BATTLE OF SCRIPTS The culture of any region thrives on the language. But so far as language is concerned, it appears that the Punjab was caught on the horns of a dilemma. A great hurdle in the uninterrupted cultural development of Punjab was caused by the language. For centuries, the Punjabis spoke one language, i.e. Punjabi, and used another for reading and writing. The script of the written language differed from the spoken one as also the medium of instruction. During the Mughal period, Persian was the official language. It enjoyed the same popularity as English language does today. |
| There are proverbs and anecdotes to show how this language fell into disuse after enjoying considerable popularity. One can recount the story of a young man who died for he could not get water for which he was all the time begging. His illiterate mother could not understand the meaning of the word "aab" (Persian word for water) her son kept muttering in a feverish state. The perplexed mother showed him a number of objects but to no avail. On his death, when she came to know the meaning of "aab", she broke down remorsefully, for she could have given him countless cups of water to drink: |
| "Aab, aab ker moyo bachha Pharsian ghar gale, je main jandi toon mangna sein pani main bhar bhar daindi pyalle. " |
| Another story is about a man who was well read in Persian, yet could not earn his livelihood through a whitecollared job. He was obliged to sell oil to make both the ends meet. Thereupon, it was said: "Padhe Pharasi veche tail, Eh dekho kismat de khel. " The imposed Persian language brought misfortunes not only to these two men, but did a lot of harm in many ways. For instance, the Punjabis could never acquire a good accent. Accent singles them out when they speak English, Hindi or any other language. |
| Before the partition of 1947, the Persian or Urdu script was used by all literate Punjabis for reading and writing, whereas Punjabi remained the spoken language. The Arya Samaj introduced Hindi as the medium of instruction in all the schools set up by it. |
| Some eminent people from among the Samaj brought out three Dailies in Urdu through which they urged Punjabi Hindus to take more and more to Hindi, in order to maintain their link intact with the founts of religion. Thus the progress of both Urdu, the written language, and Punjabi the spoken language, which was mostly written in Persian script but also in Gurumukhi by a limited section of Punjabis, was stunted. The strength and maturity that Punjabi language in Persian script had attained over the years came to a halt. It would have been much better if these Hindu efite had further strengthened the Punjabi language by either writing it in Devanagari script or by continuing the use of Persian script as before because it was accepted by members of all communities without any feeling of resentment. Such a compartmentalisation of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi created other lingual problems. |
| In the post-partition Punjab, the Sikhs introduced Punjabi in Gurumukhi script as official and provincial language, but it has created a rankling among the Hindus of the province. The very fact that in the aresent-day Punjab, the newspapers in Hindi have a remarkably high circulation, much more than the newspapers in Urdu and Gurumukhi, demonstrate their feelings. The Punjabis -Hindus, Muslims and even Sikhs-still use Punjabi as language and other languages for correspondence. |
| "In 1966, Hindi-speaking areas were separated and Punjab turned into ~nilingual state," wrote a journalist in The Illustrated Weekly of ndia. "The Punjabi Hindus felt piqued but gradually accepted the reality of Punjab as a Sikh majority state where they will have to play second fiddle. There is still no peace for the Punjabi Hindus. And there will be no peace for them until the Sikhs, conditioned to respond to the stimulus of a sovereign Sikh state, relent. " |
| Hindi is still being used in the two neighbouring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, which were separated from the Punjab in '966. But Punjabi continues to be the spoken language. Hindi is used :niy for reading and writing. Similarly, the Punjabis who are away om their homeland like to converse in Punjabi although they prefer Hindi or other prevailing language for wider contact. |
| As a reaction to the fond Hindu zeal for Aryasamaj, the remaining rrvo communities of the Punjab started reorganising themselves separately. They could organise themselves even better than Aryasamaj. This was to the disadvantage of the Hindus of the area. |
Sources: Cultural Heritage of Punjab, K C Aryan |
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