'Punjab wants its mother tongue back' LAHORE - Punjabi Language Movement (PLM) staged a protest outside the Lahore Press Club on Sunday, and demanded that Punjabi language should not be discriminated and students should be given basic education in Punjabi. Speaking on the occasion, PLM Convener Chaudhry Nazeer Kahut said, "Punjab wants its mother tongue back. The 150-year old undeclared and unofficial ban on basic education in Punjab should be abolished and systematic cleansing of the language must be stopped. We want Punjabi kids to be given basic education in their mother tongue just like the children of the rest of the world." He said 'constitutional, moral, legal, and democratic rights' of the Punjabis were being usurped by the 'anti-Punjabi rulers', who were obstructing the implementation of Punjabi as the official and academic language. About the proposed National Language Constitution Amendment Bill 2011, Kahut said the bill, with its 'divisive nature' and 'controversial contents', could push the country into an ethno-lingual conflict. Country integrity will be at stake if the bill was passed, thus they demanded that the bill may be withdrawn or changed. Sindhi, Punjabi, Pushto and Balochi being the languages of the majority in the federating units should be declared as national languages, he said. PLM demanded of the government to introduce the Punjabi Language Act in the Punjab Assembly. PLM delegations from Jhang, Sargodha, Multan, Sahiwal, Jehlum, Bahawalpur, Mianwali, Khushab, Gujarat, Faisalbad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Bahawlagar, Nankana Sahib and Dera Ghazi Khan also attend the rally. Other organizations who joined the rally included Punjabi Adbi Sangat, Khoj Garh, Khaaksaar Tehreek, Saanjh, National Youth Forum, Maan Boli Research Centre, Punjabi Sangat Pakistan, Punjabi Markaz, Sver International, Punjabi Writers Forum, National Students Federation, Punjabi Union, Pakistan Punjabi Adbi Board and Punjabi National Conference. Prominent Punjabi writers, intellectuals, supporters and activists also attended the rally. PLM central convening committee members Taqriq Mahmud Jatala, Dr Dilshad Tiawana, Ghazala Alam, Kausar Tiwana and Umer Mahota also spoke on the occasion. The participants were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans to end 'official discrimination' against Punjabi language. Pakistan Today: By: Staff Report | Published: February 21, 2011 ................ Rally for ending 150-year-old 'ban' on education in Punjabi LAHORE -- The Punjabi Language Movement has called upon the Punjab government to introduce the basic education for the Punjabi children in their mother tongue just like the kids in the rest of the world. The PLM also staged a protest demonstration at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday against the official discrimination of the Punjabi Language. The participants of the protest were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans to end continuous official discrimination against Punjabi language. On the occasion, a number of other organizations including Punjabi Adbi Sangat, Khoj Garh, Khaaksaar Tehreek, Saanjh, National Youth Forum, Maan Boli Research Centre, Punjabi Sangat Pakistan, Punjabi Markaz, Sver International, Punjabi writers Forum, National Students Federation, Punjabi Union, Pakistan, Punjabi Adbi Board and Punjabi National Conference joined the protest. Prominent Punjabi writers, intellectuals, supporters and activists including Taqriq Mahmud Jatala, Dr Dilshad Tiawana, Ghazala Alam, Kausar Tiwana and Umer Mahota also participated in the protest. While addressing the protesters, PLM Convener Nazeer Kahut said: "The 150-year-old undeclared and unofficial ban on basic education in the mother tongue in Punjab must be abolished." He said Punjab wanted its mother tongue back, demanding stoppage of official discrimination against the mother tongue of 100 million people of Pakistan. He further said that the constitutional, moral, legal, and democratic rights of the Punjabi people were being usurped by the establishment and the integrity of Punjab was in grave danger. "Anti Punjabi language forces within the establishment and the rulers are hampering the implementation of the Punjabi as the official, academic and legal language in the Punjab," he added. The Nation: Published: February 21, 2011

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