1972 Sindhi Language Bill

Sindhi Language Bill, 1972 was introduced by the Chief Minister Mumtaz Bhutto on July 3, 1972 in the Sindh Assembly, Pakistan.^[1] The 1972 Language violence in Sindh occurred starting on July 7, 1972 when the Sindh Assembly passed the The Sind Teaching, Promotion and Use of Sindhi Language Bill, 1972 which established Sindhi language as the sole official language of the province resulting in language violence in Sindh. Due to the clashes, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto compromised and announced that Urdu and Sindhi will both be official languages of Sindh. The making of Sindhi as an equal language to Urdu for official purposes frustrated the Urdu-speaking people as they did not speak the Sindhi language.^[2]

Clauses

It provided inter alia that:^[3]

Clause 4

• (1) Sindhi and Urdu shall be compulsory subjects for study in classes IV to XII in all institutions in which such classes are held.
• (2) The introduction of Sindhi as a compulsory subject shall commence at the lowest level namely class IV and by stages to be prescribed, be introduced in higher classes up to class XII.

Clause 6

Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, Government may make arrangements for progressive use of Sindhi language in offices and departments of Government including Courts and Assembly.^[4]

See also

• 1972 Language violence in Sindh
• Sindhi language
• Muhajir people

External links

• Laws for language: If the British used Sindhi, why shouldn’t we, experts urge minister

References

1. "1972 riots: Was it a language issue?". Herald (Pakistan). 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
2. "A leaf from history: Language frenzy in Sindh". Dawn. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
3. "Sindhi Language Bill" (PDF). Government of Sindh. 6 July 1972. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
4. The Sindhi Language Movement