The language of good and evil
Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote: "Somewhere there are still peoples and herds, but not where we live, my brothers: here there are states. State? What is that? Well then, open your…
A new language policy
On July 10, the government informed the Supreme Court that it had issued an executive order for the replacement of English with Urdu as the country’s official language in stages.…
Saving local languages
The cabinet division recently issued a letter to other federal departments directing them to use Urdu in their public and official correspondence. The directive also states that the president, prime…
Language change
Following the Supreme Court’s recent query about measures taken for adopting Urdu as an official language, as mandated by Article 251 of the Constitution, the center embarked on a flurry…
War on language
While visiting Balochistan, one becomes aware of just how removed that province is from mainstream Pakistan. And it’s not only the obvious things — such as the dire lack of…
Language debate
After almost 70 years of independence, the debate, whether education in Pakistan should be in Urdu or English, rages on. The 1973 Constitution written in English, made Urdu the national…
The imperialism of language
Learning English will make you rich, and learning Arabic will make you holy. No one ever says these things out loud in Pakistan, but their premises under gird many decisions.…
Let language unite
About two weeks ago, on July 16, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights rejected a private member’s bill for an amendment in the constitution to…
Rated for language
Over the past week, the PTI’s azadi dharna has witnessed the frightening spectacle of a rhetorically belligerent Imran Khan.He has used words for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the former…
Taxing language
For the record: Tahirul Qadri came on TV on Tuesday night and angrily declared that the cases the government is preparing against him are all lies and fabrications. The anchor…
