21 February : International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day is observed on February 21 every year. It is marked to celebrate and protect all mother languages spoken around the world.
International Mother Language Day has been observed annually since 2000 to promote peace and multilingualism around the world and to protect all mother languages. It is observed on February 21 to recognize the 1952 Bengali Language Movement in Bangladesh.
Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
Remembering Dhirendranath Dutta and others who died for Bengali language
On February 25, 1948, Dhirendranath Dutta had urged the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (CAP) to recognise Bengali as one of the official languages. Dutta till his last breath fought for the independence of his country and was tortured to death in the Mainamati Cantonment in 1971.
UNESCO gives suggestions on how to celebrate International Mother Language Day in schools:
School teachers should encourage children to use their mother languages to introduce themselves and talk about their families and culture. They should let the students read poetry, tell a story or sing a song in their mother tongues. Paintings and drawings with captions in mother languages can also be displayed.
For students, it suggests – observe how many mother languages your fellow classmates can speak. Make a survey of the languages by interviewing them. The UN agency also advises students to help organise cultural activities such as films, plays and music that celebrate different languages.
In Bangladesh, the International Mother Language Day is celebrated as Language Martyrs’ Day or Martyrs’ Day to honour the Bengali Language Movement of 1952 in which several students died for defending Bengali language for themselves and for the future generations. The day is observed as a public holiday since 1953.
