Introduce Pahari Language in Schools

1. This is to request the Government to declare the Pahari language as an additional official language of Azad Kashmir and to introduce this language in the schools as a medium of instruction or, alternatively, a compulsory subject.

2. The Pahari language in its various forms is spoken by more than 80\% of the people of Azad Kashmir. It is a very rich language with a fascinating folk literature. It has a musical rhythm that makes it eminently suitable for composing poetry and song. It is unfortunate that because the language has never been taught in schools or used as a medium of instruction, the language has suffered terribly.

3. In its official policy guidelines "Education in a Multilingual World", the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommends that children be at least taught their mother tongue as a second language subject. As the UNESCO guidelines say at page 14:

"It is an obvious yet not generally recognized truism that learning in a language which is not ones own provides a double set of challenges, not only is there the challenge of learning a new language but also that of learning new knowledge contained in that language. These challenges may be further exacerbated in the case of certain groups that are already in situations of educational risk or stress such as illiterates, minorities and refugees ... Studies have shown that, in many cases, instruction in the mother tongue is beneficial to language competencies in the first language, achievement in other subject areas, and second language learning."

4. Learning one's mother tongue does not mean that one cannot learn other languages. On the contrary, it is only when a student learns his or her mother tongue that he or she is able to gain proficiency in other languages. Research conducted under the auspices of the UNICEF proves this (UNICEF Staff Working Paper). A research study conducted by S. Mehrotra in 1998 concluded:
There is much research which shows that students learn to read more quickly when taught in their mother tongue. Second, students who have learned to read in their mother tongue learn to read in a second language more quickly than do those who are first taught to read in the second language. Third, in terms of academic learning skills as well, students taught to read in their mother tongue acquire such skills more quickly.
Therefore, using Pahari as a medium of instruction does not pose any threat to Urdu. In fact, it will help students learn Urdu better.

5. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General Assembly by Resolution 44/25, provides in Article 29(1) that:
"States parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to ... (c) the development of respect for the child's own cultural identity, language and values..."
The current education policy in Azad Kashmir, by excluding Pahari from the school curriculum, fails to inculcate respect for one's cultural identity and language in children and is, thus, violative of this provision. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities adopted by the General Assembly pursuant to Resolution 47/135 provides in Article 4(3):
"States should take appropriate measures so that, wherever possible, persons belonging to minorities may have adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue or to have instruction in their mother tongue."

6. The Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, adopted in Barcelona in 1996, confers the following rights on the Pahari-speaking community:
Article 3(3) grants language communities the right "for their own language and culture to be taught", and the right "to receive attention in their own language from government bodies and in socio-economic relations."
Article 8 provides that all language communities "have the right to organise and manage their own resources so as to ensure the use of their language in all functions within society" and the right to "have at their disposal whatever means are necessary to ensure the transmission and continuity of their language."
Article 15 provides that "all language communities are entitled to the official use of their language within their territory."
Article 18 provides: "All language communities have the right for laws and other legal provisions which concern them to be published in the language specific to the territory."
Article 23(1) provides: "Education must help to maintain and develop the language spoken by the language community of the territory where it is provided."
Article 26 provides: "All language communities are entitled to an education which enables their members to acquire a full command of their own language."
Article 29 provides: "Everyone is entitled to receive an education in the language specific to the territory where s/he resides."
Article 50 provides: "All language communities have the right for their language to occupy a pre-eminent place in advertising, signs, external signposting and all other elements that make up the image of the country."

7. Therefore, in order to comply with these provisions and to respect the cultural rights of the Pahari-speaking community, it is our petition to you to:
(i) declare Pahari as an additional official language of Azad Kashmir,
(ii) make Pahari the medium of instruction in the elementary schools of Pahari areas, or, alternatively, a compulsory subject.