21 February: International Mother Language Day

The role of language in human life is very important. Everybody in the world speaks and loves his own
mother tongue. As we are Bangladeshis, our mother tongue is Bangla. We express our views and ideas
to each other through this language. But we have not got this language easily. In 1947, the Vice
Chancellor of Alighar University Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed said, “Urdu may be the state language of Pakistan
as Hindi is going to be the state language of India”. Instantly Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah protested it.
On 21 March, 1948 Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared, “Urdu and Urdu shall be the state language of
Pakistan”. People of East Pakistan protested it vigorously. Again, on 20 February in 1952, Nazim Uddin
proclaimed that Urdu would be the state language. Consequently the alert and intelligent mass of East
Pakistan, students, teachers and all organised people reacted and united unde`r an umbrella for
establishing Bangla as the state language. On the next day the language movement took the final shape.
Violating section 144, they brought out a procession on 21 February 1952. In this movement many
Bangalees including some students like Asad, Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar, Shafiq and many others
sacrificed their lives for mother tongue, Bangla. And that is why the 21st February is regarded as a red-
letter day in our national life. Every year we remember this day with due respect. The day is declared as
the Govt. holiday and on this day the National Flag remains half-mast and people go to Shaheed Minar
barefooted for showing honour and sympathy to the martyrs. Now this day has been very significant
because this day has been recognised by the UNESCO as the International Mother Language Day in its
30th General Assembly Meeting held on 17 November 1999. We can remember Abdul Gaffer’s immortal
sayings, “Blood stained of my brother of 21 February, can I forget it”.