Karachi kids' fondness for Hindi cartoon channels worries parents

Karachi, June 8 (ANI): Pakistani kids growing addiction to Hindi cartoon TV channels is becoming a cause of concern for their parents.

"Yeh hamari parampara kai khilaaf hai!" the parents of Ali Shah, 6, were stunned when they first heard the sentence in Hindi from their son.

At first, they were amused and laughed, but soon they realized that their son was fast getting influenced by Hindi culture.

"One day, we took our son to a wedding and on the way back home, he asked me, 'Dad how come we're going back even though the wedding hasn't taken place?" said Muhammad Nawaz, whose son's idea of a wedding was seeing a couple take circles round the fire.

"I found out that Ali had been watching a cartoon channel that was in Hindi language and was picking up things from there," he added.

Ali is not the only child in Karachi who is getting influenced by Indian culture, but a large number of families claim that Hindi TV channels are making their children aware of Hindu mythology.

"Children are addicted to these Hindi channels for kids while I would like them to enhance their English language skills," said Soha Ali, a parent.

According to the Daily Times, almost all cable operators are running the Hindi version of children's TV channels. Since Hindi and Urdu are pretty similar, it becomes easier for kids to develop a fondness towards Hindi language programs.

"We run cartoon channels in Hindi because children find it easier to understand," said Fateh Muhammad, owner of the Star Cable Network.

"Neither had we received any instructions from government not to run these channels nor any complaints have been received from the customers in this regard," he added.

Critics, however, do not agree with the cable operators.

"The culture shown in these cartoons creates doubts in the minds of the children and later on, they find it difficult to come to terms with their own traditions," said Inam ur Rehman, a media expert. (ANI)