UP, 1996) and Language, Ideology and Power: Language -learning Among the Muslims of Pakistan and India (OUP, 2002) are considered authoritative works on the history of language policies and practices among the Muslims of South Asia, especially those of Pakistan.