KARACHI: Amit Kumar, a 37-year-old dweller of the Soldier Bazaar locality of Karachi, works as a peon in private firms during the day. After little rest in the evening, he takes his four children to the rooftop of a three-story Shri Ramdev Pir temple. At the top of this Hindu temple, however, there are no prayers. These are classes for Karachiites of Gujarati decent, who are fast forgetting their native language.
“Although I could speak my mother tongue, it would always bother me that I was not able to write and read Gujarati,” Kumar says. His children, Simren, 10, Nena, 6, and Gaurav, 4, are sitting by his side as he talks to Arab News.
This informal school is open from Monday to Saturday from 9 to 10 p.m.
“When I came to know that The Education Sanstha (TES) had started offering free Gujarati language classes, I took no time to get myself and my children registered,” he said. They would never be able to read and write Gujarati language had he not come across this opportunity, said Kumar.
Meenakshi Solanki, a nurse at a local hospital, was the first girl to join these free lessons. There are now 125 students and 53 of them are girls who took inspiration from Solanki to join this informal language school. “It was a boys-only class but when I joined the girls started coming,” she told Arab News.
According to Solanki, she is also the first member of her family who will be able to write and read Gujarati. “We deserve to be educated in our mother tongue but since it’s not part of the curriculum, TES has provided this golden opportunity to us,” she said, expressing her gratitude to a group of youngsters who launched this initiative.
Another student, 12-year-old Vivek Premji, said most of his family were still attached to the language. “Had these classes not been arranged, I would have been the first of my family to forget my mother tongue. My mother knew Gujarati but I didn’t. I was super-excited when I first heard about the classes,” Premji, who has been raised by a single mother, told Arab News.
Chander Kant Jethwa, an office-bearer of the TES, said his group of volunteers will help dropouts from the community to get back to schools. “We will also arrange special Urdu and English language classes for the dropouts to make them literate,” he told Arab News, adding that it was at one point that TES conceived the idea of beginning the Gujarati language classes.
Manoj Solanki, another group member, said his group kicked off classes on July 9, 2018 and, after getting an enormous response, they decided to expand the language program to other areas. “On September 26, we started classes in Keemari [area] and will soon take this #SaveGujarati initiative to different areas of the city,” he said.
Pandit Vital Das, one of the three teachers at this informal school, says Guajarati was part of the curriculum till 1975. For the next six years, the community continued to teach the language in different temples in the city. “In 1981, the education, however, completely stopped. Now, after 29 years, the city is having the first classes where students are being taught their mother language,” Das told Arab News.
These are not lower or lower-middle class areas where this important language is endangered.
Usman Ghani Saati, owner and editor of one of the two Gujarati language newspapers, has 23 siblings, including five sons, two daughters and 16 grandchildren. “Only two of my sons and one daughter, who are associated with our Watan Gujarati newspaper, can write and read the language,” Saati told Arab News.
The language is spoken by more than 50 million people in the world. In Karachi, the population of Gujarati-speaking people is estimated to be around 3.5 million, Saati said. Saati, who also worked with English daily Dawn between 1966 and 1983, bought Watan Gujarati when this oldest newspaper was founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1942 in Mumbai and later shifted, with the partition of India, to Karachi.
The circulation has witnessed massive cuts, Saati said, and the reason, he offered, is that Gujarati, despite being a mother tongue of top-notch industrialists, businessmen, stockbrokers, and owners of major media houses such as Dawn and ARY, is no longer taught at schools and spoken at homes. “Even the majority of the city’s schools were owned by Gujaratis but the irony is that none of them taught this language anymore,” Saati said.
“Once, the bank cheque in this city would also be written in Gujarati language. Now among 3.5 million, fewer than 10,000 may know the language,” he said.
Gujarati people have their distinctive proud culture and if the language continues to decline at this rate, the community will also lose their rich customs and traditions. Like his Watan, Millat Gujarati newspaper is also alive but the newspapers may not survive if the language continues to vanish.
Amid these fears of Saati and others, the Karachi’s youths have shown a path, which may lead to save the language from its complete death, even if it is not completely revived.
“We are proud of Gujarati language. It’s the language of the father of the nation. It’s the language of Edhi. It’s not only a language of Hindus but people of Gujarati descent belonging to different faiths,” Jethwa says.
“We urge all communities, including Parsi and Muslims, to come forward and join us in our #SaveGujarati initiative,” he said.
“We will soon hold meetings with different communities to request them for providing their community centers for such classes for a large number of people, who want to learn their mother tongue — a language that was spoken by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mohandas Gandhi and Abdul Sattar Edhi,” he says.
Karachi’s Gujarati speaking youth strive to revive Jinnah’s language
Karachi’s Gujarati speaking youth strive to revive Jinnah’s language
- Out of the 50 million Gujarati-speaking people in the world, around 3.5 million live in Karachi and these include top industrialists, businessmen and owners of big media houses
- Karachi’s Gujarati-speaking youth has launched The Education Sanstha (TES) as part of the #SaveGujarati initiative to keep their language from dying
Pakistan stock market registers second highest single-day gain on ‘easing political noise’
- The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 4,411 points, or 4.3 percent, to close at 113,924 points on Monday, according to stock traders
- The development came as Pakistan’s government holds talks with ex-PM Imran Khan’s PTI opposition party to address political polarization
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began the week on a strong note and gained more than 4,000 points on Monday, stock analysts said, attributing the rally to “easing political noise” and upbeat economic indicators.
The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 4,411 points, or 4.3 percent, to close at 113,924 points on Monday, according to stock traders. The market saw the trading of 424,809,788 shares and registered the second highest single-day gain from Friday’s close of 109,513 points.
Stock analysts said upbeat economic indicators on surging exports, remittances and foreign exchange reserves as well as the government’s talks with the opposition Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party played a catalyst role in the rally.
“Stocks’ bullish record led by scrips across the board as investor weigh falling lending rates after fall in government bond yield and easing political noise,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
Mehanti’s comments came hours after the Pakistani government held a first round of talks with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s PTI party to address political polarization in the country.
Pakistan has remained gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, which has also exacerbated Pakistan’s economic hardships.
However, Pakistan’s economic indicators have improved and the stock market has surged significantly, reaching a historic high of 117,039 points this month. Though the market shed around 9,000 points last week, but it recovered on Friday by registering a sharp increase of more than 3,000 points.
Pakistan’s central bank this month cut its key interest rate by 200 basis points to 13 percent, marking the fifth straight reduction since June. The country’s annual consumer inflation also slowed to 4.9 percent in November, lower than the government’s forecast and the lowest in nearly six years. This was down from 38 percent last year.
Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics also supports positive investor sentiment as the trade deficit narrowed by 7.39 percent during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year, standing at $8.651 billion, compared to $9.341 billion during the same period last year.
Exports rose by 12.57 percent to hit $13.69 billion, while imports increased by 3.90 percent to $22.342 billion during this period. November’s trade deficit narrowed even further, dropping by 18.60 percent year-on-year to $1.589 billion compared to $1.952 billion in November 2023.
Pakistan recorded an increase of 29.1 percent year on year in workers remittances, which amounted to $2.9 billion in November, according to the central bank data. The inflows rose by 33.6 percent to $14.8 billion from July till November, compared to $11.1 billion received during the same period last year.
PM hails Pakistan for ‘unstoppable, unbeatable’ performance in South Africa ODI series
- Green Shirts thrashed South Africa 3-0 after losing Twenty20 series 2-0
- Pakistan will now play three Tests against South Africa later this month
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised the Pakistan cricket team for winning a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, describing their performance as “unstoppable and unbeatable.”
The Green Shirts completed a series clean sweep over South Africa in the third ODI at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, with rising star Saim Ayub smashing his second century of the series and his third from five innings.
The left-handed opening batsman made a sparkling 101 off 94 balls in a Pakistan total of 308 for nine. Heinrich Klaasen thrashed 81 off 43 balls for South Africa, but the hosts were beaten by 36 runs chasing an adjusted target of 308 because of rain.
“Unstoppable and unbeatable!” Sharif remarked in a post on X. “Congratulations to Team Pakistan on an outstanding 3-0 ODI series victory against South Africa.”
The prime minister also praised the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman for the team’s performance.
“Well done, boys! Your determination, skill, and teamwork under the leadership of the PCB Chairman Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi have made the entire nation proud,” he said.
“Keep raising the green flag high!“
South Africa won the T20I series 2-0 after the third match was washed out on Dec. 14. The ODI series win comes ahead of the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will hosting in February and March 2025.
Pakistan will also play three Tests against South Africa later this month.
Government, Imran Khan party hold first round of formal talks, next session on Jan. 2
- Negotiations began after Khan threatened civil disobedience, seeking the release of political prisoners
- There are growing concerns among PTI that Khan may face military trial for 2023 riots involving followers
ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan held the first round of formal negotiations on Monday in a bid to ease prolonged political tensions, with the PTI asked to present its demands in writing at the next session on Jan. 2.
Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022 has plunged the country into long-term political crisis, particularly since the PTI founder was jailed in August last year on corruption and other charges and remains behind bars. His party and supporters regularly hold protests calling for his release, with many of the demonstrations turning violent, including one last month in which the government says four troops were killed and the PTI says 12 of its supporters died.
Khan has previously rejected talks with the government, saying his party would only talk to the ‘real powerbrokers’ in Pakistan, the all-powerful army, but earlier this month he set up a negotiating committee of top party leaders to open dialogue with the government for the fulfilment of two demands: the release of political prisoners and the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 this year, which the government says involved his party supporters, accusing them of attacking military installations and government buildings.
The talks open as Khan has threatened a civil dissidence movement and amid growing concerns he may face trial by a military court for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during the May 9 protests.
“Since some members of the opposition could not join the talks today, we have decided to hold the next meeting on Jan. 2,” National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who was chairing the meeting, said at the end of the first round of negotiations. “The opposition will also present a charter of demands in the meeting.”
He said the talks were held in a “cordial” environment, calling them vital to end “political polarization” in the country.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui, also from the government side, said both sides agreed parliament was the appropriate forum to resolve political differences and emphasized that the negotiation process should continue.
Speaking to the media after the talks, Khan’s close aide, Asad Qaiser, said the PTI team had asked the government to release all political prisoners, including the former prime minister, and form a judicial commission chaired by senior Supreme Court judges to probe the May 9 and Nov. 26 protests.
“We should be allowed to hold a meeting with Imran Khan,” Qaiser said. “He is our leader. We will move forward with his instructions.”
He said the government had said it would arrange the meeting but it was not clear when.
The negotiations came days after Pakistan’s military announced prison sentences for 25 people involved in the May 9 protests, which PTI has demanded be investigated. The PTI has also repeatedly said it fears the government and military will try Khan in army courts for the May 9 violence. He is already being tried for the violence in a civilian court.
Ancient winter festival in Pakistan’s Chitral concludes with rituals, traditional dance
- Chawmos festival is celebrated in December by the Kalash people, who are numbered around 4,000
- Festival marks welcoming of new year, celebrated with dance, animal sacrifice, singing and feasting
PESHAWAR: A religious winter festival celebrated by the Kalash people in the northwestern Pakistani district of Chitral has concluded after featuring rituals, traditional dance and other festivities for two weeks, provincial tourism authority said on Monday.
The Kalash are a group of about 4,000 people, possibly Pakistan’s smallest minority, who live in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, where they practice an ancient polytheistic faith.
They come together each year in December to celebrate the two-week Chawmos festival after the community finishes fieldwork and stores cheese, fruit, vegetables and grains for the year.
The festival features various rituals, animal sacrifice, dance, songs and feasting, preserving the Kalash culture and attracting a number of tourists to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The religious Chawmos festival of the ancient Kalash Valley has concluded,” Mohammad Saad, a spokesperson for the KP Tourism Authority, said in a statement.
“The festival continued from Dec. 8 in the three valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.”
The Kalash community’s religion incorporates animiztic traditions of worshipping nature as well as a pantheon of gods, and its people live mainly in the three Kalash valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.
The Chawmos festival is celebrated to welcome the new year, with the Kalash people indulging in religious practices and distributing vegetables and fruit among each other, according to the official.
The festival was attended by a large number of domestic and foreign tourists who were fully facilitated by the provincial tourism authority.
Pakistan defense minister blames judiciary for delayed verdicts in May 9 cases
- National problems require decisions at the earliest, says Khawaja Asif while talking to media in London
- Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities on May 9, 2023, over ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday blamed the judiciary for delaying verdicts in the May 9, 2023, cases, which have so far led to the conviction of 25 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for attacking government buildings and military properties last year.
On Dec. 21, the Pakistan Army sentenced 25 people for participating in the violent protests that erupted in several Pakistani cities following Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments in the country.
However, several suspects are also facing legal charges in anti-terrorism courts, with the military hoping for early verdicts in their cases, according to a statement announcing the sentencing of the 25 individuals, which described the rioting as “politically provoked violence.”
The PTI has denied any involvement in the violence, describing the May 9 incident as a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing the party.
“The judiciary created the biggest hurdle in this [the conviction of May 9 suspects] while this thing was allowed to linger for one and a half years,” Asif said while speaking to the media in London, the city he is currently visiting.
Describing the May 9 protests as a national problem, he said all the cases related to it required verdicts at the earliest.
The conviction of the 25 individuals followed a ruling by a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Dec. 13, allowing military courts to share their verdicts. Prior to that, the court had unanimously declared last year that prosecuting civilians in military courts violated the Constitution.
Khan’s PTI party rejected the military’s announcement, with opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan saying they were “against the principles of justice.”
The sentencing of the 25 individuals also raises concerns about Khan, who faces charges of inciting attacks against the armed forces and may potentially be tried in a military court.
Earlier, Asif had regretted the delay in announcing the verdicts, saying that it “raised the morale of the accused and their facilitators.”
“Right now, only the workers, who were used [to generate violence], have been punished under the law,” he had said. “This will not end until the ones, who planned this terrible day, are not brought before the law.”
