International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of UN resolution 56/262 in 2002. Mother Language Day is part of a broader initiative "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world" as adopted by the UN General Assembly on 16 May 2007 in UN resolution 61/266, which also established 2008 as the International Year of Languages. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, 21 February is the anniversary of the day when the people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) fought for recognition for the Bangla language. It is also celebrated in West Bengal, India.

History

21 February was declared to be the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999. It has been observed throughout the world since 21 February 2000. The declaration came up in tribute to the Language Movement done by the Bangladeshis (then the

East Pakistanis East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

). When Pakistan was created in 1947, it had two geographically separate parts: East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (currently known as Pakistan). The two parts were very different from each other in the sense of culture and language. The two parts were also separated by India in between. In 1948, the Government of Pakistan declared Urdu to be the sole national language of Pakistan, even though Bengali or Bangla was spoken by the majority of people combining East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The East Pakistan people protested, since the majority of the population was from East Pakistan and their mother language was Bangla. They demanded Bangla to be at least one of the national languages, in addition to Urdu. The demand was raised first by

Dhirendranath Datta Dhirendranath Datta (2 November 1886 – disappeared 29 March 1971) was a Bengali lawyer by profession who was also active in the politics of undivided Bengal in pre-partition India, and later in East Pakistan (1947–1971). Early life Datta ...

from East Pakistan on 23 February 1948, in the constituent Assembly of Pakistan. To demolish the protest, the government of Pakistan outlawed public meeting and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka, with the support of the general public, arranged massive rallies and meetings. On 21 February 1952, police opened fire on rallies. Abdus Salam,

Abul Barkat Abul Barkat ( bn, আবুল বরকত ) (June 16, 1927 – February 21, 1952) was a protester killed during the Bengali Language Movement protests which took place in the erstwhile East Pakistan (currently Bangladesh), in 1952. He is consi ...

, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed,

Abdul Jabbar ʻAbd al-Jabbār (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الجبار) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Jabbār'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to ...

and Shafiur Rahman died, with hundreds of others injured. This was a rare incident in history, where people sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue. Since then, Bangladeshis celebrate the International Mother Language Day as one of their tragic days. They visit the

Shaheed Minar Shaheed Minar (literally, martyrs' monument) may refer to: * Shaheed Minar, Dhaka, Bangladesh * Shaheed Minar, Kolkata, India {{disambiguation ...

, a monument built in memory of the martyrs and its replicas to express their deep sorrow, respect and gratitude to them. International Mother Language Day is a

national holiday National holiday may refer to: * National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment *Public holiday, a holiday established by law, usually a day off for at least a portion of the workforce, ...

in Bangladesh. The resolution was suggested by Rafiqul Islam and Abdus Salam, Bengalis living in Vancouver, Canada. They wrote a letter to Kofi Annan on 9 January 1998 asking him to take a step for saving the world's languages from extinction by declaring an International Mother Language Day. Rafiq proposed the date as 21 February to commemorate the 1952 killings in Dhaka during the Language Movement. Rafiqul Islam's proposal was introduced in the

Bangladesh parliament The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

and in due course (at the behest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) a formal proposal was submitted to UNESCO by the Government of Bangladesh. The process of shepherding the proposal through UNESCO's regulatory system was undertaken by

Syed Muazzem Ali Syed Muazzem Ali (18 July 1944 – 30 December 2019) was a Bangladeshi foreign service officer and career diplomat. In 2020, he was posthumously conferred the Padma Bhushan award, the third-highest civilian honour of India. Early life Ali was bo ...

, then Bangladesh ambassador to France and Permanent Representative to UNESCO, and Tozammel Tony Huq, his predecessor, who was then a Special Adviser to UNESCO Secretary General

Federico Mayor Federico Mayor Zaragoza (born 27 January 1934 in Barcelona) is a Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat, and poet. He served as director-general of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999. He is currently the chairman of the Foundation for a Culture of ...

. Finally on 17 November 1999, the 30th General Assembly of UNESCO unanimously resolved that "21st February be proclaimed International Mother Language Day throughout the world to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this very day in 1952."

Timeline

* 1952: Bengali Language Movement * 1955:

Language Movement Day (''Bhasha Andolôn Dibôs'') , nickname = bn, শহীদ দিবস (''Shôhid Dibôs'') , duration = 1 day , frequency = Annual , observedby = Bangladesh and Bengali speakers in India and elsewhere , date = 21 Feb ...

first observed in Bangladesh * 1999: UNESCO proclaims 21 February (Ekushey February) as International Mother Language Day * 2000: Inaugural celebration of International Mother Language Day * 2002: Linguistic-diversity theme, featuring 3,000 endangered languages (motto: In the galaxy of languages, every word is a star.) * 2004: Children-learning theme; the UNESCO observance included "a unique exhibition of children’s exercise books from around the world illustrating the process by which children learn and master the use of written literacy skills in the classroom". * 2005: Braille and sign languages * 2006: Annual theme: "Languages and cyberspace" * 2007: Annual theme:

Multilingual education Multilingual education typically refers to "first-language-first" education, that is, schooling which begins in the mother tongue and transitions to additional languages. Typically MLE programs are situated in developing countries where speakers of ...

* 2008: International Year of Languages * 2010: International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures * 2012: Mother-tongue instruction and

inclusive education Inclusion in education refers to all students being able to access and gain equal opportunities to education and learning. It arose in the context of special education with an individualized education program or 504 plan, and is built on the ...

* 2013: Annual theme: "Books for mother tongue education" * 2014: Annual theme: "Local languages for global citizenship: spotlight on science" * 2015: Annual theme: "Inclusion in and through education: language counts" * 2016: Annual theme: "Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes" * 2017: Annual theme: "Toward sustainable futures through multilingual education" * 2018: Our languages, our assets. * 2019: International Year of Indigenous Languages * 2020: Annual theme: "Safeguarding

linguistic diversity Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

" *2021: Annual theme: "Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society" * 2022: Annual theme: "Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities"

Observances

UNESCO chooses a theme for each International Mother Language Day, and sponsors related events at its Paris headquarters. In 2008, the International Year of Languages began on International Mother Language Day. It is celebrated in Chile, Russia, the Philippines, Egypt and Canada.

Bangladesh

Bangladeshis celebrate International Mother Language Day by placing flowers at the

Martyrs' Monument This is a list of martyrs' monuments and memorials sorted by country: Algeria *Maqam Echahid, Algiers Azerbaijan * Baku Turkish Martyrs' Memorial Bangladesh *Jatiyo Smriti Soudho, Dhaka *Shaheed Minar, Dhaka *Martyred Intellectuals Memorial, D ...

and its replicas. A public holiday in the country since 1953, it is also known as Shohid Dibôsh (Martyr Day). On 17 November 1999, the UNESCO General Conference recognized 21 February as International Mother Language Day. Bangladeshis organize social gatherings honoring their language and culture, hold literary competitions, draw alpana on the roads, eat festive meals and listen to songs. Bangla Academy arranges Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka for the whole month of February.

Canada

International Mother Language Day was introduced to the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

for recognition by

Matthew Kellway Matthew Kellway (born December 10, 1964) is a Canadian economist and former politician. He was a New Democratic Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Beaches—East York from 2011 to 2015. In the 2018 municipal election he came in seco ...

on 5 February 2014 as a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

, C-573. In 2015, British Columbia and Manitoba issued proclamations observing International Mother Language Day on 21 February. Edmonton observed International Mother Language Day on 21 February 2017. Edmonton Ekushey observed by Bangladesh Heritage & Ethnic Society and Diverse Edmonton with due respect in Edmonton on 23 February 2020.

India

As part of Digital India initiative, digitized content will be made available in the country's 22 scheduled languages and extended to India's other 234 recognized languages. Digitization began in June 2016 through the Bharatavani Project at the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore, and by February 2017 content in 60 Indian languages had been made available free of charge.

United States

The

Mother Tongue Film Festival The Mother Tongue Film Festival is an annual international film festival of films with lesser-used languages from around the world. It is organized by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and has been held to coincide with Interna ...

in Washington, D.C., has been held since 2017 to coincide with Mother Languages Day.

United Kingdom

A replica of Dhaka's Shaheed Minar was built in London in 1999 in

Altab Ali Park Altab Ali Park is a small park on Adler Street, White Church Lane and Whitechapel Road, London E1. Formerly known as St Mary's Park, it is the site of the old 14th-century white church, St Mary Matfelon, from which the area of Whitechapel g ...

, Whitechapel. Members of the community come here to mark International Mother Language Day by laying wreaths and singing revolutionary songs. There is also a Shaheed Minar replica in Westwood, Greater Manchester. Community members come from across North England to mark International Mother Language Day at the monument.

Awards

Linguapax Prize

The Linguapax Prize is awarded annually on IMLD by the Linguapax Institute in Barcelona. The prize recognizes outstanding achievement in the preservation of linguistic diversity, the revitalization of linguistic communities and the promotion of multilingualism.

Ekushey Heritage Award

The annual Ekushey Heritage Award, introduced in 2014 by the Bangladesh Heritage and Ethnic Society of Alberta (BHESA), recognizes outstanding achievement in fields such as education, social work and community service. The award is announced on International Mother Language Day.

Ekushey Youth Award

The Ekushey Youth Award, introduced in 2015 by Alberta's Mahinur Jahid Memorial Foundation (MJMF) and announced on IMLD, is awarded annually to recipients who inspire youth in the fields of education, sports, youth activities, literature, and community service. The award is open Alberta residents.

Gallery

File:International Mother Language Day Celebration.PNG, International Mother Language Day Celebration in Dhaka, with the Martyr's Monument in the background File:২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি ২০১৮ সালে শহিদ মিনার.jpg, Celebration, 21 February 2018 File:International Mother language day celebration at CU Alipore campus.jpg, International Mother Language day celebration at the University of Calcutta Alipore campus in 2018 File:International Mother Language Day in CIS-A2K TTT 2017.jpg, alt=Poster with writing, 2017 International Mother Language Day celebration in Bangalore File:Mother Tongue Day, Islamabad.JPG, alt=Group of people holding signs and banners, 2015 Mother Tongue Day in Islamabad, with demonstrators demanding that Punjabi (the mother tongue of most Pakistanis) be made an official language of Pakistan File:Visitors at BHESA's Ekushey February 2015.jpg, alt=People sitting and standing in a circle, with an inset photo of four men, Ekushey Book Fair in Alberta, Canada

References

External links

UNESCO homepage for International Mother Language Day

United Nations homepage for IMLD
{{Language Movement February observances Observances in Bangladesh Mother Language Day, International