To say the least, the Faisalabad University's Seminar (March 8-9) on 'The Role of language Literature and Culture in National Identity' was more than a success. The papers read at this international seminar and the speeches from the Presidium reflect the new sense of urgency, which has been, of late, clouding the national horizon.
What made it an international event was the participation of Professor S.Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Dr Gopi Chand Narang, well known Urdu critic from India and Mr Soyaname Yasir of Japan's participation in the seminar.
There is no doubt that contemporary Pakistan's engagement in the US led war on terror and the steadily growing losses of men and material through 'human bombs' the Pakistan nation is busy considering whether all that is being suffered by the country as a consequence is worth the participation in this war on terror. The National identity of Pakistan is being debated and with this the question of nationhood and the role of national language, literature and culture is also being debated.
Dr Syed Arif Ali Zaidi, the Vice Chancellor of the University, has earned a great deal of esteem for the work he is doing to make the Government College University, Faisalabad, a place of learning acquiting itself well with the task of nation building through adequate emphasis on humanities. I could feel it myself during my two days stay in Faisalabad that his efforts to rope in eminent academics - like Dr Anwer Ahmed to his university has started paying dividends.
Some important names of humanities and culture like Dr Fateh Muhammad Malik, Dr Tabassum Kashmiri, Dr Sabir Kalori, Dr Najeeb Jamal, Dr Nasrullah Khan, Dr Rubina Tareen, Dr Anwar Sadeed, Dr Tahir Taunsvi, Dr Qazi Abid, Dr Khurram Qadir, Dr Rasheed Amjad, Dr Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Dr Sohail Abbas, Ms Kishwar Naheed, Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Dr Yusuf Khushk, Dr Qazi Jawed, Mr Shahzad, Ahmed, made this seminar also hold a workshop on 'Research Methodology in Urdu Research' as well as a Mushaira.
The first impression gleaned from the inaugural session and two other sessions of the seminar was that the concepts of Nationhood, National language, Literature and Culture are gradually losing their 'taken-for granted' status. The academics are veering round pluralism as if we have accepted that Pakistan is a multi-national country or a country having many nationalities.
Dr Tahir Taunsvi, Dr Najeeb Jamal, Ms Kishwar Naheed, and Dr Yusuf Khushk were more or less open to the question. Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik was not. Dr Mushir-ul-Hasan thought that India had passed through many crises only because of its secular constitution and secular way of handling the issues. He said that Pakistan and India were facing almost similar issues.
There were Hindutva as well as counter-Hindutva movements but there is no threat to Indian unity. He thought that the emphasis on religion, often, results in a great deal of rhetoric which confuses the realities on the ground.
Dr Gopi Chand Narang spoke on the role of Urdu in the national identity and thought that Urdu was playing a historic role in cementing Indian unity and it was engaged in doing the same in Pakistan. Dr Narang was at his best that day and I sincerely thought that the way he advocated Urdu's secular and vital role in national cohesion was really grand.
It was a historic day for Faislabad Government College University and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, as the Vice Chancellors of the two important seats of learning, one quite old and the other still in its fledging, phase signed the historic MoU for close co-operation and collaboration between the two universities. The credit goes to the Vice Chancellors that they lost no time in signing an MoU which could benefit the faculty and students of the new university immensely. The University has recently been promised 400 acres for its new campus. The Punjab Bar Association has also accredited the university's law degrees. It should facilitate the law students of this university in pursuing their studies without any concern about their future careers.
In one of the sessions Dr Qazi Jawed had suggested that the struggle for Pakistan was in fact a triumph of Wahdat-ul-Shahood forces from the mainlord India. He didn't realise that the main advocate of this philosophy was from Sirhind (East Punjab). The learned speaker didn't also take into consideration that Urdu language was not foisted on Punjab by Indian Muslims. Rather it was on the demand of Punjabi Muslims that it was adopted as the language of consensus. The deliberations of Education Commission (1882) would bear me out.
Moreover the tyrannies of the Sikh period on the Punjabi Muslims and the resurgence of Arya Samaf movement in Punjab left no one in doubt that there was a great deal of turmoil between Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs in the 20th century politics of Punjab making a short shift of the influence of Wahdul Wajood in communal politics of the province.
The Punjab Alienation Act (1901) aimed, in a way, to save the property of Muslim petty agricultural landlords from its gobbling up by the Sahukars. Wahdat-ul-Wajood influence could assuage the poor sections of population but the exploitative class was merciless in its coercive altitude. The role of the Punjab Provincial Assembly in retaining Urdu should not be ignored as well.
I believe that a construct should not be based on 'selective' assumptions. It should be able to face the tough questions challenging its premises.
There is a growing need of a continuous dialogue between the two sides of a debate to reach out the truth. Punjabi's role in the advocacy of Indo-Muslim heritage is second to none. There is no point in setting it up as a counterpoint to Gangetic-Yamuna culture which is only part of the Indo-Muslim heritage.