Why Punjabi people speak Urdu as their second language?

Everywhere in the streets, cities, towns, villages, agricultural fields, factories, markets, shops, banks, post offices, courts, police stations, bus stations, railway stations of Punjab, people speak Punjabi. But, the educational and official language of Punjab is not Punjabi, it is Urdu. In Punjab, Punjabi people speak Urdu as their second language due to the status of Urdu as an official national, provincial, and educational language of Punjab.

If any Punjabi speaks Urdu or English in urban areas of Punjab than it does not mean that Punjabi is not able to speak Punjabi. Every Punjabi in urban areas of Punjab also knows to speak one or two languages as secondary language besides Punjabi but, the primary language of every Punjabi is Punjabi only. If any Punjabi does not know Punjabi as his/her primary language than he/she is no more Punjabi.

As for the respect of Punjabi language, culture and tradition a concern in Punjab, non-educated, agriculture-related and rural residents speak Punjabi, owns Punjabi culture and follow Punjabi traditions but the majority of the elite class, government servants, and urban residents do not have respect, regard, and honor for their motherland language, culture, and traditions. Therefore, the basic assembling and vital binding force for Punjab and Punjabi nation, i.e. Punjabi language is not an official and educational language of Punjab.

Punjabis are the largest ethnic population in Pakistan. The great land of five rivers called as Punjab is the homeland of Punjabi nation. Yet, socially and politically Punjabi is a depressed and deprived nation due to the domination of Urdu language, the hegemony of Gunga Jumna culture, supremacy of UP-ites, and UP-ite mindset clones of Gunga Jumna culture in policymaking and decision-making of national affairs and foreign relations of the Punjabi nation from 1849.

Urdu Speaking UP-ites, those concurred foremost cities of Punjab during British rule and after the creation of Pakistan is a major problem for Punjabi Nation and Punjabi Language. As they also speak Punjabi therefore, it is difficult to distinguish them that they are Punjabi or Urdu speaking UP-ites.

By camouflaging in Punjabi skin, the UP-ite, Urdu speaking Muhajir is the main conspirators in Punjab to confuse Punjabi people and degrade the Punjabi language along with support to the Urdu language by the propaganda of “Urdu is the Binding Language of Pakistani People”, rather a Language of Muslims which they taught them as a Muslim and being the students of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Darul Uloom Deoband, and Barelvi institutions.

Darul Uloom Deoband founded in 1866, the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama was founded in 1893 and Barelvi schools were established in 1904 in Uttar Pradesh, during British Raaj. The medium of teaching in these Darul Ulooms was Urdu. These Darul Ulooms played the conspirator's role to politicize Islam by propagating the philosophies of these Darul Ulooms as the true teachings of Islam and encroaching the languages of Non-Urdu Speaking Muslim peoples by declaring the Urdu as the language of Muslims and making the Urdu as a language of interaction between different Muslim ethnic communities of British India.

The Muslim Punjabi, the 3rd largest ethnic community in the Muslim Ummah, the people of 9th biggest nation of the world and the 3rd biggest nation of South Asia, the followers of Sufi Saints of Punjab became the major victims of the conspiracy of Uttar Pradesh based Darul Ulooms due to, overlapping the promoted true teachings of Islam by the Sufi Saints of Punjab through, introducing the politicized Islamic philosophies of Uttar Pradesh based Darul Ulooms along with encroachment of Punjabi language by the Urdu language.

In 1800 century, the religious ratio of Punjabi people in Punjab was 52% Muslim Punjabi, 41% Hindu Punjabi, 6% Sikh Punjabi and 1% others, but due to attraction of the various tribes, castes and the inhabitants of Punjab into a broader common "Punjabi" identity and uniting by the natural affinity of "Punjabi nationalism", Punjab was a secular regime, Punjabi was a secular nation and a Sikh Punjabi, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was the ruler of Punjab, after throwing out the Muslim Mughal invaders of Punjab from Delhi, India and Muslim Afghan invaders of Punjab from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Maharaja Ranjeet Singh made Lahore his capital and was able to expand the Kingdom of Punjab to the Khyber Pass and also included Jammu and Kashmir in it. He was also successful in keeping the British from expanding across the River Sutlej for more than 40 years. After his death in 1839 the internecine fighting between the Sikhs and several rapid forfeitures of territory by his sons, along with the intrigues of the Dogras and two Anglo-Sikh wars, eventually led to British control of the Lahore Darbar in 1849.

As, after Hindi-Urdu Speaking UP, CP people of Gunga Jumna culture, Bengali was the second and Punjabi was the third biggest nation of South Asia and for the British, Punjab was a frontier province of British India because Punjab had boundaries with Afghanistan and Persia. Therefore, to rule South Asia, the prime factor for the British rulers was to control Punjab by dominating or eliminating the Punjabi nation.

British rulers were well aware of the fact that they succeeded to capture Punjab but they have not concurred the Punjabi nation. Therefore, British rulers imposed martial law in Punjab to govern Punjab and due to fear from Punjabi nationalism; British rulers started to eliminate the Punjabi nation into frictions by switching over the characteristics of Muslim Punjabi, Hindu Punjabi, and Sikh Punjabi from “ Affinity of Nation to Emotions of Religion”.

For demolishing nationalism and promoting the religious fundamentalism in the Punjab, British rulers, not allowed the Punjabis to use their mother tongue as an educational and official language. Therefore, the British rulers first introduced an Urdu as an official language in Punjab and they brought the Urdu Speaking Muslim Mullahs from Uttar Pradesh based Darul Ulooms and Hindi-speaking Hindu Pundits from UP, CP to Punjab for the purpose of educational teaching of Punjabi people along with, UP, CP bureaucracy and establishment for the purpose of Punjab administration.

It resulted in the supremacy of UP-ites and UP-ite mindsets in policymaking and decision making in national affairs and the foreign relations of Punjabi nation, managed, motivated and sponsored by the British rulers to eliminate the Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Christian Punjabi’s into different religions and languages to secure their rule over the last captured land and martial race of the subcontinent.

As a result, the Punjabi nation became socially and politically depressed and deprived nation due to the domination of the Urdu-Hindi language, the hegemony of Gunga Jumna culture, and the supremacy of UP-ite traditions.

However, besides all the efforts of British rulers to demolish and eliminate the Punjabi nation, due to struggle of Punjabi nationalists during British rule in India, besides the dissimilarity of religion, because of natural affinity on the ground of similar language, culture and tradition, Muslim Punjabi, Hindu Punjabi, Sikh Punjabi, and Christian Punjabi were still a nation. Religion was a personal subject for building moral character and spiritual development in the life of the hereafter. Punjabi nationalism was a subject for the worldly life affairs. Whereas, clans moreover, communities were the institutions for social interaction and charity work. Punjab was a secular region, the Punjabi language was a respectable language, Punjabi culture was an honorable culture and the Punjabi nation was a wealthy nation in British India.

In the 19th century due to the politics of Congress, dominated by Hindu and Hindi speaking, UP-ite Hindu leaders of UP, CP, Hindu Punjabi started preferring Hindi language, culture, and traditions instead of Punjabi. Later on, Muslim Punjabi did the same due to the influence of the Muslim League, dominated by the Urdu speaking, UP-ite Muslim leaders of UP, CP, created, prepared, and trained in Aligarh Muslim University established in 1920 and the presence of UP-ite Muslims in Punjab.

As a consequence of preferring Hindi language, culture, and traditions by Hindu Punjabi’s and Urdu language, culture and traditions by the Muslim Punjabi’s, the characteristics of assimilation to accomplish the sociological instinct, started to switch from “Nation to Religion” and “A Great Nation of Sub-Continent Got Divided and Get Emerged into Muslim and Hindu States” as well as started receiving the reward of hate and regret from every honorable nation, in addition, humiliation, loathing, and abuse from Hindi-Urdu speaking persons too. This is the punishment of Punjabi's for not respecting their motherland, language, culture, and traditions. Anyway, Evolution exists everywhere, without realizing that, it is in the right direction or wrong.

Now, from decades, Punjabi's are in trouble because of lacking interest in Punjabi nationalist politics, ignorant of the Punjabi language, unaware of the Punjabi culture, and uninformed to the Punjabi traditions because of preference to the Urdu language, Gunga Jumna culture, and UP-ite traditions.

Especially, the Punjabi's migrated from the Indian side of Punjab to Pakistan were more under the influence of Urdu language, the domination of Gunga Jumna culture, and the supremacy of UP-ite traditions. Therefore, they accepted and owned the hegemony of Urdu language, Gunga Jumna culture, and UP-ite traditions by surrendering the Punjabi language, culture, and traditions. In addition, they also facilitated and supported the UP-ites to dominate Urdu language, Gunga Jumna culture and UP-ite traditions by means of suppressing and eliminating the languages, cultures, and traditions of actual inhabitants and original entities of Pakistan i.e. Bengali’s, Sindhi’s, Blochi’s, Pukhtoon’s and Punjabi’s (due too many factors).

Hence, the time has proved that; independence of Pakistan at the cost of splitting up Punjab, the disintegration of Punjabi nation with the blood of 2 million Punjabi’s and displacement of 20 million Punjabi’s furthermore, lending support to UP-ites for domination of Urdu language, Gunga Jumna culture, and UP-ite traditions by means of suppressing and eliminating the languages, cultures, and traditions of actual inhabitants and original entities of Pakistan, in conjunction with, the hegemony of UP-ite Muhajir's in national and foreign affairs bureaucracy, military, and civil establishment, skilled and technical professions, politics and media organizations, was a blunder by the Punjabi's due to political immaturity, irresponsibility, and pettiness.

The Punjabi language was groomed by the Sufi saints, therefore, Punjabi language has a spiritual background and the Punjabi language has the potential for wisdom-related inventions and intellects to develop the moral character for good deeds of life and spiritual development for the life of the hereafter.

For skill-related inventions and intellects, usually, international Lingua-Franca plays an essential role, but for wisdom-related inventions and intellects, spiritually rich language is of vital importance, especially if it is your mother language. Therefore, it is in the best interest of Punjabis to adopt English as an international Lingua-Franca and Punjabi as their national language.

If we start speaking other languages and forget our own, we would not be we, we would be clones of an alien people; we would be aliens to ourselves" UNESCO, 1958.

Punjabi is an actual, original, and potential language of Punjab and Punjabi nation. A language groomed, patronized, propagated by the “Sufi Saints of Punjab”. Therefore, it is an earnest need to implant the Punjabi language as an educational and official language of Punjab.