That a heritage gallery around Jandiala Sher Khan has been inaugurated by the Auqaf Department rather than the Culture Department says something about the insignificant attention culture receives in our setup. Probably the shrine is managed by the Auqaf Department and so falls within its purview. The gallery focuses on the contribution of one of Punjab’s greatest poets, Waris Shah.

Waris Shah is known universally as the poet who wrote Heer Waris Shah in Malka Hauns, in the region lying between the Sutlej and the Ravi. He was not the first to pen this romance, as it was part of the folklore and had been written by many before him, not only in Punjabi but in other languages as well. But the acceptance and popularity that Waris Shah’s effort received has made it a classic of the language.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan, Punjabi has been abandoned by Punjabis. Its rich literary heritage lies is neglected, scattered and in bits, brought to life by rural literati and the force of oral tradition. Educated Punjabis have, from time to time, woken up to this neglect and tried to recompense and recapture the glory. The most concerted effort was made during the first Pakistan Peoples Party government in the 1970s. Since then, such efforts have been sporadic and conducted in snatches.

The rise of digital media and use of Roman script on new platforms has further pushed Punjabi into an essentially oral exercise.

Punjabis are not too worried about the loss of their cultural and linguistic identity. Instead, they go about conquering the brave new world by adopting cultures and languages seen as ladders to success in an internationalised order.

Punjabi literature and language departments were also opened during the period mentioned above, but their alumni either use them to score good marks in competitive examinations or achieve good grades, and no real contribution has been made by these academic institutions since. Punjabis across the border have been more respectful of their heritage, especially as the liturgical script of the Sikhs is Gurmukhi.

Here, the Persian script known as Shahmukhi has not developed much, and all this is seen by educated Punjabis as being very rural and hence a sign of backwardness. This is the reality from which they have been trying to escape and graduate into a glittering world where Urdu and eventually English become effective apparatus of success.

Pakistani Punjabis have been in this bind for decades and are not worried about it. As the rural landscape too gets sucked into the urban cultural landscape through digital media, the cultural landmarks that once existed are undergoing rapid change. It is feared that many languages and their scripts, will be lost to history.

The alarm bells keep ringing, but the effort to counter the risk is inadequate. Whatever the scale of such an effort, however, it should be appreciated and acknowledged.

The writer is a Lahore-based culture critic.