Karachi

A student, who studies the ninth grade Pakistan Studies book of the Sindh Textbook Board for a year, will end up learning three things; a non-Muslim cannot be a Pakistani, Hindus are not to be trusted and the Fall of Dhaka was an international conspiracy.

The book begins with a chapter on the ideology of Pakistan. Rule number one of being a good citizen is: “They [the citizens] should try to lead their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam. This requires enforcement of laws and regulations according to the Islamic Sharia.”

“Since you are a non-Muslim, you end up feeling like an outcast, an unimportant part of the society. You get that feeling that the Muslim belief is the only moral thing in the world and anything different is sinful,” says Suzanna Masih, a student from the minority community who has studied the book.

“In a lot of Pakistan Studies books, you come across the word Kafir [infidel]. I find it very derogatory.”

There is a small, three-page portion on the Fall of Dhaka in the ninth grade book. The causes include “propaganda, the role of Hindu teachers and international conspiracies”.

“Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the leader of the Awami League Party in Bengal, propagated that Bengalis were economically deprived. He started developing secret relations with India. The All India Radio, through its programmes, created hatred in the hearts of Bengalis against the people of West Pakistan,” the book states.

“A large number of Hindu teachers were teaching in educational institutions in East Pakistan. They produced such literature which created negative thinking in the minds of Bengalis. About 10 million Hindus were living in East Pakistan. India stood at their back to protect their interests. Many Hindus acted as spies for India. Russia was against Pakistan because the latter had allowed America to establish military bases on its soil.”

The words have been played to lump together Hindus, spies and propaganda. The elections in which Sheikh Mujibur Rehman had won 55 percent of the total seats of the united Pakistan and was still denied the seat of prime minister, the non-inclusion of Bengalis in the armed forces, the disparity in industries between East and West Pakistan, and the neglect that East Pakistan had faced in terms of development despite having the largest share of exports (jute) remain conveniently absent.

If one relies on this book completely, which many students do (there is only one textbook for Pakistan Studies produced by the Sindh Textbook Board), they will end up thinking that the creation of Bangladesh was nothing but an international conspiracy. Pakistan disintegrated because—as usual—the whole world was out to get it.

In a three-page space given to Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and his role in the Pakistan Movement, it is said that he had improved relations between the Muslims and the British by writing pamphlets like the ‘Loyal Muhammadans of India and Causes of Indian Revolt’. No details about the content of the writings have been given; hence, the student fails to understand what the national hero had to say.

A look into the famous “Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind”, which has now taken the form of a book, reveals that Sir Syed had vociferously opposed the conservative Muslim mindset as this, he thought, was the greatest hurdle to development. In a translation of the Bible, he had attempted to prove that Christianity was the closest religion to Islam. The book misses out important aspects of his teachings.

The book calls the Baloch “strong, brave people with deep love for Islam”. It further states that “in 1947, Balochistan decided to join Pakistan”. Historical accounts otherwise reveal that it was in the year 1948 that the Khan of Kalat had agreed to join Pakistan.

Curriculum review committee

After the passage of the 18th Amendment that grants provincial autonomy, education became a provincial subject. To review the current syllabus, a curriculum review committee was formed.

A member of the committee and chairman of the Board of Intermediate Karachi (BIEK), Anwar Ahmed Zai, thinks it is the best time for the media to highlight the drawbacks in the curriculum design so that the committee can pinpoint the glaring gaps in the textbooks to the education board.

“It is the need of the hour to limit, if not remove, words that promote religious intolerance. Pakistan Studies is a compulsory subject, unlike Islamiat which has the subject of Ethics as a substitute for the minority communities. The members of the minority communities must feel that they are equal Pakistanis,” he says.

Zai maintains that the ideology of Pakistan and history are two different things and one must not let ideology distort facts. “For instance, the Khan of Kalat had agreed to become part of Pakistan in 1948 on the basis of provincial autonomy in all matters other than finance, defence and foreign policy. One of the reasons for the unrest in Balochistan is the failure to abide by those conditions.” He condemns how the role of Hindu teachers has been highlighted in the chapter on the Fall of Dhaka. “A teacher is a cheater if he does not perform his job rightly irrespective of his race.”

“Teenage, when students are studying this book, is a period where education should aim to ignite curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Poison in the form of education must be discouraged.”

Professor Jaffer Ahmed, chairman of the Pakistan Study Centre at the University of Karachi, is of the opinion that the contents of the book do not only discriminate against minorities, but also women. “Before the year 2004, no history book had a chapter on the Fall of Dhaka.”

During Musharraf’s era, the professor says he was part of a committee of 19 educationists, including Pervez Hoodbhoy and Mubarak Ali. They presented a research paper titled “Subtle Subversion”. “We took three or four months and discussed each and every book taught in the areas of Urdu, English, Civics and Social Studies in Pakistan. One of the recommendations in the research paper included introducing Peace Studies as a subject.”

But even though the committee expected a positive response during the government of the so-called “enlightened ruler”, the paper was never accepted. “Our books are undemocratic. If we continue teaching them to our children, they may find out the truth from other sources later on in life. Or even worse, they may never find the truth,” says Ahmed.

It is high time the authorities looked into this extremely important subject that frames national identity. Generations have been fed­ on half truths and distorted facts.

This must stop, for nations which find lessons in history are the ones that progress. Policymakers must take a page out of France and Germany, which buried centuries of border disputes and enmity, and came out with a joint history book in 2006 that high school students in both countries follow.

It is almost tyrannical how various governments have played with the fate of children in the 65 years of the country, juggling with languages in school education from time to time, many using it willfully as a political tool. Not once has consensus on a national language policy been achieved.

The result is a confused education system where parallel mediums of instruction run, and being able to communicate in English is considered the only sign of being educated.

It was in 1947 that Urdu was declared the national language and English the official language by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. In one of his speeches in East Pakistan, Jinnah made it clear that the national language would be Urdu and “anyone who tries to mislead you is really the enemy of Pakistan”.

In a step to provide national identity, an Urdu Committee was set up in 1948, which attempted to introduce a uniform script to all languages in Pakistan.

The decision was met with major resistance, especially by the Bengalis, who thought this was a plan to sabotage their national heritage.

“As early as in 1951 there were language riots in East Pakistan, which was largely Bengali-speaking,” explained Aziz Kabani, director programmes, operation and research at the Sindh Education Foundation.

A three-step system was maintained from then on: English an official language, Urdu the national language and a provincial language for each province. It was decided by parliamentarians that Urdu would be used as the medium of instruction in primary education. However, the role of English was not specified. Therefore, a mix of English- and Urdu-medium schools flourished side by side.

“The policy of the government to continue the two mediums of instruction in education side by side reflected the British policy. It also served the same purpose: to create two classes of people, one that was trained to govern and the other to produce subordinate staff,” said a discussion paper titled ‘the future of English in Pakistan’ by the Strengthening Participatory Organisation.

When Ayub Khan took over he was largely pro-English, and believed “that the most qualified personnel acquire their knowledge in English-medium schools…However, at the same time due to increased activities of the pro-Urdu right wing group, English was not introduced as the medium of instruction in government schools,” said the survey.

Instead, he introduced cadet colleges — schools under the control of military, where the medium of instruction was English.

Dr Muhammad Memon, at the Institute of Education Development (IED), explains that in 1959 during Ayub’s era the Sharif Commission was set up to look into the language issue. “It was decided in the commission that within 15 years Urdu will be able to replace English as a medium at the university level. Therefore in government schools Urdu continued to be the medium of instruction but English was taught as a compulsory subject.”

This was a good way to placate right-wingers and continue with elite English medium schools for another 15 years.

In Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s era the language problem had somewhat simplified, considering there was no room for Bengali any more. “It was in Bhutto’s era a provincial language became compulsory in secondary classes, in our province’s case Sindhi,” said Memon.

This could be seen as a political tool to win the hearts of his largely Sindhi-speaking vote bank. But language had always been a bone of contention in the country. In the year 1971-72 there were major Mohajir-Sindhi riots in Karachi, over the issue of language, thus reinforcing the fact that all groups in Pakistan did not accept Urdu as their national language.

Bhutto in accordance with his popular slogan ‘roti, kapra and makaan’ could not aim to make Urdu the national language in the wake of these ethnic tensions. He opted for a safer route and introduced Article 251. It had two aspects to it; Urdu will be the national language, and arrangements to replace English with Urdu as an official language will be made in the next 15 years.

Zia ul Haq entered the scene with his Islamization policy. He denationalised educational institutes, introduced Arabic as a compulsory subject in schools and the Urdu language policy was strictly enforced in government schools.

But it was in Zia’s era when private English medium schools flourished, and O and A levels entered the market. Parents who felt English an important tool for success preferred to send their children to these private schools.

Come Benazir Bhutto in 1999, and she gave an option to the government schools to either use English or Urdu as medium. Furthermore, English was to be taught as an additional subject from grade one. “It was thought this would serve as an equalizer for all classes,” said the survey by SPO.

The latest addition to the compulsory languages to be taught is of Chinese, the motive behind which still remains unknown.

“It is a sad fact indeed that until now the policies made by the government considering the usage of language in educational discourse has merely added complexities. The last development in this regard was in 2003 when it was decided that computer, science and math will be taught in English at government schools,” shared Memon.

Solutions educationists suggest

Children should be taught in their mother tongue for the first three years of their education, say educationists.

“During the primary years it is important for children to comprehend that can only be done in the mother tongue. If they are taught in any other language they will only memorise, not learn,” maintains Memon, who himself was taught in a Sindhi medium school till his higher education.

Salman Asif, director, Education Research Development, agrees. “It is the right of every child to be taught in his mother tongue. If they are being forced to speak in English or Urdu then it is unjust.”

“In their primary years children should be taught in the language in which they dream,” said Aziz Kabani.

“In their later years more languages can be taught.” Kabbani said the number should be four; Urdu, English, Arabic or Persian, and working knowledge of a provincial language.

There are examples in the history of developing countries which have succeeded in developing national consensus on the language policy, despite having a number of ethnic groups inside their borders.

“In India each state can decide which language should be adopted in the early years, after which education continues in English. Bangladesh gives great importance to Bengali in education,” explains Memon.

“Pakistan has over 30 spoken language, New Guinea has even more, they have still overcome the language barriers in education,” said Salman Asif.

But Memon is hopeful. “A lot of time has been wasted; nevertheless, it is still not too late. An arbitrary body should be created which works on a comprehensive policy.