Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto

(World Punjabi Conference – 1992)

I am sure the distinguished writers and intellectuals from home and abroad will evolve a methodical framework to achieve the rightful place for the Punjabi language which embodies a wonderful Sufi tradition starting from Baba Farid over seven hundred years ago. The Sufi poets of the region rebelled against the status quo and relentlessly fought against obscurantism, oppression, intolerance and worldly avarice.

I have no doubt that the mother tongue is the strongest vehicles for effective communication. That is why Pakistan People’s Party has always advocated the adoption of mother tongue as a medium of institution at primary level. In fact PPP made this commitment in its election manifesto. This is my considered opinion that languages of the people of Pakistan deserve proper rightful place should be resisted. PPP will always stand by those who are engaged in the preservation of all the regional languages and culture along with the national language and culture.

It is, however, ironic that no one hand intellectuals are putting in prodigious efforts for the promotion of Punjabi language and culture but at the same time the present day political culture in the land of the five rivers is pervaded with corruption, bureaucratic excesses, intolerance and obscurantism. The writers, poets, intellectuals and artists of the province have to resist this canker gnawing at the heart of their culture. They are duty bound to cleanse Punjab of chauvinists and jingoists who are driving wedge between the people of this province and of other provinces.

Linguistic and ethnic polarization has plagued our body politic and are formidable challenges to an effective democratic dispensation. Lets pledge that we will struggle for our rights and will not play in the hands of opportunists whose politics is through and through anti-people. All the languages of Pakistan can achieve their rights in a democratic set-up, under a government which is committed to the poor and the down trodden.

I am confident the day is not far when the oppressed people of this country will be the masters of their destiny and the mother tongue spoken by them will get its rightful place. I wish the distinguished delegates very purposeful deliberations on the problems associated with the development of Punjabi language and culture. I congratulate Mr. Fakhar Zaman, Chairman World Punjabi Conference for organizing this international moot.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto

(Waris Shah International Conference – 2006)

I am pleased to learn that the World Punjabi Congress is holding a 3 day International Conference on the great poet Waris Shah in Lahore. I recall sending a message to the 1st World Punjabi Conference organized in Lahore in 1986. In that message I called for giving all languages of the soil a rightful place.

In the case of Punjabi, this is all the more so since it has been neglected in Pakistan. Quid-e-Azam Zulfkar Ali Bhutto Shaheed was the first leader to encourage the establishment of a number of cultural institutions. His government took positive steps for the development of languages rooted in with the land. The PPP Governments that I led followed Quid e Awam’s policies. We took great interest in the flourishing of institutions relating of Art Culture and Literature. With the support of many intellectuals, the PPP Government I led promulgated the first Cultural Policy of Pakistan. Mr. Fakhar Zaman was the architect of that policy and ensured its success as Chairman of National Commission on History and Culture and Pakistan Academy of Letters.

Sufi poets of Pakistan historically symbolize a culture of brotherhood, enlightenment and progress. They repudiated extremism, religious bigotry, obscurantism, mullahism and extremism. The poetry of Waris Shah, the social and cultural doyen of Punjab people, is extremely relevant today; we need to relate the teaching of our Awami poets to the present conditions where our society is marred by reactionaries and fanatics.

Sufi poets Waris Shah, Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Bullhey Shah, Sultan Bahu, Khawaja Farid, Mian Mohammad Baksh from Punjab or Sachal Sarmast and Shah Latif Bhatai from Sindh, Khushal Khan Khattak and Rehman Baba from NWFP or Jam Durak and Mast Tawakkali from Balauchistan are beacon lights helping brighten the path for us to determine our directions. Their teaching aim at rendering a human dimension to society.

I congratulate Mr. Fakhar Zaman, Chairman of World Punjabi Congress for holding this conference. He is a writer and intellectual of high caliber, an asset to the country as well as to the Pakistan People’s Party. I am proud of his determination to continue his admirable efforts to propagate the message of the mystic poets. He is much respected too for his initiatives in the context of Indo Pak friendship.

I wish the delegates from all over the world who have come to Lahore, the garden city of Pakistan and the heart of our country, warm welcome. I hope that their meeting over three days will be constructive.