HYDERABAD: Commissioner Nadeem Rehman Memon on Wednesday asked the officers of all the government departments to write the names of their institutions in Sindhi and Urdu, while private educational institutions must include Sindhi subjects in the curriculum. He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting with the concerned officers regarding the promotion of Sindhi language. The Deputy Commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro, Sindhi Language Authority Chairman Dr. Ishaq Samejo, representative of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Qasimabad Business Forum and officers of the government departments were present in the meeting.
The commissioner said that it was often observed that only English is being written in government institutions and files, so it is important to write in Urdu and Sindhi along with English. He emphasized the need to take steps for promotion of the local languages. Mother tongues are losing importance which need to be promoted, he said and directed that names of government departments must be written in English, Urdu and Sindhi. In the meeting, Sindhi Language Authority Chairman Dr. Ishaq Samejo said that the purpose of the meeting was to promote regional and national languages. He said that currently around 7000 languages are being spoken in the world and it was feared that 3000 languages will become extinct in the future.
According to a study, 25 languages are disappearing every year in the world and the main reason is not paying attention to our languages, Samejo said. He said that currently 74 languages are spoken in Pakistan and Sindhi language is the third largest language of the country but the tragedy is that our language is being neglected continuously. He said that a bill for the promotion of Sindhi language was passed in the Sindh Assembly in 1972, which has not yet been implemented. He urged the Urdu speaking brothers to play an active role for the promotion of Sindhi language in their respective areas. In the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro said that Sindhi language is a historical and ancient language and practical steps were needed to save it. He said a campaign will be started under which the names of all highways, areas, government departments and educational institutions in Hyderabad will be written in Sindhi and Urdu languages.