The best development of a nation can happen only through mother tongue. Mother tongue is the best determinant of human identity. Mother tongue is a basic resource of all people irrespective of race, religion and caste. Like mother and mother, every human being inherits this wealth at birth. On February 21, 1952, the people of East Bengal gained the status of mother tongue in exchange for blood.
★What is mother tongue:
In the general sense, mother tongue literally means mother tongue. Different languages are spoken simultaneously in a larger region. The language in which most of the people express their thoughts is the mother tongue of the people of that region. The mother tongue is not only the regional dialect of the mother, the mother tongue is the language of a larger population of a country. Which they use spontaneously. The mother tongue flows in hundreds of streams like a flowing river. Bengali is the mother tongue of Bengalis. Bengali is the vibration of our soul, Bengali is our pride.
★Importance of mother tongue:
Renowned linguist Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah said- ‘Mother, motherland and mother tongue are the three things that are the subject of absolute respect for all.’ It is through mother tongue that people express their hopes, aspirations, emotions and feelings. Mother tongue gives satisfaction and perfection in all spheres of human life. The importance of mother tongue in national life is immense. There can be no substitute for mother tongue to improve the overall field of national life. The mother tongue is the main medium for the development of education, knowledge, science, art, culture and literature.
★The struggle for the dignity of the mother tongue:
The glorious glory of being able to stand tall in the court of the world as a Bengali has been achieved by Bengalis many times over the ages. Our mother tongue Bengali has repeatedly faded under the shadow of foreign rule. Sanskrit prevailed over it in the ninth century AD, Persian and Arabic from the thirteenth century, English and French from the eighteenth century onwards. When the then Governor General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah stood proudly in the heart of Dhaka and declared 'Urdu and only Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan', millions of Bengali-speaking people erupted in protest and anger. On 21st February 1952, the brave Bengalis violated Section 144 by ignoring the rifle fire of the dictatorial Pakistani military. The highways of Dhaka turned red that day with the fresh blood of many unnamed youths including Rafiq, Shafiq, Salam, Barkat and Jabbar. There is no other example in the history of the world of giving life for language. That is why Bengalis celebrate Ekushey February as Martyr's Day.
★International Mother Language Day:
November 16, 1999 is another historic day in the life of the Bengali nation. On this day, Bengali has gained the international recognition of Ekushey February, the treasure of his life. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized Ekushey February as International Mother Language Day at its 30th biennial conference in Paris. Through this recognition of 18 countries of the United Nations, on the one hand, just as the glorious self-sacrifice of the Bengalis for the Bengali language gets world recognition, so also the mother tongue of every nation of the world, big and small, is shown respect and esteem.
★Background of International Mother Language Day:
Those who took the initiative to make 21st February the status of International Mother Language Day are; Mother Language of the World, a multinational language group living in Canada, has ten members who speak different languages. Surprisingly, out of these ten members, two Bengali-speaking people were named after two immortal language martyrs - Rafiq and Salam. The group explained to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on March 29, 1997, the rationale for celebrating International Mother Language Day and proposed that February 21 be recognized as the day. According to the United Nations, it is appropriate to raise this proposal on behalf of a Bengali-speaking state, not a special group. Then linguists Mr. Rafiqul Islam and Mr. Abdus Salam contacted the Ministry of Education of Bangladesh. The Ministry of Education delivered the declaration of 'International Mother Language Day' on October 26, 1999 to the UNESCO headquarters. Twenty-seven countries expressed their written support for Bangladesh's proposal. The proposal was raised in UNESCO Technical Committee Commission-2 on 12 November 1999. The proposal received the support of about 300 delegates from different countries at the conference. Then, on 16 November, the General Conference of UNESCO declared 21 February as 'International Mother Language Day'.
★Recognition of Sierra Leone as the mother tongue of Bengali:
Sierra Leone is the name of a war-torn country in Africa. The United Nations has taken steps to bring peace to the war-torn country. As a special envoy of the United Nations, the Bangladesh Army took part in maintaining peace. Without bloodshed, the Bangladesh Army was able to successfully establish peace there. They were also impressed to hear the Bengali language spoken by the army. In recognition of the work of the Bangladesh Army, they recognized Ekushey February as International Mother Language Day and recognized Bengali as one of their state languages. It is a matter of pride for the Bengali language to be recognized as the state language of another country.
★Collection and preservation of memories:
Language is the bearer of the cultural heritage of a country. And this tradition is still kept in the hearts of Bengalis. The Daksu Museum at Dhaka University still preserves the remnants of the mango tree where the language martyrs were shot. Many valuable information and images of the language movement have been carefully preserved in the Bangladesh National Museum.
The comparison of Bengalis in the observance of twenty-one traditions and rituals in Swaran and Baran is fair. Bengalis observe the International Mother Language Day on 21st February with much love. In the colors of Bengalis, the expression of clothes and hopes is almost the amazement of Ekushey. Besides, Jari, Sari, Bhavaiya songs, Bengali poetry, dance and discussion programs are organized in different places both publicly and privately.
★Initiation of 21:
It is not at all desirable for us to limit Ekushey to festivals only. We have to take the teachings that Ekush has given us as initiation. Twenty-one will be the stimulus of our activity. We need to present the true history of 21 to the new generation. We must always strive for the development of Bangla language. We have to take steps to achieve the goal for which the meritorious students of our country have given their lives.
Ekushey February is the International Mother Language Day. Today, as Bengalis, our commitment is to spread and spread the Bengali language at all levels.