Promotion of Punjabi language urged

 Punjab University Department of Punjabi organised an International Punjabi Conference here in the Sherani Hall of Oriental College, Allama Iqbal (Old) Campus on Tuesday.
PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, Director General Punjab Institute of Language, Art & Culture (PILAC) Dr Arshad Mahmood, Chairperson Masud Khaddar Posh Trust Shirin Masud, renowned columnist Dr Ajmad Niazi, Principal Oriental College Prof Dr Mazhar Moeen, Prof Dr Khawaja Muhammad Zakriya, Chairman Punjabi Department Prof Dr Asmatullah Zahid, Dr Darshan Singh, Ajaib Singh Chattha, senior faculty members and delegates from around the world were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, the VC said the knowledge of language was a basic knowledge to convey ideas. Unfortunately, our students failed to express their words exactly either in English or Urdu, he said adding that Punjabi language was not taught to us at school and college level that?s why we face difficulty in reading or writing Punjabi. He said bureaucracy did not allow establishing any language other than English and it had also created many problems. He said one of the main reasons of decline of Punjabi language was that parents did not transfer it to their children. He said we have to get rid of inferiority complex of considering Punjabi language as a language of illiterate and villagers. Dr Mujahid Kamran said Oriental College was like a crown of Punjab University and he always felt pleasure to visit the Oriental College.
Dr Ajmad Niazi in his address said we should promote language. We should not prefer foreign languages to our own language, he added. English and Urdu, he said, were also very poor in Pakistan. He said Muqtadra Qaumi Zuban was established in 1987 but Urdu language had not yet been given the status of official language. He said opposing languages was wrong but foreign languages should not be our country?s languages. Prof Dr Mazhar Moeen also focused on to study Arabic and Urdu on all the levels.
Dr Arshad Mahmood said the Punjab government was serious in promoting Punjabi language and work is underway for a policy to promote language. He said all efforts would be utilized to implement the recommendations of the conference.
Addressing the conference, the speakers said Punjabi had a prominent place in world?s languages and was at number 11. They said every language was in danger which is not transferred to children by the parents. Quoting the examples, the experts said Yupik of Australia had vanished; Breton of England was in danger.
Annual Population Research Conference begins: Population Association of Pakistan in collaboration with the Punjab University Institute of Social & Cultural Studies, organised three-day 12th annual Population Research Conference with the theme ?Pakistani Youth: the Ultimate Resource? here on Tuesday.
The inaugural ceremony of the conference held here in the Faisal Auditorium, New Campus. PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, Special Secretary to UN Secretary General Dr Nafis Sadiq, President PAP Dr Shahida Azfar, Director ISCS Prof Dr Muhammad Hafeez, faculty members and a large number of students were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, VC Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran said human beings were the ultimate resource and among them youth were the most valuable asset because they were energetic. He said as far as physicists are concerned, all the fundamental researches and discoveries were made by the scientists when they were young. Like Einstein who was 26 when he introduced the theory of relativity, Isenberg and Prof Salam also got fame in the age of 24 because of their work and there were so many other examples. He said the highest creativity belonged to the youth but it was when the priorities were set from the beginning. He expressed his sorrow saying that no government since the establishment of Pakistan had been serious about education.
The VC urged the leaders to allocate at least four percent of GDP to education and termed lack of education as root-cause to all the problems faced by the country. He further said our problems would not be resolved unless we pay attention to education. He said that uneducated people have large families and educating them would help manage population control. He said the youth of Pakistan was an immense reservoir of talent and opportunities of growth should be provided to them.
Special Secretary to the UN Secretary General Dr Nafis Sadiq said boys and girls must be empowered for development of the country. She said men and women should be given equal rights in the society. She said family planning can change our lives totally.
President PAP Ms Shahida Azfar said unemployment rate in youth is very high. She said education statistics are unsatisfactory. She said youth is a positive force and she is happy to organize this conference with Punjab University.
Representatives of UNICEF Shagufta Hamid Bhatti, UNFPA Rabbi Royan, Pakard Foundation Dr Yasin Sabeeh Qazi, VC University of Gujrat Prof Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin, Director ISCS Prof Dr Muhammad Hafeez and Shagufta Ijaz also spoke on the occasion.