PM greets people of all languages, cultures on Int'l Mother Language Day

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today extended her sincere greetings to the people of all languages and cultures of the world, including Bangla, marking the great Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day 2022.

"...With Bangladesh, UNESCO has been celebrating this day with due dignity since 2000. This year's theme of the day - 'Using Technology for Multilingual Learning: Challenges and Opportunities: Crisis and Prospects' - which I think is very befitting; because the Awami League government has been working for a long time to implement an equitable and inclusive education policy through the use of digital technology," the premier said in her message on the eve of the day.

She said the importance of the language movement in the history of the Bangali's liberation struggle is immense.

The foundation for a non-communal, democratic, language-based state system was laid through this movement, she said, adding that on this day in 1952, Abul Barkat, Abdul Jabbar, Abdus Salam, Rafiquddin Ahmad, Shafiur Rahman and many others sacrificed their lives to protect the dignity of the country's mother language Bangla.

"I pay my deep respect to the memory of the martyrs of all languages, including Bangla; I remember with the deep tribute all the language movement activists, including the greatest Bangali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose supreme sacrifices and struggles elevated the esteem of our mother, land and people," she added.

The glorious history of the language movement of the Bangali from 1947 to 1952 serves as a source of inspiration in people's national life from time and again, she said.

The Father of the Nation was repeatedly imprisoned for leading the language movement, she said, adding that at the Education Conference held in Karachi on 27 November 1947, Urdu was decided to be the state language of Pakistan.

When the news reached Dhaka, the students of Dhaka University immediately protested in front of Khawaja Nazimuddin's residence, she said, adding that shortly afterward, Sheikh Mujib, a law student of Dhaka University, used his organizational experience to play a vital role in establishing the Chhatra League in Dhaka on 4 January, 1948.

In the first session of the Constituent Assembly on 23 February, Dhirendra Nath Datta of Comilla moved an amendment proposal demanding the inclusion of Bangla as the language of the Assembly, she said.

Rejecting the proposal, Khawaja Nazimuddin declared in the Legislative Assembly that the people of East Bengal would accept Urdu as the state language, she added.

But to counter the reckless decision of Nazimuddin, an all-party Chhatra Sangram Parishad was formed on 2 March at Fazlul Haque Hall of Dhaka University comprising Chhatra League, Tamaddun Majlish and other parties, she said, adding that many language movement activists, including Sheikh Mujib, were arrested in front of the Secretariat for leading the strike on 11 March and were released on 15 March.

The day after their release, on 16 March, the students again besieged the provincial council building under the leadership of Sheikh Mujib and police baton charges injured many, she continued.

She went on saying that on 21 March, Jinnah spoke out boastfully in favor of Urdu at the Dhaka Racecourse Ground.

While declaring Urdu as the state language of Pakistan at the students' convocation on 24 March at Curzon Hall, the students immediately protested, she added.

The premier added that to transform the language movement into a national campaign, Sheikh Mujib organized a nationwide tour plan and participated in an extensive campaign and addressed in rallies.

He was arrested from Faridpur on 11 September, 1948 and released on 21 January, 1949, she said, adding that he was arrested again on 19 April and released in July.

"He was then arrested on 14 October, 1949 and released on 27 February 1952. Sheikh Mujib had been in touch with language movement activists and Chhatra League leaders from 1 January 1950, while in Dhaka Central Jail and had given various suggestions to add momentum to the movement," she said.

He sent memos to the three messengers on 3 February, 1952 to call for a nationwide strike on 21 February and march around the Executive Council meeting venue, she said, adding: "That announcement was made after the students' procession on 4 February. When Sheikh Mujib started a hunger strike at this stage, on 16 February, the jail authorities transferred him from Dhaka to Faridpur Jail."

Hasina said that the budget session of the East Bengal Executive Council was scheduled for 21 February, 1952. Following the advice and instructions of Sheikh Mujib, a general strike was called all over the country on that day, she added.

To handle the situation, the Muslim League government had imposed Section 144 for one month in Dhaka city from 20 February and banned all kinds of meetings, rallies, processions etc, she said, adding that students gathered at Dhaka University violating Section 144, and the police started firing bullets indiscriminately; some lost their lives in the blink of an eye, many were injured, and many were arrested.

She further said several members of the provincial council walked out of the session room and the next day, on 22 February, a spontaneous strike was observed in Dhaka.

She said the Government helplessly called the army, imposed curfew, and passed the Bangla language resolution in the provincial assembly.

On 8 March, 1954, the Awami League-led United Front won the election with the boat symbol, she said, adding that Awami League members started pressing to make Bangla the state language.

Meanwhile, on 30 May, the Governor of Pakistan dissolved the United Front cabinet by issuing Section 92(a), she added.

All the leaders, including Sheikh Mujib, were arrested, she said, adding that in 1956, the Awami League reconstituted the cabinet, gaveBangla the status of the state language, declared 21 February as Martyr's Day and a public holiday.

"That Government took the first projects to construct the Martyrs Monument, publish literary and science books from the Bangla Academy and invent Bangla typewriters. Unfortunately, with the military take over on 7 October, 1958, those aspirations were no longer fulfilled," she continued.

"In independent Bangladesh, the Father of the Nation directed the use of Bangla in all official activities. He included Bangla as the state language in the constitution. He delivered a speech at the United Nation's 29th General Assembly in Bangla and placed our mother language dignified in the world assembly," the premier said.

"During the 1996-2001 term of our Government, Rafiq and Salam, two Bangladeshi expatriates from Canada, along with some members of the international community, formed the 'Mother Language Preservation Committee.' They sent a proposal to the United Nations to celebrate International Mother Language Day on 21 February," she added.

She further said that the UN suggested sending the proposal to UNESCO on behalf of the state.

"We contacted the Committee for preservation of the Mother Language and forwarded the proposal to UNESCO on 9 October, 1999 on behalf of our Government again," she continued.

"As a result, on 17 November, 1999, UNESCO recognized 21 February as 'International Mother Language Day.' We have established the International Mother Language Institute. We have taken initiatives to preserve endangered languages and protect their dignity. We have ensured the use of the Bangla language in the ICT. In order to protect the language and alphabet of ethnic groups from extinction, we have introduced textbooks in their language since 2017," she said.

This year, the government has distributed about 33,000 books in their own language and it is continuing its efforts to get Bangla recognized as the official language of the UN, she said.

Hasina said Bengali nationalism was established through the extreme self-sacrifice of the brave sons of this soil in the language movement.

Following the ideals of the greatest Bengali of all times, Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest hero from the establishment of this nationalism to establishing an independent sovereign state for the people of East Bengal, the government has made tremendous progress in every field of the socio-economic sector during last 13 years, she added.

"We have made Bangladesh a role model for development in the world," she continued.

"We recently received the SDG Progress Award. We celebrated the Golden Jubilee of independence and celebrating the Mujib Year. We have started implementing the second perspective plan to achieve Vision-2041. We are also implementing Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100," she said.

The premier expressed her firm optimism over establishing the developed, prosperous and self-esteemed 'Golden Bangladesh' as dreamed by Father of the Nation.