COMMENT: Readership in Pakistan —Aliya Anjum

The dismal state of readership in Pakistan can be gauged from the fact that bookstores are scarce and knowledge-based books such as geo-political commentaries, historical accounts, current affairs write-ups and autobiographies are hard to come by unless bought at exorbitant prices from elite bookstores

The intellectual and societal development of a society can be gauged from the books being read by its people. Where there are no books, there is no knowledge, and where there is no knowledge there is unrest, intolerance and persecution.

This fact is true of Pakistan more than anywhere else. We are not a nation of readers. The greatest volume of books available at the Urdu Bazaar in Karachi is that of textbooks. This is compulsory reading and is not indicative of a knowledge quest. The next book genre widely available at this bazaar is children’s books, followed by religious books. When it comes to adult readership, religious books single-handedly dominate. This is aided by a growing sense of religiosity amongst the people and hence the desire to read Islamic books.

The selection of Islamic books is also limited, given that global publications are rarely translated into Urdu. Some of the greatest writers in Islamic literature such as Martin Lings (a Muslim convert) and Leopold Weiss (Mohammad Asad) do not have their works available in Urdu. Due to the colonial legacy of a dual language system, the elite reads English writings and a vast majority reads Urdu books. Whilst there is world-class poetry and prose written in the Urdu language, other genres are not covered adequately. This problem is compounded by the fact that original research is generally conducted in the west and hence quality writings that are succinctly written are usually available in English only. The works of globally reputed Muslim scholars such as Mohammad Asad, Martin Lings, Harun Yahya and Tariq Ramadan are only available at the priciest elite bookshops in the English language and, therefore, a vast majority does not have access to their eye-opening writings about Islam. There is thus a great need for translating English literature into Urdu. This is not to undermine the efforts of local writers who have commendably ventured to write persuasive literature on Islam. However, it may be worthwhile to note that there are few authentic books on Islamic history available in Urdu and the average man or woman is at best vaguely aware of the glorious Muslim past. It is therefore important to have good Islamic literature translated into Urdu to be made available to a wider audience, tremendously raising the level of knowledge about Islam vis-à-vis the ground realities of the 21st century.

The average Pakistani’s window into the greater world can be enhanced greatly by the availability of world-class literature translated into Urdu. A civilisation at its peak creates literature and writings that are ground breaking and thoroughly educational. Pakistan has low levels of literacy where higher education — apart from medicine and engineering — is a neglected domain. Books alone can therefore fill the void created by a sub-par educational system. The Pakistani school curriculum was changed in the days of Ziaul Haq to root out history and include religion even in science subjects such as biology. Only books can, therefore, educate the masses about what they did not learn in school and what affects their lives nonetheless.

Every civilisation looks towards its historical roots to make sense of current happenings and to find its place in the world. The Chinese today are strongly influenced by the writings of Confucius. The Indians similarly look towards their great leaders such as Gandhi and an intellectual powerhouse such as the US looks towards all civilisations to learn wisdom from each one of them. Bookstores thrive in the US despite the importance of computers. Books are now available as e-books to read via mobile phone or computer. Within bookstores in the US, great writings can be found from all over the world. A large selection of Islamic books can be found in a US bookstore in addition to books on Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and pagan religions, etc. In addition, books written by famous authors such as Bill Gates, Noam Chomsky, Bill Clinton, Queen Nur and Jimmy Carter are available for the average people to hone their worldview.

The dismal state of readership in Pakistan can be gauged by the fact that bookstores are scarce and knowledge-based books such as geo-political commentaries, historical accounts, current affairs write-ups and autobiographies are hard to come by unless bought at exorbitant prices from elite bookstores. One commendable effort in this regard is an online book rental service initiated in Karachi by two US returned professionals. This particular effort has the potential to lead to a revival of the reading culture in Pakistan, since the Internet, as a medium, makes access easy and a rental service mitigates high book buying expenses. This rental service is now even venturing into creating an online database of scattered booksellers’ inventory in Karachi that will work along the lines of an online marketplace where one can search and buy new and old books similar to the US online site called e-bay.

The National Book Foundation, the online book rental business, higher educational institutions, public libraries, publishers, booksellers and corporate philanthropists can connect to promote the reading culture in Pakistan. If there are good books available, then together they can revive readership at large and also revive the coffeehouse culture amongst the middle class in the bigger metropolises of Pakistan such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and Multan. This would not only lead to a healthier outlet for boredom but also significantly contribute to a culture of peace, respect and tolerance.

The writer is an academic and can be reached at aliya1924@gmail.com