PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN PAKISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTANI PARLIAMENT

Abstract

This study figures out the nexus of language policy in Pakistan, a multilingual state where languages are not only metaphorical constructs to manifest the identity but real power instruments. This study analyses (via a qualitative review of parliamentary proceedings) how language policy is discussed and formed in the corridors, lobbies and galleries of Pakistan’s parliament. It draws attention to the processes of policy making, expression of political ideologies and representation of linguistic communities in the policy narrative. The paper concludes that language policies are a microcosm of social and political dynamics, and parliamentary debates articulate tensions between competing claims on cultural legitimacy and authority. Through an examination of significant controversies of the last two decades, it offers an orientation to both the problems and possibilities for developing a language policy that is on one hand pragmatic and inclusive in relation to Pakistan’s linguistic diversity; while on the other hand promoting national integration. It is estimated that the Pakistani Parliament and state institutions significantly mediate the language policy with implications for education, governance and social integration..