International Mother Language Day 2023: How Bangladesh fought for its language

International Mother Language Day: The "Bhasha Andolan" was instrumental in Bangladesh's 1971 freedom struggle. (File)

February 21 or “Ekushey February” or simply “Ekushe” is a day to remember especially in Bangladesh. Students of University of Dhaka began a protest in 1952 on this very day demanding recognition of Bengali as a state language along with Urdu in the then East Pakistan.

Five language activists were killed in police action and hundreds were injured during a protest. To commemorate the sacrifices of the students in the “Bhasha Andolan” or “Language revolution”, in 1999, the UNESCO announced that February 21 would be observed worldwide as International Mother Language Day.

The early revolution was also instrumental in the 1971 Pakistan-Bangladesh partition.

History

When in 1947, India and Pakistan were partitioned, there was eastern part of Bangladesh that was also a part of Pakistan – the ruling seat and far off in the west. Culturally, ethnically, language and customs wise, Bangladesh – earlier a part of Bengal – was more similar to West Bengal than that the Punjabi, Hindi or Urdu speaking Pakistan.

Language soon became a thorn. A Bengali legislator in 1948 proposed that Bangla be given status as an official language (in addition to Urdu) in Pakistan.

But Pakistan was adamant. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor General of Pakistan, declared in Dhaka that the language agitation was a “fifth column” intended to divide Pakistani Muslims. He announced that Urdu will remain the only official language and those protesting will be considered as traitors of the state.

The tensions continued for a few years until a large-scale demonstration by students made the government impose section 144 even prior to the protests in anticipation.

While it took another four years in 1956 to finally get Bangla as an official language as Pakistan’s Constitution came into effect, Bangladesh never was represented fairly in Pakistan and its issues were unresolved. This eventually led to more resentment post which in 1971 Bangladesh’s freedom movement started.

Read: International Mother Language Day 2023: History, theme, factoids

This year’s theme for International Mother Language Day is “multilingual education - a necessity to transform education”.