Urdu is one of the most renowned languages of the subcontinent and its dominance as a language of learning is increasing all over the world. It is the national language of Pakistan, however, people in India also speak it, as well as the people who have migrated from Pakistan to other countries of the world.

Those who are not native Urdu speakers, for them Urdu carries a great charm and they want to learn about the history of language as well as the use of it for communication as Pakistan is of grave geographical importance for the South Asian region. The lines below discuss the present situation of Urdu in Pakistan.

There is no denying the fact that Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and there is substantial literature in Urdu and it stands as the national means of communication. However, despite all its importance, the language has not been given the status it truly deserves and there are different levels at which Urdu is not given the same importance that is its right. As Pakistan was once a colony of British Empire, therefore, it is obvious that English is to be present in the Pakistani culture and it is competitive with Urdu when it comes to being the official language of the country. Therefore, at an official level, where it all should have been Urdu logically is a combination of Urdu and English which is injustice with the national language.

The other way in which Urdu is not receiving proper treatment and is mishandled is the fact that Pakistan is under the influence of Bollywood movies, which primarily contain the words of Hindi in them. As Urdu and Hindi are comparable with them, thus the Pakistani audience that watches such movies is corrupting the language as Hindi follows a different kind of structure, pronunciation and vocabulary. Thus, because of this influence also, Urdu is not conditioned to the status it is supposed to be given.

Third reason behind the not so good plight of Urdu in Pakistan and its maltreatment is the fact that because of being a colony of British empire, the older generation is more prone towards learning English compared to Urdu. For them, English is a sign of distinction and being well versed in English means being more educated and more civilized. Thus, the older generation started putting emphasis on their to learn English more compared to Urdu. Therefore, because of the emphasis put by elders, the children were put into English schools where English as a means of communication was more preferred and the children’s ability in English was more polished, while the national language went into backdrop. The situation still prevails and English medium of instruction is given more preference and value compared to Urdu medium, which is definitely not the treatment that a language deserves.

In a nutshell, Urdu, because of multiple reasons in Pakistan is not experiencing the kind of status and importance it deserves. The need is to educate the native people about their language and tell them how the language is a part of their identity, which needs to be proud of and protected.