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The medium of instruction is very important at every level of education and more so during the elementary education as that is the time when a child is exposed to the vast world of knowledge. It is a long held debate in India whether the medium of education should be universally recognized English language or the regional language. There are pros and cons of both the options. While English is important when one grows up and goes into a professional life, regional language has an advantage of being easily understood, thus helping the students grab the right information and understand better. Educationists around the world have debated this issue but to no concrete result.
 

In India, where there is a multilingual culture, there is not one accepted medium of instruction. Though Hindi is considered the national language but it is not spoken in many parts of India like South India and East India. There are other regional languages. Thus, many state-run schools follow the language of their region to impart education. However, in urban India, English is the preferred medium of education for obvious reasons. Even people from economically weaker backgrounds and those who do not speak English themselves prefer to send their children to English-medium schools.

 

The prime reason is that English is the preferred medium of higher education  and is accepted worldwide. There are no good professional courses available in regional languages. Thus, it is believed those who study in regional languages tend to lag behind those who have studied in the English language. Worldwide, studies have been conducted to show which medium is better. Purists reckon that language is not just a means of communication but also a cultural window which introduces one to the social and intellectual surroundings. And language development leads to educational development, which in turn leads to national development.

 

Till a long time, the medium of instruction in India was the dominant regional language from primary to the high school level. English was only introduced as a subject after the primary level. English as a medium of education throughout schooling was only found in a few schools but that starting changing slowly. Soon, English was directly related to being forward-looking, modern and developed. This trend worked in the favor of many but gave inferiority complex to a lot others. People who could not speak or understand English started feeling that they were no good. The point is highly debatable. Acquiring knowledge, as such, doesn’t need only one particular language.

 

There was a study conducted in the US in Ramirez et al in 1991 with 2352 students. The study compared three sets of Spanish-speaking minority students. The first set had studied only through the English medium, the second group had started education in the Spanish medium but switched to English in one or two years, while the third group started education in the Spanish medium and switched to English after four to six years. The three groups were then tested to find out which group showed the best results in English and in educational achievement in general. Contrary to the popular belief, the third group showed the best results while the other two groups were falling way behind.

 

This completely quashes the accepted conviction that English is the best medium of instruction. In fact, for children who do not speak English at home find it very hard to grab concepts in an alien language. Then, the pressure doubles on them as they are expected to learn a foreign language with the concepts simultaneously. On the other hand, if they receive the same learning in the language that they are comfortable in, it becomes much easier and convenient to understand the subject.

 

However, when it comes to higher education, English medium is a must. It is foolish to think that streams like Engineering, Medical, MBA or any technical course can be imparted in a regional language. The first problem is acceptability and the second is terminology. There are not enough terms in the regional languages that can define the usages in these fields. Also, even if one were to get this education in the regional language, he/she cannot use it professionally as the whole world does no understand the same language and they end up becoming misfits.

 

In India, Tamil Nadu is the one state where some universities offer professional courses in Tamil medium. For instance, Madurai Kamraj University offers many courses in the Tamil medium through distance learning programmes. It offers Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law & Administrative Law and Postgraduate Diploma in Information & Communication Laws in the Tamil medium. In addition to this, Algappa University offers BA (History) and BBA in the Tamil language. But if one does a college search or a university search to find courses in vernacular medium, there are not many choices which speak volumes about the relevance of such a thing. In today’s competitive world, it is advisable to get higher education in the English language and prepare a base for it from school only. Regional language as a medium of instruction should be used only till the primary level.

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CURRICULUM, PEDAGOGY AND EVALUATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR SC & ST CHILDREN

* Ramaiah Bheenaveni

This section firstly examines curriculum as a mediator of dominance and hegemony, exploring ideological issues in the selection and structuring of knowledge and in pedagogic practice. Secondly we focus on the issue of representation of subaltern groups, culture and ideologies. The concept of curriculum is used here to designate the experiences pupils have under the guidance of the school. Most issues in this area are predicated upon the assumption that appropriate school experiences can indeed make a significant difference to learning and lives of SC/ST children. Content of curriculum and internal operations are thus key issues that need to be addressed. Also very important are related areas of pedagogic methods, assessment and evaluation.

In India, curriculum and the content of education have been central to the processes of reproduction of caste, class, cultural and patriarchal domination-subordination. In post independence educational policy, modification of content supposedly aimed at indigenization resulted in Brahmanisation as a key defining feature of the curriculum. Brahmanisation has been evident in the emphasis on (1) ‘pure’ language, (2) literature and other “knowledge” of society, history, polity, religion and culture that is produced by higher castes which reflects Brahmanical world view and experiences and Brahmanical perspectives on Indian society, history and culture, and (3) high caste, cultural and religious symbols, linguistic and social competencies, modes of life and behaviour. Furthermore, the overarching stress has been on eulogizing mental as against manual labour. The heavily gendered nature of school curricular content was evident in that women’s specialised knowledge and skills systems found no place in it or in the general curricular discourse. Rather they were used for devaluation and stereotyping of the female *** in curriculum. Curriculum is thus urban elite male-centric and bereft of the country’s rich cultural diversity. There has been a corresponding devaluation of “lesser” dialects, cultures, traditions, and folklore of dalits and adivasis as also of peasantry.

The second defining feature of the curriculum on the other hand, was its ‘colonial’ character which privileged western modernization. The ideology however was adopted in truncated, superficial ways – the emphasis being on the incorporation of knowledge of Western science and technology, viz. that of the “hard Western sciences”, the English language and Western styles of life. The pursuance of liberal, democratic socialist values even though enshrined in the Indian constitution was largely notional in the curriculum.

Curricular structure and culture of the colonial model has remained unchanged. The defining features of the structure are: full time attendance of age specific groups in teacher supervised classrooms for the study of graded curricula. Full day schools, compulsory attendance, unconducively long time–span of classes and vacations, served as deterrents, being ill suited to educating SC/ST children, especially in the initial years when access was just being opened up and availed. Poor and SC/ST households depended on children for domestic work or other productive work whether or not to supplement household earnings. Today, things have changed substantially and large numbers of parents are prepared to forego children’s labour and send them to school. However school organisation and curricula have not been sensitive as yet to fundamentally different economic situations, life aims and social circumstances of children belonging to poorer strata households or communities in the shaping of the school structure. Culturally, school norms of attendance, discipline, homework, tests and exams, and cognitively ethnocentric demands of concentration on and memorisation of the content of the text by `rote’, all prove problematic for SC/ST children. Furthermore, the curriculum itself as a tool of cultural dominance and hegemony has an alienating and intimidating impact.

Curriculum and the Scheduled Castes:

For the Scheduled Castes who have sought education as a mechanism to transform as well as enter “mainstream” (read dominant) society, the central questions are of representation of their knowledge and culture and the critiquing of dominant knowledge and value systems of their lived reality and of social relationships based on dominance/subordination and exclusion. Dominant forms of inequality and hierarchy are made invisible in the discourse on common nationhood and common and equal citizenship, which the school curriculum propagates. But for the Scheduled Castes the heart of the matter is structural oppression, not cultural difference. Thus understandings of oppressive aspects of our traditional and contemporary structures, the historical construction of groups and communities are made invisible by the curriculum and not subjects of key curricular importance.

Krishna Kumar’s studies have focussed attention on how the dominant groups’ ideas about education and the educated get reflected in the curriculum. Following the curriculum, Indian texts uphold symbols of the traditional, male dominated feudal society and its obsolete cultural values and norms. However, that the value content of education is out of tune with the reality of the changing, dynamic India is a matter of choice – a choice consciously or unconsciously made by those selecting textbook material from the available body of literature and by those creating it. Worthwhile knowledge is that which is linked to the values and lifestyles of dominant groups.

Ilaiah has vividly described how knowledge and language are rooted in and structured around productive processes of lower castes and around socio-cultural surroundings of their habitat. This knowledge and skill based vocabulary, which is very highly developed, finds no place in the school curriculum. Nor do stories, music and songs, values, skills, knowledge, traditions, cultural and religious practices. Contemporary dalit literature is similarly disregarded. Lives, values and norms of upper caste Hindus which are strange and alienating for the lower castes, continue to be dominantly present. To quote from Ilaiah, “right from early school Upto College, our Telugu textbooks were packed with these Hindu stories. Kalidasa was as alien to us as the name of Shakespeare. The language of textbooks was not the one that our communities spoke. Even the basic words were different. Textbook Telugu was Brahmin Telugu, whereas we were used to a production-based communicative Telugu. It is not merely a difference of dialect; there is a difference in the very language itself”.

The dominance of epistemology and content of the politically powerful intellectual classes makes curricular knowledge ideologically loaded. While Gandhi, Tagore and Krishnamurti – all from the high castes – have received national attention as indigenous educational philosophers, education has not incorporated the anti-caste-patriarchy and anti-hegemonic discourses of Phule, Ambedkar, Periyar or Iyotheedas. Curriculum does not reflect upon the historical significance of caste, gender and tribe, nor of the challenges posed to it by dalit epistemology, knowledge and protest. This should have been done through literature and social science curricula.

Phule saw education as a potent weapon in the struggle for revolutionary social transformation. For him, the purpose and content of education were radically different from both Brahmanical and colonial models of education. His ideal was an education that would bring an awareness among lower castes of oppressive social relations and their hegemonic moral and belief systems that pervaded their consciousness…. an education that would instill western secular values, encourage critical thought and bring about mental emancipation. It would fulfil practical needs but would be broad based enough to inspire a social and cultural revolution from below. During the course of the long struggle of dalit liberation, Ambedkar developed an ideology that incorporated a critique and reinterpretation of India’s cultural heritage, a rich philosophy drawn from a wide range of social thought and an action programme which lay an equal stress on social and cultural revolution as it did on the economic and political one. Like Phule, he defined the purpose of education in terms of mental awakening and creation of a social and moral conscience. Education was also a means of overcoming inferior status and state of mind, of wresting power from the powerful. Thus, the Ambedkarian agenda for education included: (a) creation of capacities for rational and critical thinking, (b) socialization into a new humanistic culture and ideology, (c) development of capacities and qualities necessary for entry and leadership in modern avenues of work and politics, and (d) inculcation of self-respect and aspirations to respectable lifestyles in which demeaning traditional practices would have no place.

Clearly Phule-Ambedkarian ideology went way beyond narrow modernization and technocratic impulses. It gave pre-eminence to ideology and values, Western in origin but critically adapted towards emancipation of India’s downtrodden. Ilaiah, in fact, argues that these values are equally indigenous, constitutive of lived-in realities of dalit bahujans. Dalit and non-Brahman leaders drew on western philosophical traditions to build an ideology and praxis of revolutionary transformation of the Hindu social order. It aimed at establishing a socialist social order underpinned by a new morality, based on values of liberty, equality, fraternity and rationality.

School curriculum in India failed to reflect these expressions of new moral order. It does not need any great study to show that the national or state school curricula or teacher education curricula were never guided by these radical visions. The Scheduled Castes and their issues and problems have remained peripheral to the curriculum and their representation if at all has been weak and distorted.

Curriculum and the Scheduled Tribes:

Like the SC, curriculum does not acknowledge cultural rights of the Scheduled Tribes who are denied their own culture and history. School curriculum fails to take account of tribal cultures as autonomous knowledge systems with their own epistemology, transmission, innovation and power. Kundu gives the example of children being set to write essays on the circus, or being trained to write letters through mock missives to the police asking them to take action on disturbance by loudspeakers during exams. While adivasi children may know a great deal about animals, they are unlikely to have ever seen a circus; where the police are usually feared as oppressors and electricity is erratic, if at all available, enlisting police support in keeping noise decibels down is a most unlikely situation Not only are the knowledge and linguistic and /or cognitive abilities that Scheduled Tribe children possess ignored – e.g. the capacity to compose and sing spontaneously, to think in riddles and metaphors and their intimate knowledge of their environment – but schooling also actively encourages a sense of inferiority about Scheduled Tribe cultures. Like the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes rarely feature in textbooks, and when they do, it is usually in positions servile to upper caste characters; or as ‘strange’ and ‘backward’ exotica.

The ‘cultural discontinuity’ between school and home draws attention to the rigidity of school organization and the emphasis on discipline and punishment in contrast with socialization practices and the lives of children, as reasons for non-attendance. Sujatha cites the case of community schools in Andhra where there was closer interaction with parents, weekly holiday was in tune with the local weekly bazaar, and school holidays coincided with tribal festivals. The school was observed to show positive results.

The Language Question:

Despite several policy documents and a constitutional provision (350A) recognizing that linguistic minorities should be educated in their mother tongue at primary level, there is practically no education in Scheduled Tribe languages. This includes even those like Santhali, Bhili, Gondi or Oraon which are spoken by over a million people.

Although states in India were organized on linguistic grounds, political powerlessness of Scheduled Tribes prevented the formation of states based on tribal languages. They are confined to minority status within large states and are compelled to learn the state language in school. Primary teachers are predominantly from non-ST communities. And despite the pedagogic significance of initial instruction in the mother tongue, teachers do not bother to learn the tribal language even after several years of posting. The general picture at primary level is often one of mutual incomprehension between ST students and their non-ST teachers. Several studies have pointed to the significance of the language question at the primary levels.

Quite apart from the pedagogic problems this creates – such as destroying the child’s self esteem, and reducing the possibilities of successful learning in later years, the denigration of Scheduled Tribe languages amounts to denigration of Scheduled Tribe worldviews and knowledge. The education system with its insistence on a common language as a means of achieving a common nationhood has been instrumental in the destruction of tribal language, culture and identity. Even outside the school, educated youth often speak to each other in the language of the school, perhaps to mark themselves off from their ‘uneducated peers’.

Several languages, especially those spoken by small numbers, are dying out. Loss of a language means the loss of a certain way of knowing the world. Experiences of schooling of tribal children in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have revealed the displacement of Bundelkhandi, Gondi and Warli by Sanskritised Hindi, Telugu and Marathi respectively.

Depending on levels of cultural absorption and adaptation however, several Scheduled Tribes may not look to schools to teach in their home language. Indeed, for many Scheduled Tribe parents, the main advantage of schooling is that it gives access to the new languages, new occupations and a new life and enables interaction with the non-tribal world. But wherever Scheduled Tribes have been politically mobilised to celebrate Scheduled Tribe identity, they have been more clear and open in their demand for education in indigenous languages.

The Alienating Impact of School Regimen:

The school regimen of timing, discipline, hierarchy is especially alien to tribal children socialized in a world where individuality is respected from early on, and where parent-child interactions are relatively egalitarian. Kundu points out those testing procedures too are based on urban middle class values – the competitiveness and system of rewards that examinations represent is often culturally anomalous to Scheduled Tribe children who are brought up in an atmosphere of sharing. Furthermore, learning among ST children is usually intimately connected to the work process – children learn the names and medicinal uses of many plants and trees while accompanying their parents on foraging trips in the forest. When children are away at school, especially when they are sent to residential schools, they lose connection with this world of labour and their capacity to learn from it. Several studies have attested the alienating effects of language, school structure and ethos.

Implications of Recent Hindu Cultural Nationalist Influences on Curriculum

In the recent past a serious concern has been the ‘Hinduisation’ of the curriculum, its adverse implications for all children but most particularly to religious minorities and SC/ST. A deliberate policy move towards Hinduisation of the school which occurred at the behest of neo-right national government’s policy meant its specific framing within Vedic values and thought. However, even prior to that when there was no overt intent of curriculum or text to be grounded in dominant religious culture, the fact that most educational action teachers are Hindu made curriculum Hinduised. It influenced the manner in which annual days or other school events are celebrated. Breaking a coconut and lighting incense at the base of the flag pole on Republic or Independence Day is common practice. Additionally, distinctive Scheduled Tribe names are changed to standard Hindu names.

Reference:

1. Omvedt, Gail (1994): “Dalits and the Democratic Revolution”, Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit movement in Colonial India, New Delhi: Sage.

2. Ilaiah, Kancha (2001): “Dalitism vs. Brahmanism: The Epistemological Conflict in History”, in Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.) Dalit Identity and Politics: Cultural Subordination and the Dalit Challenge, Vol. 2, New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 108-128.

3. Sundar, Nandini (2002): “Indigenise, Nationalise and Spiritualise: An Agenda for Education?” in International Social Science Journal, 173, pp. 373-383.

4. Nambissan, Geetha (2004) : “Terms of Inclusion: Dalits and the Right to Education”, Paper presented at Seminar on Towards Quality Education for All: Issues and Challenges Beyond 86th Amendment at India International Centre, New Delhi, organized by CSD, New Delhi.

5. Sarangapani, Padma (2001): “Childhood, Growing Up and Learning: the Baigas of Northern Kawardha”, Report Submitted to the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, September.

6. Shah Ghanshyam (2000) : “Hope and Despair: A Study of Untouchability and Atrocities in Gujarat, in Beteille, Andre (ed.), Journal ofIndian School of Political Economy, Vol. XII, Nos. 3 & 4, pp. 459-472.

7. Singh, M. T. (1995): “A Review of Educational Programmes for Tribal Children in Rajasthan, Development Programmes for Children”, in Bedi, M.S. (ed.), Tribal Development in Rajasthan (with special reference to women and children) Jaipur: Himanshu Publications, pp. 162-170.

8. Thorat, S (2002): “Oppression and Denial: Dalit Discrimination in the 1990s”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXXVII No. 6, pp. 572-577.

9. Velaskar, Padma (2004 – b) : “Structural Inequalities and Educational Inequalities: The case of the Dalits in Maharashtra”, Paper presented at Seminar on Towards Quality education for All: Issues and Challenges Beyond 86th Amendment at India International Centre, New Delhi, organized by CSD, New Delhi.

10. Velaskar, Padma & Abraham, Leena (1995): “Class, Culture and Curriculum: An Evaluation of the Abacus curriculum enrichment programme- A report, Mumbai, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, (mimeo).

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The Central Board of Secondary Education syllabus or the CBSE syllabus is one of the most widely accepted and recognized syllabi in India. The CBSE now offers CBSE solutions in the form of online tutorials and TV programs that enhance students’ learning. The board traces its origin to the UP Board of High School and Secondary Education, setup in 1921, and has more than nine thousand affiliated schools.

Features of the CBSE Syllabus

Here are the notable features of CBSE syllabus:



CBSE syllabus for classes 9th to 12th for affiliated schools is prepared by the board.



The CBSE conducts two major annual examinations, the All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) and the All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) for classes 10th and 12th respectively. It also conducts the All India Common Entrance Examinations for admissions into various engineering and medical courses.



The educational medium prescribed by the CBSE is English or Hindi.



CBSE class 12 certifications are recognized globally, hence providing platform for students to get admission in undergraduate courses.



The prime focus of the CBSE syllabus is to introduce innovative learning methodologies and enhance skill learning among students. For instance, in 2008, financial market management courses were introduced.



CBSE Solutions to Enhance Learning

Certain innovative CBSE solutions that enhance student learning are:



Online tutorials for classes IX to XII: These have query solving sections where students can discuss their questions and get answers.



Television programs: TV programs and episodes dedicated to specific subjects are broadcast repeatedly to reinforce learning.



Mock tests help students assess their subject knowledge and speed vis-à-vis exams.



Advantages of the Online CBSE Solutions

Online CBSE solutions provide the advantages of:



Online tutorials of the CBSE syllabus are not only convenient, but also enhance the learning process.



Expert guidance in query solving sections is available round-the-clock. Besides, these tutorials are maintained and administered by the domain experts.



Online CBSE solutions are also cost-effective, since they only charge a nominal fee for course materials.



For comprehensive information on the CBSE syllabus and other web-based learning solutions, visit: www.iken.in. The experienced team at Iken is dedicated to providing learning information and solutions for everyone, regardless of whether they are students, parents or just someone seeking information.

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I INTRODUCTION

 Pakistan, officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic in South Asia, marking the area where South Asia converges with Southwest Asia and Central Asia. The capital of Pakistan is Isl.

 The area of present-day Pakistan was the cradle of the earliest known civilization of South Asia, the Indus Valley civilization (2500?-1700 bc). The territory was part of the Mughal Empire from 1526 until the 1700s, when it came under British rule. Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. It initially comprised two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of territory within India. In December 1971 East Pakistan seceded and became the independent republic of Bangladesh.

II LAND AND RESOURCES

Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, on the north and northwest by Afghanistan, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by India, and on the south by the Arabian Sea. A panhandle of Afghanistan territory in the northwest, the Wakhan Corridor, separates Pakistan and Tajikistan. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq mi), not including the section of Jammu and Kashm?r under its control. Jammu and Kashm?r is a disputed territory located between Pakistan and India. Pakistan controls a portion of the territory as Azad (Free) Kashm?r and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), while India controls a portion as the state of Jammu and Kashm?r.

A Natural Regions

Pakistan has great extremes of elevation, reaching the highest point at the Himalayan peak of K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen) in the north and the lowest point at the Arabian Sea coast in the south. The Indus River flows the length of Pakistan from north to south. The Indus and its tributaries form a wide river valley with fertile plains in Punjab and Sind (Sindh) provinces. Pakistan is mountainous in the north and west. Earthquakes are frequent, and occasionally severe, in the northern and western areas.

Much of Pakistan is a dry, sun-scorched region. To the west of the Indus are the rugged dry mountains of the Sulaim?n Range, which merge with the treeless K?rthar Range in the south. Farther west are the arid regions of the Baluchistan Plateau and the Kh?r?n Basin. A series of mostly barren low mountains and hills predominate in the western border areas. The Thar Desert straddles the border with India in the southeast.

The country also possesses a variety of wetlands, with the glacial lakes of the Himalayas, the mudflats of the Indus Valley plains, and the extensive coastal mangroves of the Indus River delta. The wetland areas cover an estimated area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres).

B Rivers

The Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the land would have turned into a barren desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the glacial streams of the Himalayas and enters Pakistan in the northeast. It runs generally southwestward the entire length of Pakistan, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi), and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two-thirds of Pakistan. The principal tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Be?s, Chen?b, R?vi, and Jhelum rivers. In southwestern Punjab Province these rivers merge to form the Panjnad (“Five Rivers”), which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approaches the Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west of the delta is the seaport of Kar?chi; to the east the delta fans into the salt marshes known as the Rann of Kutch.

C Coastline

The coastline of Pakistan extends 1,046 km (650 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75 percent of the total coast length, or about 800 km (500 mi). These steep mountains rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Most of the coast is underdeveloped, with deserted beaches and only a few fishing villages.

D Mountain Peaks and Passes

Hindu Kush Mountains, Pakistan The Hindu Kush mountain system in central Asia extends for 1,000 km (600 mi) in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. With about two dozen peaks surpassing 7,000 m (23,000 ft), the range reaches its highest point in Pakistan’s highlands, where the peak known as Tirich M?r rises 7,690 m (25,230 ft) above sea level.Photo Researchers, Inc./Emil Muench

 

Pakistan has within its borders some of the world’s highest and most spectacular mountains. In the northern part of the country, the Hindu Kush mountains converge with the Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system. Thirteen of the world’s 30 tallest peaks are in Pakistan. The tallest include K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen), the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft), in the Karakoram Range; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Himalayas; and Tirich M?r (7,690 m/25,230 ft) in the Hindu Kush.

Many mountain passes cross Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and China. Passes crossing over the mountains bordering Afghanistan include the Khyber, Bol?n, Khojak, Kurram, Tochi, and Gomal passes. The most well-known and well-traveled is the Khyber Pass in the northwest. It links Pesh?war in Pakistan with Jal?l?b?d in Afghanistan, where it connects to a route leading to the Afghan capital of K?bul. It is the widest and lowest of all the mountain passes, reaching a maximum elevation of 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The route of the Bol?n Pass links Quetta in Baluchistan Province with Kandah?r in Afghanistan; it also serves as a vital link within Pakistan between Sind and Baluchistan provinces. Historically, the Khyber and Bol?n passes were used as the primary routes for invaders to enter India from Central Asia, including the armies of Alexander the Great. Also historically significant is Karakoram Pass, on the border with China. For centuries it was part of the trading routes known as the Silk Road, which linked China and other parts of Asia with Europe.

E Plants and Animals

The vegetation of Pakistan varies with elevation, soil type, and precipitation. Forests are largely confined to the mountain ranges in the north, where coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar grow. The southern ranges of the Himalayas, which are of lower elevation, receive heavy rainfall and have dense forests of deodar, pine, poplar, and willow trees. The more arid Sulaim?n and Salt mountain ranges are sparsely forested with a type of mulberry called shisham, a broad-leaved, deciduous tree. Dry-temperate vegetation, such as coarse grasses, scrub plants, and dwarf palm, predominates in the valleys of the North-West Frontier Province and the Baluchistan Plateau. The arid western hills are dotted with juniper, tamarisk (salt cedar), and pistachio trees. The area of Zi?rat, Baluchistan, has juniper forests that are believed to be 5,000 years old; however, they are dwindling due to deforestation. Dry-tropical scrub and thorn trees are the predominant vegetation in the Indus River plain. Known as rakh, this vegetation is native to the region and can survive temperatures higher than 45°C (113°F). Riverine forests, found in the Indus floodplain, require six weeks of monsoon flooding to sustain them during the dry months. Irrigated tree plantations are found in Punjab and Sind. Mangrove forests in the coastal wetlands are an integral part of the marine food chain.

Animal life in Pakistan includes deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. The wetlands provide an essential habitat for a number of important mammal species, including coated otter, Indus dolphin, fishing cat, hog deer, and wild boar. During the migration season, at least 1 million waterfowl representing more than 100 species visit the extensive deltas and wetlands of Pakistan. Pakistan’s rivers and coastal waters contain many types of freshwater and saltwater fish, including herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.

Threatened or endangered species include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, blue sheep, and ibex (a type of wild goat). These animals can still be found in remote and protected areas of the Himalayas. The houbara bustard has been overhunted as a game bird in Pakistan and is officially protected.

F Climate

The climate of Pakistan varies widely, with sharp differences between the high mountains and low plains. The country experiences four seasons. In the mountainous regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter and are mild during summer. In the Indus plains, temperatures range between about 32° and 49°C (about 90° and 120°F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13°C (about 55°F).

Mountainous areas receive most precipitation as heavy snowfall in winter. In other areas of Pakistan, most precipitation comes with the summer monsoons during July and August. The summer monsoons are seasonal winds that bring torrential rainfall, breaking the hot, dry spell and providing much-needed relief. The rainfall is so heavy that it causes rivers in Punjab and Sind provinces to flood the lowland areas. Rainfall is scarce the rest of the year. Punjab Province has the most precipitation in the country, receiving more than 500 mm (20 in) per year. In contrast, the arid regions of the southeast (the Thar Desert in Sind) and southwest (Baluchistan) receive less than 125 mm (5 in) annually.

G Natural Resources

More than 20 different types of minerals have been identified in Pakistan, but few are of sufficient quality or quantity to be commercially exploited. Most mineral deposits are found in the mountainous regions. Pakistan’s exploited natural resources include coal, natural gas, petroleum, gypsum, limestone, chromite, iron ore, rock salt, and silica sand. Pakistan has extensive natural gas reserves, notably in the vicinity of Sui, Baluchistan, from where it is piped to most of the large cities of Pakistan. Petroleum is limited, but exploration for additional reserves holds promise. Most of the country’s coal is of poor quality. The Salt Range in Punjab Province has large deposits of pure salt. Only about 3.3 percent of Pakistan’s total land area is forested, and timber is in short supply.

H Environmental Issues

The wetlands in Pakistan are a precious resource. In an arid to semiarid environment, these ecosystems have tremendous value. People, domestic livestock, and wildlife depend on them for livelihood and survival. The wetlands are also a major source of food staples, livestock grazing and fodder, fuel wood, and irrigation water. However, the fragile wetland ecologies are threatened by poor conservation, over-exploitation, and urban and industrial pollution.

Pakistan’s forests also are in urgent need of protection and conservation. The country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The primary causes of deforestation are population growth and settlement, lack of fuelwood alternatives, insect damage and diseases, forest fires, and lack of awareness about the importance of preservation.

In the 1970s the government of Pakistan began making efforts to protect the country’s forests. It has created 14 national parks, covering a total area of 2,753,375 hectares (6,803,738 acres). The protected forests of the parks help prevent soil erosion. The parks are also wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. Khunjerab National Park, established in 1975, is an important habitat sanctuary for a number of threatened or endangered species, including the snow leopard. It is one of the country’s most important alpine biodiversity regions. Located in the Himalayas, it is also one of the highest-altitude parks in the world at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). Most of the parks generally have no ecological basis, however, existing primarily as tourist attractions or for the preservation of game animals.

Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.

III THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN

The people of Pakistan are ethnically diverse. They trace their ethnic lineages to many different origins, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. Migrations of Muslims from India since 1947 and refugees from Afghanistan since the 1980s have significantly changed the demographics of certain areas of the country. The people of Pakistan come from ethnic stocks such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan. Although an overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim, religion does not supercede ethnic affiliations. The people follow many different cultural traditions and speak many different languages and dialects.

Pakistan has a population of 153,705,278 (2004 estimate), yielding an average population density of 197 persons per sq km (511 per sq mi). The country’s population was increasing in 2004 at a rate of 2 percent a year. Only 34 percent of the people live in urban areas.

A Cultural Groups

Pakistan is a multilingual and multiethnic nation. Most of the people belong to one of the country’s five major ethnolinguistic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns (Pakhtuns), Mohajirs (Muslims who migrated to the newly formed nation of Pakistan after 1947), and Baluchis. Ethnically distinct subgroups exist within each of these five categories. Overall, ethnic identity is multilayered and complex and may be based on a combination of religion, language, ethnicity, and tribe.

Not all of the ethnolinguistic groups are equally represented in the power structure of Pakistan. Mohajirs, Punjabis, and Pashtuns are the dominant groups, while Sindhis and Baluchis struggle to advance and protect their interests.

Punjabis constitute 58 percent of the population. They have diverse origins, but over the centuries they coalesced into a coherent ethnic group in the historic Punjab region and developed a common language, Punjabi. Today most Punjabis prefer to read and write in Pakistan’s official language, Urdu, and their language-based ethnic identity is relatively weak. Many Punjabis are farmers in the fertile valley of Punjab Province. Punjabis also predominate in the military and the federal government.

Sindhis constitute 13 percent of the population of Pakistan. Their traditional homeland is the province of Sind, where they maintain the country’s largest concentration of large landholdings. Sindhis are a predominantly rural people. They have a strong sense of linguistic and cultural pride and identity. They have a rich literary and folk tradition and prefer to read and write in their own language, Sindhi.

Pashtuns constitute 12.5 percent of the population. Pashtuns are divided into many tribes, and their tribal structure is egalitarian. Pashtuns follow a strict code of conduct known as Pashtunwali (“Pashtun Way”). Pashtun identity, including their interpretation of Islamic law, is formulated and guided by Pashtunwali. The code is based on the absolute obligations of providing hospitality and sanctuary, even to one’s enemies, and exacting revenge at all costs in the defense of one’s honor. The code also requires Pashtuns to abide by the decisions of the jirga (council of tribal leaders) in matters of dispute. Many Pashtuns have blue eyes and claim to be descendants of the European soldiers who fought for Alexander the Great in the region 2,000 years ago. They have a rich oral tradition in their ethnic language, Pashto, but many Pashtuns prefer to read and write in Urdu. Pashtuns are primarily farmers, livestock herders, traders, and soldiers in the Pakistan military.

Baluchis constitute 4 percent of the population. Most Baluchis are nomadic, migrating wherever the desert-like conditions of their homeland, the Baluchistan Plateau, provide enough vegetation to raise their animals. Raising livestock, mainly sheep and goats, and selling their hides and wool is a way of life for the Baluchis. They also have apple, almond, and apricot orchards, and some grow wheat. Baluchi tribal organization is strictly hierarchical, and each tribe is headed by a sardar (tribal chief). Most Baluchis speak Baluchi (Balochi), a language that is similar to Persian. About one-fifth of Baluchis also speak Brahui, a Dravidian-derived language. Baluchis are the least educated and poorest segment of the population and are inadequately represented in government.

Mohajirs constitute about 8 percent of the population. They are Muslims who settled in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947. Unlike other cultural groups of Pakistan, they do not have a tribe-based cultural identity. They are the only people in the country for whom Urdu, the official language, is their native tongue. Mohajirs were the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement, which advocated the partition of British India in order to create the independent nation of Pakistan for Indian Muslims. After the partition, a large number of Muslims migrated from various urban centers of India to live in the new nation of Pakistan. These migrants later identified themselves as mohajirs, meaning “refugees” in both Urdu and Arabic. A large number of Mohajirs settled in the cities of Sind Province, particularly Kar?chi and Hyder?b?d. They were better educated than most indigenous Pakistanis and assumed positions of leadership in business, finance, and administration. Today they remain mostly urban.

Sindhis felt dispossessed by the preponderance of Mohajirs in the urban centers of Sind. With the emergence of a Sindhi middle class in the 1970s and adoption of Sindhi as a provincial language in 1972, tensions between Mohajirs and Sindhis began to mount. The 1973 constitution of Pakistan divided Sind into rural and urban districts, with the implication that the more numerous Sindhis would be better represented in government. Many Mohajirs felt that they were being denied opportunities and launched a movement to represent their interests. The movement, which evolved into the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the mid-1980s, called for official recognition of Mohajirs as a separate cultural group and advocated improved rights for Mohajirs. Although factional rivalries and violence within the MQM tarnished its image and shrunk its power base, the movement continues to be a potent force in urban centers of the province, particularly Kar?chi. The MQM has contributed to a more defined Mohajir identity within the country.

B Political Regions

The ethnic groups of Pakistan are distributed according to their historical settlement in the region. The current political regions of Pakistan roughly correspond to the settlement patterns established long before the partition of British India in 1947, when Pakistan was created as a homeland for Indian Muslims. The four provinces are Punjab, the Muslim portion of the historic Punjab region; Sind, the traditional homeland of the Sindhis; the North-West Frontier Province, a small portion of the Pashtun tribal lands; and Baluchistan, a portion of the Baluchi tribal lands. The traditional homelands of the Pashtuns and Baluchis extend beyond the modern political borders, both provincial and national.

Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan, with 72.6 million people (1998). Most of the people are Punjabis. The province contains most of the country’s largest cities, but the rural agricultural areas are also densely settled. The province is the second largest in area.

Sind is the second most populated province in Pakistan, with about 30 million people (1998). Its population is the most urbanized in Pakistan. Sindhis make up about 60 percent of the population of Sind, living mostly in rural areas. Mohajirs constitute the remaining 40 percent and live mostly in the province’s large cities. Sind is the third largest province in area.

The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) has a population of 17.6 million (1998). The majority of the people are Pashtuns. The province is part of the historic Pashtun tribal lands, which extend throughout southern and southeastern Afghanistan and well into western Pakistan, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and northern Baluchistan. The NWFP is Pakistan’s smallest province in area. In the 1980s refugees from war-torn Afghanistan began to settle in the province. Refugee camps and rudimentary villages were set up in the border areas. A large number of refugees also established communities in cities such as Pesh?war. Many became semipermanent residents of Pakistan because Afghanistan remained in a state of war through the mid-1990s. The majority of refugees were Pashtuns, facilitating their assimilation into the province’s population, in many cases through intermarriage.

Baluchistan is the most sparsely populated and least developed province of Pakistan. A majority of the 6.5 million (1998) people who live in Baluchistan are Baluchis. Pashtuns are the second largest ethnic group in the province. In recent years a large number of Afghan refugees have settled in Baluchistan. In area, Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan, covering nearly 40 percent of the country’s total territory. However, the province is an arid and inhospitable hinterland.

C Principal Cities

Pakistan’s largest city is Kar?chi, the capital of Sind Province. It is the country’s only seaport and a major financial, industrial, and commercial center. It is also known as the ethnic melting pot of Pakistan. Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is Pakistan’s second largest city and a cultural and educational center. Faisal?b?d, in central Punjab, is the center of textile and fertilizer industries. Mult?n, the largest city in southern Punjab, has many ancient Muslim shrines, a huge fertilizer factory, and small cottage industries such as carpet weaving and pottery. Hyder?b?d, in Sind Province, is a manufacturing center with textile and glass factories, as well as a cultural center with museums, historic mosques, and a medical school. Pesh?war, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, is a busy, overcrowded frontier outpost and a hub of trade with Afghanistan. For centuries it served as a gateway and trading post between Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.

Isl?m?b?d is the capital of Pakistan and the seat of the federal government; it forms its own administrative unit, the Isl?m?b?d Capital Territory. Just to the south, in bordering Punjab Province, is R?walpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani army and an industrial center.

D Religion

 

Sunni Muslim A Sunni Muslim prays outside the entrance of his home in Quetta, in northwestern Pakistan. About 97 percent of the people in the country are Muslims, of which about 80 percent are Sunni Muslims.Arvind Garg

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Faisal Mosque, Isl?m?b?d A planned city, Isl?m?b?d replaced Kar?chi as Pakistan’s capital in 1967. The city contains many examples of modern architecture, including Faisal Mosque, designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay.Liaison Agency/Arvind Garg

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Islam is the faith of about 97 percent of the people of Pakistan. About three-quarters of the country’s Muslims are Sunni, and about one-quarter are Shia. Some small Muslim fringe sects, such as the Ahmedis and Zikris, also exist. Hindus and Christians form the largest religious minorities, accounting for about 3 percent of the population. Other religious groups include Sikhs, Parsis, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic state but guarantees freedom of religion.

E Languages

Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is the first language of only a small percentage of the population, but it cuts across linguistic and provincial boundaries as the national language. More than 75 percent of Pakistanis can speak and understand Urdu. In urban areas about 95 percent of the people communicate in Urdu. Urdu replaced English as the official language in 1978.

Most Pakistanis speak at least two languages. A large segment of the population is trilingual, speaking English, Urdu, and an ethnic-based regional language. Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, and Brahui are the major regional languages. These languages have many regional dialects, including Saraiki, a widely spoken dialect of Punjabi. Regional languages are recognized as a potent force because language and ethnic identity are closely interrelated; even the national census categorizes groups according to their language, rather than their ethnicity. However, there is growing awareness among Pakistanis that for social mobility, national cohesion, and individual success, it is imperative to be fluent in Urdu and proficient in English.

Several factors contributed to the establishment of Urdu as the lingua franca of Pakistan. It was the language of the educated Muslims in northern India, who spearheaded the Pakistan Movement. Urdu helped foster a linguistic identity among Muslims in the region. Although similar to Hindi as a spoken language, Urdu uses a Persian-derived script and incorporates many Arabic words. Choosing Urdu as the national language provided a linguistic basis for the formation of a Muslim national identity. It also provided the country with a “neutral” language because Urdu does not have ethnic or tribal associations. Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, state-controlled electronic and print media have promoted Urdu. In the public schools of the country, Urdu is the principal language of instruction.

For all practical purposes, however, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan’s legal system is based on British common law, and judicial and government documents are mostly written in English. Pakistanis of all social strata strive to learn English, which has a certain elite status. Although the quality of instruction in English has declined, English continues to be the language of the educated and those who want to move ahead in life.

F Education

Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. In 2004 only 46.6 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 60.6 percent, while female literacy was 31.5 percent. From 1976 to 2001 the number of primary schools doubled, but so did the population. High levels of population growth continue to hamper educational development in the country. The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.

According to the constitution, it is the state’s responsibility to provide free primary education. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance, but attendance is not compulsory. While the enrollment rate in primary school is high for boys, less than one-half of girls attend school. In the 2000–2001 school year 75 percent of primary school-aged children were enrolled in school, while only 25 percent of secondary school-aged children attended. In 1996, 3.5 percent of Pakistan’s college-aged population attended institutions of higher education. The wealthiest and best students seek education in British and American universities.

At the time of independence Pakistan had only one university, the University of the Punjab, founded in 1882 in Lahore. Pakistan now has more than 20 public universities. Among Pakistan’s leading public institutions of higher education are Quaid-e-Azam University (1965), in Isl?m?b?d, the University of Kar?chi (1951), the University of Pesh?war (1950), and the University of Sindh (1947), near Hyder?b?d.

Since 1978 the government has encouraged the privatization of education at all levels. This led to the creation of three major private universities: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Agha Khan University Medical College (in Kar?chi), and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (in Topi, North-West Frontier Province). The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), in R?walpindi, conducts research in the fields of science and technology for both the public and private sectors.