Hindi channels for kids become dilemma for Pak parents

Singh

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KARACHI: “Yeh hamari parampara kai khilaaf hai!” the parents of Ali Shah, 6, were stunned when they first heard the sentence in Hindi from their son.

At first, they were amused and laughed, however, soon they started worrying when they found out that the usage of Hindi by their son was not a mere coincidence.

Muhammad Nawaz, 34, a corporate manager by profession said that one day he took his son to a wedding and on the way back home, he asked him, “Dad how come we’re going back even though the wedding hasn’t taken place?”

Surprised, he told his son that the wedding has already taken place in the mosque.

But Nawaz was even more astonished to find out that his son’s idea of a wedding was seeing a couple take circles round the fire.

“I was shocked to see my son’s behaviour and therefore started investigating. I found out that Ali had been watching a cartoon channel that was in Hindi language and was picking up things from there,” said Nawaz, who then instructed his wife to keep the children away from watching channels for children that weren’t just in Hindi language but also carried programmes that presented a culture far more different than here.

Nawaz is not the only child whose young mind is absorbing the cultural impact from across the border, but a large number of families across the city are facing a similar problem.

They claim that the Hindi version of kid’s TV channels are having a negative impact on their children that includes learning Hindi as well as becoming accustomed to the Hindu mythology.

Soha Ali, a resident of Clifton found herself in a similar situation. “Children are addicted to these Hindi channels for kids while I would like them to enhance their English language skills,” said Soha.

She says that the English version of these TV channels is much better in terms of programme quality as they allow children a chance to improve their English.

With hardly any choice, she has barred her children from viewing the Hindi channels and has appealed to the authorities to keep a check on cable operators and make sure they show the English version.

Daily Times has learnt from that almost all the major cable network operators across the city are running the Hindi version of children’s TV channels.

When contacted, cable operators had a different tale to tell. “We run cartoon channels in Hindi because children find it easier to understand,” said Fateh Muhammad, owner of the Star Cable Network in Shireen Jinnah Colony. He feels that since Hindi and Urdu are pretty similar, that’s why he runs the Hindi language channel.

“Neither had we received any instructions from government not to run these channels nor any complaints have been received from the customers in this regard,” he added.

Khurram, who works for Home Vision Communication, a company which provide cable TV services to a number of cable operators, said that kids’ channels in Hindi are popular with the children and there were no restrictions by the government that barred them from showing them.

Inam ur Rehman, a media expert and a teacher of mass communication, did not agree with the arguments of the cable operators. “Hindi as a language is of no use to our children. Its better that they learn English which would help them in the future,” said Rehman. He said that the culture shown in these cartoons creates doubts in the minds of the children and later on, they find it difficult to come to terms with their own traditions. Ashfaque Jumani, General Manager of the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Sindh chapter, told Daily Times that PEMRA has instructed all cable network operators to run the English version of the said channel. “We monitor the operations of cable network operators and take serious action in case they do not abide by the instructions,” he maintained.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
 

1.44

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KARACHI0
“I was shocked to see my son’s behaviour and therefore started investigating. I found out that Ali had been watching a cartoon channel that was in Hindi language and was picking up things from there,” said Nawaz, who then instructed his wife to keep the children away from watching channels for children that weren’t just in Hindi language but also carried programmes that presented a culture far more different than here.
Another example of Pakistani intolerance towards the Hindu Faith.
 

Singh

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1.44 rather than intolerance I would term it as ignorance. An average Pakistani has no idea about Indian culture and believes whatever "propaganda" is fed to him about the "enemy".
 

Known_Unknown

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Culture Nazis. After having convinced themselves over 6 decades that they are descendants of Arabs and have nothing to do with Indian civilization, they find it hard to hammer the same propaganda into their kids who're born in a much freer society (comparatively, of course!). Height of self-loathing and denial.

Btw, the Punjabi language in India is written in Gurmukhi script, right? Is the Punjabi in Pakistan written in Urdu script? Can a Punjabi person from India read a Pak Punjabi newspaper? Are there any differences in spoken Punjabi between the two? And finally, have the differences cropped up only after partition, or have they always been there?
 

mehwish92

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Culture Nazis. After having convinced themselves over 6 decades that they are descendants of Arabs and have nothing to do with Indian civilization, they find it hard to hammer the same propaganda into their kids who're born in a much freer society (comparatively, of course!). Height of self-loathing and denial.

Btw, the Punjabi language in India is written in Gurmukhi script, right? Is the Punjabi in Pakistan written in Urdu script? Can a Punjabi person from India read a Pak Punjabi newspaper? Are there any differences in spoken Punjabi between the two? And finally, have the differences cropped up only after partition, or have they always been there?
Punjabi on both sides is basically the same. The script however, is different. Indian Punjabis use the Gurmukhi (derived from Sanskrit) script, and Pakistani Punjabis use the Shahmukhi (derived from Persian) Script.

As far as I know, the differences in terms of script have always been there, though generally what one used to see is that most non-Muslim Punjabis were capable of reading both scripts, as the Shahmukhi script was the official script earlier on (thanks to the Moghuls), whereas the Gurmukhi script was usually seen in Sikh literature.

After 1947, of course, Muslims in Pakistani punjab went on with the Shahmukhi script, whereas the Indian punjabis went back to their original script, the Gurmukhi script.

I have limited knowledge of all this, however, so if I am wrong please forgive me.
 

Known_Unknown

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Thanks for that info. I have noticed that in Hindi interviews, the PM uses a lot of Urdu words, in fact his answers are usually 80% Urdu and 20% Hindi. But he's from an earlier generation, so I guessed that in his time, Shahmukhi must have been dominant. So are any Punjabi Muslims left in India? Do they use Gurmukhi now?
 
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There are still lots of pinds in Pakistan....those people migrated from amritsar and they still talk like Sikhs. Here in USA i'v met lots of pakistani punjabi who have same accent as pendu sikhs. About stop your kids from talking hindi is just shows how insecure these people are.
 

Singh

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Thanks for that info. I have noticed that in Hindi interviews, the PM uses a lot of Urdu words, in fact his answers are usually 80% Urdu and 20% Hindi. But he's from an earlier generation, so I guessed that in his time, Shahmukhi must have been dominant. So are any Punjabi Muslims left in India? Do they use Gurmukhi now?
All Punjabis schooled before 1947, at least knew the urdu script.
Amongst the sikhs very few knew gurumukhi and amongst the hindus very few knew devanagari but almost all knew how to speak Punjabi but most could only write or read Punjabi in urdu script.
Both my grandfathers for eg could only read and write in English and Urdu but could speak Punjabi.

What are "pinds" and "pendu Sikhs?"
pind = village
pendu = villager/rural
 

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Well it is fear in their hearts that their children will become more liberal and the future generation will have a free society. How can they let it happen?...The are a Islamic nation and they are totally non secular.
 

F-14

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What goes around Comes around They left their true Cluture and went and now they will come back just wait and watch
 

Vinod2070

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Culture Nazis. After having convinced themselves over 6 decades that they are descendants of Arabs and have nothing to do with Indian civilization, they find it hard to hammer the same propaganda into their kids who're born in a much freer society (comparatively, of course!). Height of self-loathing and denial.

Btw, the Punjabi language in India is written in Gurmukhi script, right? Is the Punjabi in Pakistan written in Urdu script? Can a Punjabi person from India read a Pak Punjabi newspaper? Are there any differences in spoken Punjabi between the two? And finally, have the differences cropped up only after partition, or have they always been there?
Actually they have convinced themselves of being Arabs or Mongols or Turks or Afghans or Persians (anything but native to the land) for hundreds of years. Though now there is a new found interest among a minority of internet warriors to lay claim to the IVC and even being Aryans. :blum3:

Also the hiding that Arabs have been receiving at the hands of Israel for 6 decades has changed the Arab part to a large extent. Now they have started calling the Arabs stupid and incompetent after trying to fake them for so long! :wink:
 

Daredevil

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People who don't have culture and identity of their own will always be insecure of losing their fake identity and face identity crisis just like Pakistanis are facing by the soft power of India through bollywood movies, saas-bahu serials :D, reality shows, television programmes and Indian dresses. Pakistanis are historically and culturally closer to India than Arabs/Turks and they will have to face this truth some day or the other and Indian culture will subsume their fake culture which is enforced upon people by politicians and mullahs.
 

Antimony

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KARACHI: But Nawaz was even more astonished to find out that his son’s idea of a wedding was seeing a couple take circles round the fire.

“I was shocked to see my son’s behaviour and therefore started investigating. I found out that Ali had been watching a cartoon channel that was in Hindi language and was picking up things from there,” said Nawaz, who then instructed his wife to keep the children away from watching channels for children that weren’t just in Hindi language but also carried programmes that presented a culture far more different than here.

Am I the only one spotting this inconsistency in the story? The kid learned about a Hindu marriage by watching it on a cartoon channel?
 

1.44

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Actually they have convinced themselves of being Arabs or Mongols or Turks or Afghans or Persians (anything but native to the land) for hundreds of years. Though now there is a new found interest among a minority of internet warriors to lay claim to the IVC and even being Aryans. :blum3:

Also the hiding that Arabs have been receiving at the hands of Israel for 6 decades has changed the Arab part to a large extent. Now they have started calling the Arabs stupid and incompetent after trying to fake them for so long! :wink:
Is it me or does that seem pretty pathetic and kind sad
 

1.44

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Am I the only one spotting this inconsistency in the story? The kid learned about a Hindu marriage by watching it on a cartoon channel?
I don't think cartoons ever depict any Hindu-marriages especially walking around the flame part.
They must be getting some weird 'made in India' cartoon.

OH NO! I JUST REALISED....MAYBE THEY ARE GETTING THE CARTOON VERSION OF KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI....:((

Ekta Kapoor is pretty devious so you never know...........:blum3:
 

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