In Pakistan, English is more than a language — it's a passport. Those who speak it are welcomed into privilege; those who don't are quietly left behind. Our classrooms, shaped by colonial history and class divide, have turned a tool of learning into a wall of exclusion. The language that once symbolised colonial authority now determines who gets quality education, employment and social mobility. It is not merely a subject taught in schools; it is a gatekeeper of privilege.

The roots of English dominance run deep. The language arrived with British rule and never truly left. Even after independence, Pakistan's leadership equated English with modernity and progress, embedding it into the state's bureaucracy, education and law. Urdu was named the national language, but English remained the language of power —........

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