Ejaz Alam Augustine, Punjab’s Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs, stated on Monday that the government will make special efforts to integrate the Punjabi language in the curriculum.
The minister said that all possible measures will be taken to make Punjabi language part of the syllabus, similar to Sindhi and Pashto, at a seminar jointly organised by the Unique Group of Institutions and Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex on International Mother Language Day (21 February) at Chairing Cross, Lahore.
He lamented the fact that Punjabis today are hesitant to speak their native speech.
“If we do not promote our mother tongue, it will, like many other languages around the world, become extinct over time,” the minister said.
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Professor Abdul Mannan Khurram, Chairman of the Unique Group of Institutions, remarked that Punjabi is a very lovely language, and that everyone involved should do everything necessary to promote it.
No one should be afraid to express themselves in their mother tongue, which reflects their culture and traditions,” he continued.
Rights campaigner Saeeda Diep, who spoke at the conference, said that public officials must take a proactive role in the protection and promotion of the Punjabi language. She stated that the issue should be brought up in the Punjab Assembly by elected members.