LAHORE: Switching over to Urdu language on the Supreme Court Order will render many ongoing programs of the Punjab government redundant and create difficulties for the bureaucrats, especially those taught in English medium institutions. The decision will however open gates for those Urdu medium scholars who feared failure in competitive exams due to incompetency in English. Many of the candidates who qualified written exams failed in Viva-voce because it was held in English.

Official sources told The Nation on Thursday that computerisation of land record in Punjab by the Revenue department, revenue automation programs by FBR or Punjab Revenue Authority, E&T department projects like e-stamping and above all the idea of e-government would be the major instant casualties. Similarly, the IT department and PITB which is preparing various softwares to improve efficiency of different departments will witness a sea change to be able to perform its functions in Urdu.

IT specialist Muhammad Salim said this language switching would gravely affect many of the PITB projects running on English based softwares – like Automation of Counter Terrorism Department, BISE: Online Automation & Student Facilitation, of Transport Department, Crime Mapping, Database of Livestock Farmers, Domicile Management System, Driving Licence Issuance Management System and Hajj Management Information Systems. 

Also read: Implementation of Urdu as national language legal requirement: SC

He said this language shift will also impact programmes like Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre, Medicine Inventory Management System, MIS for Maintenance of Agri-Machinery, Model Police Stations, Motor Transport Management Information System, IT Initiatives at Lahore High Court and District Courts, and Spatial Data Infrastructure.

As the Punjab government had spent billions of rupees on such automation based on English language, the new exercise might make it purposeless, Salim held. Moreover, the bureaucracy, well versed and proficient in English would feel uneasy on the Supreme Court order to make Urdu official language. The English language was a big tool in their hands that made them superior to the common masses.

Experts said the implementation of Urdu language could have been a successful move, had it been done before the automation of records and data. They said that now it would be very difficult to convert all the public and foreign funded projects to switch to Urdu mode. It will also affect banking software, finance departments’ online system and Nadra-based computerisation of arms licences.

Some senior bureaucrats serving in Punjab were of the view that the government had just switched to the e-filing, revenue automation, land records maintenance by computerisation, e-ticketing and other programmes of e-governance. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by former Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja announced its judgment over petitions seeking to adopt Urdu as the official language. The court calling for an immediate implementation of Article 251, issued nine guidelines for making Urdu the official language.

A provincial secretary commented on the issue saying civilizations stand nowhere when languages die out. “We must protect and respect our language and cultural heritage.” He said that the court should also take notice of Indian cultural aggression through movies, dramas and commercials.

Read more: SC orders Urdu to be made official language at all govt departments

The education should be uniform across the country so that the poor children do not face discrimination, the officer suggested. The children of the rich are doing O&A levels at quality educational institutes while government schools remain without teachers, infrastructure and other facilities.
“It is a strange order in this era of globalisation when all nations are trying to learn English,” a former commissioner, who is currently an OSD, said about the court order.

The governments should have taken steps to implement Urdu instead of the superior court, the officer held, adding it would be hard enough to live in an Urdu medium bubble. “You can’t promote Urdu medium culture by force,” he said. Citing tragic history of East Pakistan, he said “when you imposed your language, the result was destruction”.

He said: “Let the people exercise adaptability regarding languages. Urdu may be good for poetry but it would be of limited use as a scientific and legal language. “You cannot beat English, an international language, and everyone should learn it to compete among the comity of nations. We want to study abroad, work abroad and love to leave the country but don’t like to work here. The need is to address all such issues.”

A Punjab additional secretary said the court decision would help facilitate the common man who gravely suffers owning to English language. Calling it a landmark decision, which will have a lasting impact on the progress of the country, the officer said the nations which excelled in education used their own languages like Japan, Korea, France, China, Russia and Germany.

He said when all the laws would be translated into Urdu it would reduce litigation and load on courts of law. The exploitation of the common man by those who understand English language would also be less after translation. He said that it was pity that an FIR is lodged in Urdu but all the prosecution and judicial proceedings are held in English. The lawyers prepared writs in English language and demand heavy fees from the poor litigants.

A deputy secretary of the S&GAD said that the root cause of the evil was Anglo-Saxon law that was implemented in the subcontinent after some changes. He said that the need was to amend the constitution and make it indigenous. Citing examples of other countries and their languages, he said, they have more than one official or semi-official language.

He said that use of national or territorial languages means more people can be involved in governance that would benefit the common people. Former dictator Zia ul Haq introduced it in schools but his successors would now introduce it in the offices, the officer criticised. He also told that Gen Zia had issued a letter written in English but signed in Urdu to implement Urdu in institutions.

The Ministry of Education and Professional Training and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has already instructed all public and private sector universities to use Urdu as official language. They have also been directed to translate their respective Acts, Statutes and websites into Urdu from English. The law department would translate the laws passed by Punjab Assembly while all other departments would make arrangements to get the laws translated.

The law department has already started an exercise directed under a suo moto case 2005. There are about 500 laws, including pre-partition laws like the 1860’s Societies Registration Act.