ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the status of Punjabi in Pakistan and its relationship with the Left. It begins by placing Punjabi language movements in the general context of South Asian language mobilisations. The chapter reviews the research of Punjabi in West Punjab, two key areas that are not completely addressed are established. The politicised nature of language in South Asia has been studied from a number of angles, most prominently in terms of the nexus that emerges in the colonial period between language and religious identity, with one result being the consolidation of communal identities. The first study of the Punjabi movement in West Punjab in English begins with Christopher Shackles’ article in 1970 and these themes are amplified and illustrated in Tariq Rahman's considerable output and most recently — in 2008 — by Alyssa Ayres.
