Abstract

The Role of English in Pakistan with Special Reference to Tolerance and Militancy

Tariq Rahman Ph.D

National Distinguished Professor

Quaid-i-Azam University

Islamabad

Pakistan

English was introduced in the areas now comprising Pakistan by the British colonial power in the nineteenth century. As it was the language of the domains of power – government, bureaucracy, judiciary, military, education, commerce, media etc – at the elitist level, it became a preserve of the elite and a means of empowerment. It also became a status marker and a social asset, thus functioning as a class differentiator.

This role of English has become more pronounced in the recent years because the elites of Pakistan—especially the armed forces and the bureaucracy – have appropriated English for themselves contrary to the state’s declared policy of curtailing its role and replacing it with Urdu, the national language, as the official language.

This chapter looks at the use of English in different institutions – schools, institutions of higher education, the state sector, the private sector and the entertainment sector with a view to understanding how English empowers and privileges an elite and what worldview, or ideological orientation, it encourages. This last is important if we are to understand how English, an elitist preserve, seems to favour liberal values but may cause anger, frustration and violence in society if it is not ‘democratized’ i.e. disseminated to the under-privileged masses with a view to breaking the hegemony of the English-using elite on power in the state and the private sector. The possible negative, unintended consequences of such policies—the rise of lower-middle class male dominating values and further Islamic radicalization—is also discussed.

The Role of English in Pakistan: With Special Reference to Tolerance and Militancy

Tariq Rahman Ph. D

Introduction

A traveller from an English-speaking country finds it easy to travel in Pakistan. The PIA (Pakistan International Airline). If that is the traveler’s carrier to Pakistan, makes announcements in English in addition to Urdu, the national language. The air hostesses speak in English to the passengers. The immigration officials speak the requisite few phrases in English and even the taxi drivers and porters know enough English to serve the traveller. Out in the street, on the way to a hotel, the shops have signs in English as well as Urdu. Sometimes, confusingly enough, there are Urdu words written in the Roman script and vise versa. The hotel, if it is in an upscale locality, functions in English. In short, the penetration of English in Pakistani society, at least in the urban areas, is visible everywhere in the country.

This chapter examines the use of English in Pakistan in different institutions, including schools, institutions of higher education, the state sector, the private sector and the entertainment sector, with a view to understanding how English empowers and privileges the elite. Specifically, this chapter explores the use of English in public and private domains the relationship between English and the distribution of power (socio economic class), and the globalization of English and its possible impact upon Pakistan and the world. Thus English is the key to understanding the complex interaction between class, world view, medium of education, and globalization in Pakistan and, by extension, the rest of the world.

THE LINGUISTIC BACKGROUND OF PAKISTAN

Created out of British India in 1947, has a 97% Muslim Population speaking 69 languages (Grimes 2000) out of which six are spoken by 96% of the people. The total population of the country is approximately 132 million, according to the latest census (Census, 1998).

Table-1
Languages	Percentages of Speakers
Punjabi	44.15
Sindhi	14.10
Pashto	15.42
Siraiki	10.53
Urdu	7.57
Balochi	3.57
Others	4.66
Sources: Census 1998: 107. Siraiki and Punjabi are mutually intelligible but the census classifies them as different languages since the 1970s

Urdu, an urban language of wider communication whose mother-tongue speakers (Mohajirs) immigrated from India, is the national language of the country while English is the official language. English is the language of the elite of Pakistan both formally in official interaction, employment, education etc—and informally (private conversation, entertainment, reading, travel etc). It is perhaps even more firmly entrenched today in Pakistan than it was during the British period. However, English has very few native speakers in Pakistan though it is spoken as an additional language by the Westernized, urban elite.

The variety of English spoken and written by Pakistanis has been called ‘Pakistani English’ in sociolinguistic literature (Baumgardner 1987; Rahman 1990). This is a non-native variety of English with its own rules. As it is created by the ‘interference’ of Pakistani languages, it is internally differentiated—with reference to the first language of the speaker (‘Punjabi English’, ‘Pashtun English’ etc). It is also differentiated according to closeness to native (in this case ‘British’) norms of usage with the acrolectal sub-variety being the closest and the basilectal one being the furthest removed from British Standard English. The mesolectal variety, which most ordinary Pakistanis use, is in between. Pakistani English differs from British and American English most in pronunciation and accent but there are differences in grammar and vocabulary (for details see Rahman 1990). Pakistani English is used in the media, in literature and in advertising (Baumgardner 1993).

The number of Pakistanis who commonly spoke English (probably acrolectal sub-variety of Pakistani English, though this is not indicated anywhere) was less than 2 per cent of the population nor did those who claimed to read and write it exceed about 2.67 per cent of the population up to 1961 when the census recorded such information (Census 1951: Tables 7 & 8a and 1961 Tables Statements 5.1 & 5.5) . After that one can only make guesses. According to David Crystal the estimate of English users comes to about 11 per cent of the population (Crystal 1997: 57-59). The source of Crystal’s figures is not given. If all those who have passed the matriculation examination, in which English is a compulsory subject, are assumed to be literate in English (i.e. if they write it and read it with understanding), then the figure would be 17.29 per cent of the total population (132,352,000) according to the latest census report (Census 1998). However, as most matriculates from vernacular-medium government schools cannot use English in real life situations, the real number of those who can use it must be less. The members of the Westernized elite, who use the acrolectal variety of Pakistani English should be between 2 to 4 per cent of the population. This is the author’s personal guess based upon, among other things, the proportion of those who opt for British school examinations versus those who do not (see Annexure-1).

English and the Power Structure in Pakistan

The role of English in Pakistan has been studied by Anjum Riaz ul Haque (1983), Shemeem Abbas (1993), Sabiha Mansoor (1993; 1995), and Tariq Rahman 1996; 2002). The first two writers merely touch upon the role of English in the country in survey articles. Mansoor, however, has conducted two major surveys on the attitudes of students towards languages. The first survey, conducted in Lahore in 1992, suggests that students have a linguistic hierarchy in mind with English at the top followed by Urdu, with their mother tongue (in this case Punjabi) at the bottom. She also found out that English is associated with modernity and efficiency while Punjabi is associated with informality and intimacy (Mansoor, 1993). Mansoor (2005) provides a detailed analysis of the role of English in higher education. The study confirms positive attitudes towards English among Pakistani students, their teachers and parents, and university administrators.

English is the preferred language of the ‘salariat’—defined by Alavi as those who ‘share a common struggle for access to a share of limited opportunities for state employment’ (1987: 226)—of Pakistan. In recent years, English has become the language of globalization and therefore, dominates the world. Thus Pakistanis seeking access to the international market also need English. Indeed, while state jobs in Pakistan have become accessible for people who have average proficiency in English, the most well-paying NGOs, the private educational institutions, the corporate sector and the most fashionable society all need very high proficiency in English. Thus, fifty eight years after independence from British rule, Pakistanis find themselves more in need of English than ever before. It was, and remains, the modernizing Pakistanis’ major hope for empowerment as long as the present policies, which favour English, remain intact.

State Policies Favouring English

From the earliest days of Pakistan the state seems to have followed discrepant policies about English. The overt policy, which was enshrined in the 1973 constitution, was as follows:

(1) The National language of Pakistan is Urdu, and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencing day.

(2) Subject to clause (1) The English language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu (Article 251 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973).

The covert policy, or rather the practice, was to allow English to continue as an official language regardless of what the constitution might have declared. Moreover, it was allowed to function as the medium of instruction in elitist schools. Indeed, the civil bureaucracy and the armed forces, both institutions of the state, invested heavily in creating an English-medium system of instruction for the elite contrary to the declared policies of the state of Pakistan.

English in the Educational System

English is taught as a subject in the vernacular-medium schools either from class-1 or class-6 throughout Pakistan. It is also compulsory it the Higher Secondary level (classes 11 and 12) and the two-year bachelor’s level (13 and 14 years of education). However, the level of competence attained is low and students are unable to understand and write, let alone speak, English. English is taught through the grammar-translation method. Students memorize a large number of rules without acquiring any real understanding of the language. They also translate passages from English to Urdu and vise versa. As the books are not changed for many years, people write guide books to help the students. Thus, the students cram lessons, such as essays, from the guide books and get passing grades without acquiring any real competence in English. Passing percentages in Urdu, and overall passing percentages, are better than in English.

Those who do acquire varying degrees of competence go to English-medium schools. As mentioned earlier, there are (1) private elitist English-medium school (2) cadet college/public schools (3) Non-elitist English-medium schools.

Private Elitist English-medium Schools

Elite English-medium school are set up by private entrepreneurs in all the major cities of Pakistan. Some are single institutions while others are chains out of which the most notable are the Beacon House system, the City School System and Froebels. They charge tuition fees ranging from Rs. 1500 to Rs. 8000 per month besides admission and other fees. They generally prepare their students for the British Ordinary and Advanced School level examinations. They are not paid by the state but the armed forces, which own land in the most fashionable parts of the city, give them land at bargain prices on the condition that their own children pay reduced fees. In short, the elite uses public property for private advantage, an arrangement which probably violates the law but which goes unchecked.

The students of these schools generally come from the upper-middle classes (26.66%) and the upper classes (53.33%) (Rahman 2004: 157-158). There are far fewer students enrolled in these schools than in the vernacular schools. They learn English primarily from their families, peer group and exposure to the English through T. V, computer, songs, media and reading material in English. Their schools have books written by native speakers of English with attractive pictures and creative exercises. Their school also expose them to real-life situations and extra curricular activities which test and hone their skills in English. Thus, generally speaking, the products of these schools use English spontaneously and naturally. This, however, is a product of class—as is their expensive schooling itself for that matter—than either good teaching or books or any single other factor.

In a survey of the opinions of 116 students of these schools in 2002-03 replies to questions about conflict with India suggest that the students of the elitist English medium schools do not support militant policies. They are aware of the disastrous consequences of a war with India and also oppose low-intensity war in Kashmir. The same survey also investigated the level of tolerance for women and religious minorities (Ahmedis, Hindus and Christians). Except in the case of Ahmedis where the large percentage of ‘don’t know’ suggests that students are confused, students agree that religious minorities should be given the same rights as Muslims in Pakistan. They also support equal rights for women (The results are given in Rahman 2004: 175).

Despite this apparently liberal worldview, students at English-medium school students are social snobs. They look down upon their follow citizens from vernacular-medium schools and madrassas. They are also alienated from Pakistan’s culture, languages, literature, dress and even cuisine. They listen to English music and like foreign food to their homegrown products. This elite was Anglicized till the sixties. They went to convent schools where they were taught by European missionaries. They aspired to British university degrees or a commission from Sandhurst; preferred the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) or a commission in the army to any other employment. Their evenings were spent in clubs and gymkhanas where bearers dressed as if they still lived in the world of the British ‘burra sahibs’ and chatted in English over ‘chota pags’ of whisky. The caricatures of this elite are found in Nasir Ahmed Farooqi’s novels: Faces of Love and Death (n.d) and Snakes and Ladders (1968) (Rahman, 1991). By comparison, this elite today is Americanized and much richer than before. The children mostly go abroad preferably to the United States for education. They seek employment in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or the corporate sector and attend ostentatious parties where drugs are in fashion as much as alcohol. This lifestyle is described by Mohsin Hamid in his novel Moth Smoke (2000). What is common to both the Anglicized and the Americanized English-speaking elite is that both are callously indifferent to the peoples’ aspirations, values and feelings. Thus, as long as they are not part of the decision-making apparatus they express ideas which appear liberal because they belong to an abstract, idealized, Western world.

Of course, as soon as they become part of the real world they operate differently. After all, the present-day Pakistan elite, which studied in English-medium institutions, took decisions which created the apartheid in the educational system we see today. They are also the architects, or at least the supporters, of militant policies and have increased the gap between the haves and the have-not. Hence the apparent liberal worldview of the English-medium elite does not automatically translate into support for peace with India, religious tolerance, or support for women’s rights; instead, security, class interest and other factors affect their decision making as adults.

Cadet College/Public School Students

The cadet colleges/public schools are influenced by the armed forces. Their boards of governors, at times administrators, have armed forces officers. Because children of armed forces families have various concessions for elite schools, the student body at cadet colleges and public schools comes from a lower socio economic background than that of the private English-medium schools (Rahman 2004: 158). In The answers to the questionnaire given in survey 2003, the cadet college students were less militant and more tolerant of religious minorities and women than madrassa students (Ibid p. 175), but they are less liberal in their attitudes than their counterparts at elitist private English-medium schools.

The views of non elitist English-medium school students were not ascertained in 2003-2004 because they had revealed views very similar to their Urdu-medium counterparts in an earlier survey in 1999-2000 (Rahman 2002: Appendix 14.7, pp. 592-596).

The cadet college/public schools are said to run on money generated by fees. However, they are given land at nominal cost or on lease by the state. Moreover, the provincial government, while spending inadequate funds on their own schools running in the vernaculars, are more generous to the elitist cadet colleges running in English as we shall see in the next section.

The State’s Covert Support to English in the Education Sector

Indeed, what never comes out in the educational reports is that the state actually spends public funds on elitist schooling. Agencies of the state, primarily the military and the bureaucracy, created the cadet college, or public schools, in order to groom young men for military and administrative positions since Ayub Khan military rule (1958-1969). Indeed, Ayub established such elitist institutions when he was the Commander-in-Chief of the army (Khan 1967: 43) without realizing that the state itself cannot place some of its citizens in an advantageous position compared to the others nor, indeed, can it finance institutions which violate its own educational policy (of not using English as the medium of instruction). It was precisely this point which the report on student’s problems and welfare, reporting in 1966 on the causes of widespread student unrest of the 1960s, had to acknowledge as follows:

… we cannot help observing that we are unable to appreciate the principle upon which such a discrimination is sought to be made by the government, particularly in view of the constitutional assurance given in paragraph 15 under Right No. VI to the effect that “all citizens are equal before law” (GOP 1966: 18).

However, having pointed out this legal nicety, the commission—nor anyone else for that matter—did not do anything about the elitist cadet colleges and they flourished and multiplied.

The position now is that the armed forces are the leading entrepreneurs of elitist, English-medium education in the country. Other agencies of the state follow. There are elitist English-medium schools administered by the armed forces, welfare organizations of the armed forces, organizations paid by public funds as well as the cadet colleges which are heavily influenced by the armed forces since their boards of governors have senior military officers in dominating positions.

The army runs brigade schools, garrison schools and, through the Fauji Foundation, nearly ninety secondary and four higher secondary schools. It also influences a number of cadet colleges/public schools. The Pakistan Air Force has established over 25 schools and colleges with an enrollment of over 43,000 students and 2000 teachers (Air University Manual 2003). The Pakistan Navy, through the Bahria Foundation, has also set up English-medium schools. Beneficiaries, generally depends of army personnel, pay lower fees than civilians. The schools of the armed forces, though English-medium, do not cater to the upper-middle and upper-class which are Westernized and highly exposed to English. Thus neither students nor teachers use English as the medium of private conversation as do their counterparts from the elitist private English-medium schools. However, the students of these institutions gain much more competence in English than their counterparts in the vernacular-medium institutions.

Moreover, all the federal government schools and colleges in the cantonments and garrisons, though financed by the federal government, are actually administered by a serving brigadier of the army. The cadet college/public schools are said to run on money generated by fees. However, they are given land at nominal cost or on lease by the state. Moreover, the provincial government, while spending inadequate funds on their own schools running in the vernaculars, are more generous to the elitist cadet colleges. In the year 2002, the cost per student borne by the state was Rs. 14,171 for the cadet colleges while it was only 2,264 for the government Urdu medium schools while the claim made by the Ministry of Education is that cadet colleges are administered entirely on tuition fees paid by the students. In fact, a number of grants, gifts and other privileges are available to these institutions (for a comparison of costs of different educational institutions (Rahman 2004: 147-148).

Although the armed forces are the most dominant among the institutions of the state to promote English-medium schooling for their dependents at low cost, the federal government too promotes English for its employees and the residents of the federally administered areas. The Federal Directorate of Education, established in 1967, administers 396 educational institutions. Their cost per student per year in 2002-03 was Rs. 4,818 which was almost double to that incurred in the Urdu-medium schools (Source: Federal Directorate of Education, 2003).

Education reports pretend that the English-medium institutions are financed by private means and, hence, government does not deal with them. As we have seen, this is not true. English is the language of elitist schooling in Pakistan and Pakistan’s elite, especially the military and the civil bureaucracy, does promote it both through public means and private ones in an organized manner: That this is contrary to the state’s declared policy or that it discriminates between citizens is something which is completely ignored in Pakistan.

The Press

We have seen earlier that the actual size of the elite which is really fluent in English is very small. Thus the circulation figures of newspapers given below tell us about the strength of the powerful, English-using elite in Pakistan. The figures are given in annexures 3 and 4.

So weak are the indigenous languages of Pakistan that none of them, including Sindhi (circulation 707,303), can beat English. In 2003 out of a total number of 945 publications, 628 are in Urdu and 204 in English. Sindhi, which is the highest in the indigenous language of the country, has 53 publications.

The major dailies in English are Dawn (Karachi); The News (Rawalpindi), The Nation (Lahore); The Frontier Post (Peshawar) and The Daily Times (Lahore). They also have their internet editions. The Dawn has the distinction of being among the top 50 newspapers in the world as far as circulation of the internet edition is concerned (www.dawn.com).

The monthlies Herald and Newsline (both from Karachi) and the weekly Friday Times (Lahore) are read avidly by these who want a candid and detailed coverage of important news and frank, often very daring, analysis of their implications.

The English press is often more balanced and liberal in its analysis than are the major publications in Urdu. The Nawa-i-Waqt has always been an upholder of rights wing views favouring the complete Islamization of the country; the suppression of ethnic diversity in order to promote uniform, monolithic Pakistani nationalism; making Kashmir a part of Pakistan and, therefore, support to militant policies and glorification of war and the armed forces. These policies stay intact and governments are supported in proportion to their adherence to them. Military governments are greeted with enthusiasm by this articulate section of the Urdu press but their liberal tendencies—an in Ayub Khan’s (1958-1969) and Pervez Musharraf’s case (1999-)—are criticized as being anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan. All liberal views are also castigated in the same scathing terms.

Besides giving informed analysis, the English press often features female models and features on fashionable parties and elitist social life. Their young reader’s editions cater for the tastes of the Westernized youth and are written in an in-group idiom which is completely alienated from, and almost incomprehensible to, young people outside this small elite. In short, while the English press is more informed and liberal in its views than the vernacular press in Pakistan, it is essentially more alienated from the ordinary people whose worldview, values and emotions it often ignores.

The Computer

Computers, usually in the form of net cafes, are easily available to all except the rural working classes in Pakistan. Because of this greatly increased use of them, it is often conjectured that this generation of Pakistani children knows better English than the pre-computer one. This is not entirely true as upper-middle and upper-class children, who were educated in elitist English medium schools earlier, read much written material in English and also wrote letters in the language. They now spend more time on the computer and the T. V. This does not improve their English though it does give them other skills. Indeed, as they use contracted spellings in chatting and sending e-mail, they are under less pressure to standardize their spellings than was the pre-computer generation before them.

However, one remarkable effect of the computer revolution is that the Pakistani elitist youth with good skills in English has the opportunity to express itself much more openly than over before. Earlier generations either suppressed doubts about religion, sexual preferences and political dissent or discussed them in whispers with very reliable friends. Now, while on the one hand Pakistani society becomes more and more oppressive and intolerant, on the other, young people express themselves candidly in the internet. Among other things they create web logs (or blogs as they call them). (Rahma 2003). The ‘blogs’ are very often politically incorrect, sometimes blasphemous and most often about sexuality (mostly tabooed areas such as same-sex love) (see www.aool.blogspot.com) Pakistanis also write informed, often dissenting, articles on the internet (see www.chowk.com) and exhibit much talent and acumen in their writings.

These who do not pick up good English from their families, friends and school do not create ‘blogs’ or write articles. They generally do not have computers in their houses in any case. Such young people come to the internet cafes which are widely available in all large, and even small, towns. Informal conversations and observation of such young people—most are boys—revealed that they just know enough English to get to the sites they want. In general these are pornographic sites. In a sex starved and fun starved society where dating members of the opposite sex is not permissible, pornography is the major source of pleasure for the urban upper-working and lower-middle-class young people. They also like to chat to each other for which a smattering of English is needed. However, they do not go beyond a few hackneyed phrases, sometimes mixed with Urdu in the Roman alphabet.

This exposure to English through the internet may have increased the desire to learn English or confirmed people in their view that English is the most useful bit of cultural capital they can possess, but it can hardly be said to have improved the English of the non-elitist school students or the ordinary people. However, as the exposure to the English script and words, especially words used in computers, has increased it is possible that English has entered the lives of people below the middle class in a way which was unthinkable before computers entered Pakistan.

Entertainment

State-owned television and radio channels mostly use Urdu but English is used for the news (total one hour in the day) and discussions meant for foreign audiences (another two hours in a week). Even the PTV World uses English for these two purposes. The English programmes are for information or projection not for entertainment. Private T. V channels, such as Indus Music, has entertainment programmes in English. Some Video Jockeys (VJ’s) conduct entire programmes in English.

The very small elite which uses English almost like a first language also uses it for entertainment. Thus there are publications, movies, songs and theatre shows in English. The publications include foreign imports such as popular fiction, the classics of Western literature and popular American comics such as ‘Archie comics’. Films in English are popular even among people who do not understand English very well because they cater to tastes to which other kind of movies do not. Surprisingly the Censor Board examined more English films in 2003 than those in any Pakistani languages. Most of these films are not even dubbed in a Pakistani language (see Annexure-5). This shows what a strong presence English has in the entertainment world in Pakistan. Young people listen to foreign music channels through cable T. V and DVD discs of Western singers are commonly available. Some Pakistani singers too have attempted to release songs in English. For instance, the Entity Paradigm, Junoon, Codroy and Dusk groups have released such songs (see www.pakistanimusic.com). Moreover, popular Pakistani music has been profoundly affected by the tune, style, rhythm and melody of English music so that the older melody is no longer fashionable. In some cases old popular songs have been re-recorded with snatches of English words, or music with a distinctively Western beat. Some so-called ‘underground’ music is also under the influence of English while code-switching (Urdu and English) is common in others. Indeed, the effect of English music on the musical tradition of Pakistan is so profound that the country is in danger of losing its roots as far as music is concerned.

The theatre is mostly in Urdu and popular folk entertainment is in the local languages. However, plays in English are staged by students of colleges and schools and the cadets of military academics. Recently (23-28 April 2004) the old Grammarian Society staged a play called. ‘The Amorous Ambassador’ which the elite of Karachi enjoyed very much (Menzes 2004: 30). Sometimes professional groups also stage a show. One such show, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, directed by Shah Sharabil in Islamabad in March 2004, was a great success. In short, the English-using elite is large enough to sustain an entertainment industry specifically catering for it.

The Official Domains

English remains the language of the bureaucracy, the officer corps of the armed forces, the superior judiciary, corporations (Pakistan International Airlines etc) and the parliament. However, the parliament allows Urdu to be used and it is used very commonly. The records of the parliament are printed in English but if speeches are in Urdu they are printed in that language (Jabbar 2004). The superior courts still use English though the council of Islamic Ideology, set upon in 1962, recommended that the change should be in the national language or a language the accused understands (CII 1983: Section 221, pp 6-7) and the record of the court too should be in Urdu rather than English (Ibid, Section 265, p. 12). Despite these recommendations, the superior judiciary operates in English. Similarly, despite the presence of Urdu bureaucratic terms, the higher bureaucracy also operates in English though most new entrants in the bureaucracy are now from vernacular-medium schools and find it more congenial to operate in Urdu in their personal lives.

Literature

English was used for literary purposes ever since sake Dean Mahomet [Shaikh Deen Muhammad] (1759-1851) wrote his books entitled Travels (1794) and Shampooing (1822). According to Michael Fisher who had written an excellent biography of this fascinating man, ‘Dean Mahomet mastered the classically polished literary forces of the day, complete with poetic interjections and allusions’ (Fisher 1996: 208).

Before the partition a number of Indian Muslims such as Ahmed Ali and Mumtaz Shahnawaz had written novels on themes relating to the Muslim identity and polities in an era of rapid political change. The riots of the partition were reflected in literature in all languages including English. Bapsi Sidhwa, the famous novelist from Pakistan, wrote her Ice Candy Man (1988) on this painful but perennial theme. The other themes were the conflict between tradition and modernity which is expressed both in the choice of the appropriate idiom (Pakistani English versus British standard English?) and theme (indigenous values versus Westernized values?). As for the individual writers or the major works in each genre—poetry, novel, short story, prose and drama—the present author’s A History of Pakistani Literature in English (1991) is useful up to 1988. After that there is no chronological historical account but Muneeza Shamsie’s anthology A Dragonfly in the Sun (1997) gives a sample of representative poetry and short stories, with a few extracts from novels, up to 1996. Later, Muneeza Shamsie brought out another anthology, Leaving Home (2001) which brings together prose and short stories upto 2000 in one place. A number of outstanding works by Pakistani authors—Kamila Shamsie, Mohsin Hamid, Uzma Aslam Khan, sara Suleri, Nadeem Aslam, Sorayya Khan (Shamsie, K 2004)—have since been published. Alamgir Hashmi, himself a poet in English, dutifully collects references to these writings in yearly bibliographical entries which are generally published in journals of post-colonial literature. Pakistani universities generally ignore Pakistani literature in English though it is an option in some research (M. Phil) courses. On the whole the English literary tradition is less strong and vibrant in Pakistan than it is in India, Africa and the Caribbean.

English and Globalization

English is the language of globalization. The international corporate sector, bureaucracy (such as the UNO, World Bank etc), foreign funded NGOs, the services sector and the internet work predominantly in English in Pakistan as we have seen. This is of enormous advantage for the Pakistani elite which is very proficient in English. As such the lucrative private sector employment is almost entirely dominated by the English using elite while the vernacular educated proto-elite is increasingly joining public funded institutions (bureaucracy, education, judiciary, military). These trends have increased the pressure on Pakistan’s languages, including Urdu, which are seen as being ghettoizing. As such, instead of efforts to save the weaker languages, Pakistanis (citizens and state officials both) are indifferent to their death.

Under such circumstances, what alternate policies are available? Mansoor (2005) recommends that English should continue to be used as an “alternate medium of instruction for government schools” until class 12 (Mansoor 2002, p. 316). Moreover, English should also be the medium of instruction in higher education. These recommendations, if implemented, will not change the distribution of power, because only a few urban government schools would be able to use English as a medium of instruction as, indeed, the model schools of Islamabad are already doing. All other schools would be forced to continue using Urdu, because they have neither the teachers nor the texts to use English effectively. In short, the present linguistic apartheid will continue (see Rahman, 1999).

Seeing this indifference to the local languages and conscious that the present patronage of English and its valorization has weakened the masses and keeps the hegemony of the elite intact the present author suggested that English medium elitist schools be phased out, Urdu and other Pakistani languages should be used in the domains of power at all levels while, at the same time, the teaching of English as a subject through modern means of instruction (film, cassette, DVD, drama, radio, interaction) should be spread out to all children (Rahman 2004: 152-153).

The advantages of such policies may be as follows:

Power will be redistributed more justly among the lower middle and middle classes instead of circulating, at least as far as the corporate and the fashionable private sector is concerned, among the Westernized elite.

There may be more cultural authenticity and multiculturalism which the globalized culture, mainly influenced by American trends and modes of thinking, is presently threatening (even the Pakistani norms of linguistic politeness are being undermined by the English using elite from a position of power. See Rahman 1999: 183-223.

As English is spread out more widely and through contemporary, interactive methods, religious and vernacular-medium students will be exposed to liberal, democratic values of egalitarianism, women’s rights and human rights. These, as we have seen, are kept in ideological ghettoes provided by the madrassas and the vernacular-medium schools.

This is the optimistic scenario which the present author wishes and hopes for. However, there is a pessimistic scenario also which should be mentioned for a fair appraisal of these policies. This is a follows:

If the vernacular proto elite is empowered it may bring its traditional, male dominating values to the fore and curtail women’s rights even further. Moreover, since most discourses in Urdu which this proto elite has been exposed to, are nationalistic and Islam has been used by the Pakistani state to seek legitimacy, is likely to support religious intolerance, sectarian infighting (among the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam) and militancy towards India. It may even support Islamic globalized Islamic militancy being inspired by Huntingtonian (and Osma Ben Laden’s) view of the antagonism between the West and Islam.

The Westernized elite, being denied of jobs in Pakistan, will abandon the country. The proto elite which will learn English only as a school subject will not be so proficient as to replace it. This will mean that Pakistan will lose whatever edge it has at the moment over countries which do not inherit English as a legacy of history. This will be a great loss for the country.

The already Islamized young students who will learn to use the internet if English is spread out to them may not be influenced be the liberal values they come across. Instead they may join the ‘virtual ummah’ available on the internet and become part of globalized Islam.

This last point needs elaboration. The concept of globalization with reference to Islam has been explained by Olivier Roy in his book Globalized Islam (Roy (2004). Roy points out that in this age of worker mobility and rapid communication, Muslims live in Western countries. They are deterritorialized and hence create a globalized version of their religion. The language of this globalized Islam is English and the medium is both the printing press and the internet. The theoretical rationalization is to go back to the fundamental sources (Quran and the Hadith) and to leave out the different traditions of Muslim culture (s). Thus not only the ethnic languages, cuisine, customs and traditions of Muslims cultural groups are purged but even the cult of mystic saints and the debates of the medieval ulema are ignored or repressed. This neofundamentalist interpretation is spread out to the virtual religious community (the ummah) operating in English through the internet. This appeals powerfully to the Muslims in Western lands because they seek an identity which asserts their rights and provides some defense against the forces of globalization. The born again Muslims, or converts as Olivier Roy calls them, spread the word by the easy traveling facilities offered by globalization. As Roy says:

Young concerts can travel throughout Europe, going from one such mosque to another, ignoring ethnic divides and speaking English everywhere (just as Catholic clerics and monks in the Middle Ages, going from one monastery to another, spoke Latin (Roy 2004: 309).

As Islamic preachers, who were restricted to their language community, now have a wider influence because they are translated in English, the power of neofundamentalist Islam may be growing. As Roy tells us, the aged Wahabi Sheikhs based in Saudi Arabia rely on their English speaking disciples to be translated but also to be informed (Roy 2004: 169). This opens up the possibility of Pakistani religious students, hitherto shut out from the rest of the world because of their lack of knowledge of English and unfamiliarity with the internet, becoming part of a neofundamentalist (possibly militant) Islamic movement instead of remaining concerned with local, folk or typically South Asian Islamic movements. These possibilities suggest that the policies suggested by the present author may backfire and, instead of creating a more just and tolerant Pakistan, may end up doing just the opposite.

Conclusion

Despite the possibility of the negative, unintended consequences mentioned above, the author would opt for the ‘democratization of English’ accompanied with the elimination of English as a medium of instruction in elitist schools. This policy is just and humane and may reverse the long years of the injustice of placing elitist children much ahead in the race for jobs, power and prestige as compared to the under-privileged.

Annexure-1

Number of Students who appear in Pakistani Examinations Versus those who appear in British Examinations
Total SSC (Pakistani Matriculation)	1,026,805 (2002 Annual)
Total HSSC (Pakistani F.A/F.Sc)	5,02,209 (2002 Annual)
Total O’ Level (British Ordinary School Leaving Certificate)	10,546 (2002 Annual)
Total A’ Level (British Advanced School Leaving Certificate)	5,680 (2002 Annual)

Ratio of Pakistani School Examinees to British Ones

Pakistani Matriculation (SSC)	1,026,805	98.95%
British GCE O’ Level	10,546	1.05%
Pakistani Intermediate (HSSC)	5,02,209	98.88%
British GCE ‘A’ Level	5,680	1.12%
Sources: For SSC/HSSC 24 BISE’s of Pakistan. Data Base of Inter-Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad. For O’ and A’ Level, British Council, Examination Section, Islamabad, May 2004.

Annexure-2

SURVEY 2003

Survey of Schools and Madrassas,

The details of this survey are given as annexure-2 in Rahman (2004: 163-176). Part of the questionnaire and replies are reproduced below.

QUESTIONNAIRE

PART-II

What should be Pakistan’s priorities?

1. Take Kashmir away from India by an open war?

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

2. Take Kashmir away from India by supporting Jihadi groups to fight with the Indian army?

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

3. Support Kashmir cause through peaceful means only (i.e. no open war or sending Jihadi groups across the line of control?).

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

4. Give equal rights to * Ahmedis in all jobs etc?

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

5. Give equal rights to Pakistani Hindus in all jobs etc?

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

6. Give equal rights to Pakistani Christians in all jobs etc?

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

7. Give equal rights to men and women as in Western countries?

(1) Yes (2) No (3) Don’t Know

* Ahmedis, Mirzais or Quaidianis are declare a non-Muslim minority in Pakistan and have less political rights than Muslims (see Friedmann, Y. 1989).

Consolidated Data of Opinions Indicating Militancy and Tolerance Among three Types of Schools Students in Pakistan in Survey 2003 (in percentages)

Abbreviated Questions			Madrassas	Urdu-medium	English-medium	Cadet Colleges/ Public Schools
1.	Open War	Yes	59.86	39.56	25.86	36.92
		No	31.69	53.04	64.66	60.00
		Don’t Know	8.45	7.39	9.48	3.08
2.	Jihadi groups	Yes	52.82	33.04	22.41	53.08
		No	32.39	45.22	60.34	40.00
		Don’t Know	14.79	21.74	17.24	6.92
3.	Peaceful means	Yes	33.80	75.65	72.41	56.15
		No	54.93	18.26	18.97	36.92
		Don’t Know	11.27	6.09	8.62	6.92
4.	Ahmedis	Yes	12.68	46.95	65.52	41.54
		No	82.39	36.95	9.48	36.92
		Don’t Know	4.93	16.09	25.00	21.54
5.	Hindus	Yes	16.90	47.39	78.45	64.62
		No	76.06	42.61	13.79	31.54
		Don’t Know	7.04	10.00	7.76	3.85
6.	Christians	Yes	18.31	65.65	83.62	76.92
		No	73.24	26.52	8.62	18.46
		Don’t Know	8.45	7.83	7.76	4.62
7.	Women	Yes	16.90	75.22	90.52	67.69
		No	77.46	17.39	6.03	25.38
		Don’t Know	5.63	7.39	3.45	6.92

NB: Figures for (3) are uninterpretable because some respondents ticked opinion (1) and/or (2) while also ticking (3).
Annexure-3

Circulation of English Periodicals

Year	Circulation of English Periodicals	Circulation of Periodicals in other languages	Total circulation	Circulation of English periodicals to total circulation in percentages
1994	727,772	4,424,956	5,152,728	14.12
1995	712,698	5,046,292	5,758,990	12.38
1996	636,440	4,696,862	5,333,302	11.93
1997	675,185	5,063,582	5,738,767	11.77
1998	637,140	5,889,499	6,526,639	9.76
1999	701,018	6,609,968	7,310,986	10.61
2000	722,443	6,736,219	7,458,662	9.69
2001	747,165	6,841,971	7,589,136	9.85
2002	835,435	7,140,742	7,976,177	10.47
2003	866,825	7,383,810	8,250,635	10.51
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, Ministry of Information are Broadcasting, Govt. of Pakistan, May 2004.

Annexure-4

Number of English Periodicals

Year	Number of English Periodicals	Total Number of Periodicals	Percentage of English periodicals out of the total number of periodicals
1994	152	3242	4.69
1995	180	3429	5.25
1996	162	3444	4.70
1997	368	4455	8.26
1998	215	1344	16.00
1999	215	1571	13.69
2000	150	815	18.40
2001	153	763	20.05
2002	163	720	22.64
2003	204	945	21.59
Source: Provincial Public Relations Department, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of Pakistan, may 2004.

Annexure-5

Films Examined by the Central Board of

Film Censors (2003)

Language of the Film	Number	Percentage out of the total
*English	34	40.96
Urdu	18	21.69
Punjabi	15	18.07
Pashto	15	18.07
Other	01	1.20
Total	83	100
Source: Central Board of Film Censors, Govt. of Pakistan.
* Out of these 11 (13.25 per cent) were dubbed into Urdu. Others were to be shown in English without being dubbed.

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