HISTORY
World Punjabi Conference
was established in Lahore in 1984 by Punjabi writers,
intellectuals, scholars with the undersigned as its first
chairman. The objectives of this august body included the
promotion of Punjabi language, literature, culture and the
removal of cobwebs and distortions in the history of the
Punjabi. It aimed at the renaissance of Punjab thus
leading to the resolution of crisis of identity with which
Punjabis had been suffering for a very long period.
First international
Punjabi Conference under the aegis of WPC was held in
Lahore, Pakistan, in 1986 followed by another World
Punjabi Conference in 1992. Both of the conferences were
attended by hundreds of delegates from across the world.
1986 and 1992 declarations emphasized the adoption of
Punjabi as medium of instructions at the primary level and
forcefully condemned the Pakistan languages.
It was also resolved in
these moots that all languages spoken in Pakistan are the
National languages of Pakistan and the Urdu is the link
language.
Punjabi is spoken by
millions of people in Pakistan India, Canada, USA, UK,
Germany Norway Denmark Sweden Holland UAE Malaysia
Singapore Thailand etc and has been reckoned as the 10th
language of the world. Unfortunately it has not been
allowed to obtain rightful place in Punjab by the
machinations of bureaucracy, elite class and the
protagonists of one language philosophy. These chauvinists
who belittle the importance of Punjabi language and at
times deride it, have not extricated themselves from the
quagmires of nostalgia neither disengaged themselves from
an absolutely false sense of linguistic superiority. We
feel that efforts to block the development of National
Languages of Pakistan by conspirators, chauvinists and
intellectually unsound votaries of linguistic imperialism
are a threat to the integrity of country. It is,
therefore, the paramount duty of each patriotic Pakistani
who is proud of the languages of the soil, to frustrate
the evil designs of jingoists and manipulators and keep on
struggling for the recognition of all Pakistan languages
spoken in the length and breath of our beloved country.
World
Punjabi Conferences, thus are concrete efforts in the same
direction.
