Linguistic Resistance in Pakistan: Punjabi Language Movements After Independence

Soon after independence in 1947, the Pakistani government adopted a language policy that promoted the use of Urdu. This provoked a strong reaction in provinces where languages such as Bengali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, and Balochi were spoken by the majority, giving rise to movements that sought to protect them. In Punjab, provincial authorities decreed that Urdu would be the sole language of administration and education. In response, intellectuals launched three separate movements between 1947 and 1960 for the defense and promotion of Punjabi, divided along the lines of their political and literary affiliations: Marxists, conservatives, and modernists.

Linguistic Resistance in Pakistan examines these three movements, taking an interdisciplinary perspective that combines sociological, historical, political, and literary approaches. Drawing on previously unexplored archival sources in Punjabi and Urdu as well as interviews conducted with activists and intellectuals, Julien Columeau analyzes the trajectories of the movements and key figures within them. He explores the context in which language movements emerged, considering the status of Punjabi before and after independence, the policy of Urdu imposition led by the central and provincial authorities, and the postindependence intellectual landscape. Columeau traces the history of the three Punjabi language movements, assessing their influence and the factors leading to success or failure. Shedding new light on the politics of language in Pakistan, this book is an important contribution to South Asian intellectual history.