MUHAJIR AN IDENTITY

 

MUHAJIR AN IDENTITY

Our intellectuals, journalists, and politicians have not yet understood that "immigrant" is the name of a linguistic and cultural identity in Pakistan.

Just as Punjabi speakers are called Punjabis, Sindhi speakers are called Sindhis, Pashto speakers are called Pakhtuns, so are Urdu speakers called "Muhajirs". Like Punjabis, Sindhis, Pakhtuns, Balochs, Kashmiris, Gilgits, Baltis, Seraikis, Hazaras, Urdu speakers also have a sub-identity in Pakistan which is "Muhajir".

Urdu-speaking people, like other sub-nations living in Pakistan is a large sub-nation in Sindh. Urdu speakers living in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Mirpur Khas, and many other cities in Sindh are called "immigrants".

In this context, the word "refugee" has nothing to do with terms such as refugee, refugee, immigrant or migrant.

If this identifiable word "Muhajir" is translated into another language, then it is also translated as "Muhajir" because of the nickname. For example, the English translation of the Punjabi word for identity is also Punjabi. A Punjabi-speaking person will be called a Punjabi. There is no question as to why people still call themselves Muhajir even after 68 years of migration.

Like other sub-nations of Pakistan, they call themselves Pakistanis and like other sub-nations they also call themselves Muhajir as an expression of their linguistic and cultural identity. Immigrants say this because the name has become famous. If our intellectuals do not like the word Muhajir, then suggest another name for this Urdu-speaking sub-nation. What difference does it make if Urdu speakers are given Urdu Dan, Urdu, Karachi, or any other name?

On the contrary, if the Urdu-speaking word Muhajir is abandoned and its sub-nation is given the name "Sindhi", what difference will it make? The name will be Sindhi but the language will remain Urdu and the place will remain the same city. If Pakistanis who speak other languages ​​also have their own linguistic identity then why object to Urdu speakers? By the way, it is strange that there is no specific name for the inhabitants of Hindi or Urdu-speaking Hindi belt states in India as opposed to the inhabitants of other states.

People of Gujarat, for example, are called Gujarati, Punjabi of Punjab, Rajasthani of Rajasthan, Tamil of Tamil Nadu, Bihari of Bihar and Bengali of West Bengal, but there is no specific name for Hindi or Urdu speakers. The people of the central states of India call him "Bhai" and the people of the southern states call him "North Indian".

In Pakistan, the word Muhajir has become the identity of the linguistic and cultural entity, so objections to this identity should be closed as long as other linguistic and cultural units in Pakistan retain their identities.