Context:

• The protests that erupted on February 21, 1952, in then East Pakistan against the imposition of Urdu launched the Bengali language movement in Bangladesh, and is the nucleus of the International Mother Language Day.
• The UNESCO recognition came in 1999, proclaiming it as a day to observe and celebrate indigenous languages across the globe.

Indigenous languages:

• Indigenous languages, like most ethnic cultures, increasingly have a localised and restricted existence — overwhelmed by global markets, global economics and global corporates.
• The mother tongue is gradually being dwarfed by these staggering influences and is relegated to a marginal space in the global village.
• A UNESCO report states that nearly 1,500 ethnic languages are globally becoming extinct every day. Their place is being usurped by foreign languages, which facilitate and guarantee successful trade and commerce and boost the economy.
• An in-depth knowledge of one’s mother tongue makes assimilating foreign languages and cultures smoother.
• Nordic countries, after prolonged trials and evaluations, have advocated learning two languages from the primary school level: The language of the land and the mother tongue.

International Examples:

• Of late, several German states have instituted this system, primarily responding to appeals from the Turkish people. Since 2015, it has included Arab refugees. Bangla, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil are yet to find a place partly because students are fewer and proficient teachers are not that easily available. Another reason is that the number of refugees from the subcontinent is dwindling; tough laws restrict their influx.
• The British Parliament has a significant number of MPs of Bangladeshi origin, who are now British citizens.

India:

• In West Bengal, Bangla appears to be largely considered the language of Bangladesh; Hindi is acknowledged as the language of West Bengal and India.
• Before censuring such a claim, one needs to note that nearly 53 per cent of people in Kolkata speak Hindi. Signboards in Hindi or English are routinely visible in different localities of Kolkata.
• In Bangladesh and West Bengal, parents send their wards to English-medium schools. Are they equally eager to introduce children to Bangla language and literature?

Way Forward:

• February 21 marks a day of sacrifice and of grief. Sacrifice for one’s mother tongue. Yet, the day has assumed celebratory proportions since the liberation of Bangladesh and the ideal at its heart lies forgotten.
• Poetry sessions, literary gatherings; month-long book fairs; the longest-lasting book fairs in the worlds; youngsters crowding bookstalls, imbibing the “culture” of book fairs but not exactly buying books — these are embellishments we chose to be content with.
• February 21 not just marked the movement for the mother tongue; it led the sapling of freedom to sprout and bloom in Bangladesh. It instilled an exuberance in us.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/urdu-bengali-language-bangla-international-mother-language-day-mother-tongue-unesco-7196213/

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