Multilingual Public Policy in Gilgit-Baltistan
By Sumama Shah
Language is a fundamental human right and an essential tool for shaping public policy, creating social capital, and identifying patterns of thought and ideas. Language exists in multiple forms, including verbal, nonverbal, and sign language.
More than 7,100 languages exist around the globe, and around 40% of them are endangered—playing a critical role in policy effectiveness. Language and public policy are deeply interconnected. Language is the lifeline of any public policy. Primarily, public policy serves as a reaction to human problems, depicting laws, regulations, programs, and decisions to address societal challenges effectively. Language is a key factor in making public policy successful.
In Pakistan, public policy is elitist-oriented rather than citizen-centric. It has failed to ensure effective service delivery and address the enormity of societal challenges. One of the major factors behind this failure is language.
Gilgit-Baltistan is a multilingual and multicultural society, with at least six languages spoken across the region. A critical question arises: why does linguistic diversity play a crucial role in the public policy process? Public policy in Pakistan is predominantly crafted in English, a symbol of linguistic imperialism, spoken by only 5% to 7% of the population and understood by up to 40 to 50 million people, out of the 240 million. This shows the disonnect between the policymakers and the governed. This despite of the fact that in remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, including Keris Valley, Hushe Valley, Dumsum, Darkut, Hundur, and Ghorsay, people neither understand nor speak English, relying solely on their native languages. This linguistic gap results in the exclusion of large populations, especially laborers, farmers, and small business owners leading to poor policy implementation, dependence on bureaucracy for interpretation, and reduced policy effectiveness.
The policymaking process begins with problem identification, often carried out by Pseudo intellect legislative members, citizens, and civil society. However, civil society’s influence is minimal. A stark example from Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, Mushtaq Hussain, who cannot even speak the national language, Urdu, let alone English. Similarly, the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Haji Gulbar Khan, also cannot speak or understand English. If decision-makers themselves cannot comprehend policies in English, how can they effectively identify and address public concerns, ensuring good governance under such conditions becomes nearly impossible.
The next phase of the public policy process is agenda setting becomes another major challenge. While local stakeholders, including political activists, academicians, entrepreneurs, and industrial experts, do engage in discussions, the language barrier prevents them from fully understanding and contributing to policy debates. As a result, local citizens feel more confident communicating in their native languages, such as Balti ,Shina and forth on.
Formulating public policy in English is not inherently problematic, but shifting towards multilingual governance can significantly enhance understanding, encourage citizen engagement, foster trust, build consensus, promote inclusivity, and drive sustainable socio-economic development.
India provides a valuable model for multilingual policy. Each Indian state recognizes its native language in governance. Tamil Nadu formulates policies in Tamil, while Karnataka does so in Kannada. Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution recognizes 22 official languages, ensuring linguistic inclusivity in policymaking. In contrast, Pakistan’s official language policy remains centered on English. Notably, Gilgit-Baltistan lacks official language. The government must take the initiative to recognize indigenous languages as official languages in the region, similar to India. Otherwise, without linguistic inclusiveness in public policy, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan will remain marginalized and dependent on the government executive.
A multilingual public policy approach would help preserve endangered languages, reduce ethnic and linguistic tensions, improve governance, enhance service delivery, promote socio-cultural inclusion, prevent conflicts, and foster consensus-building.
Sumama Madni is a student of Governance and Public Policy and a researcher from NUML University, Islamabad. He belongs to Ghanche, Gilgit Baltistan, and can be reached at sumamashah2000@gmail.com
