No Bangla in Unesco’s International Mother Language Day video!

Unesco has released a video on the eve of the International Mother Language Day, in which a number of people are heard saying what their mother tongues are. Shockingly, Bangla, the sixth most spoken language in the world, is not featured in the video. The International Mother Language Day is the worldwide recognition of the historic Language Movement Day, when Bangalis laid down their lives to protect their right to speak in their mother tongue – possibly the only such instance in the world. Bangladesh has been marking February 21 as Language Martyrs' Day since 1952. In 1999, Unesco decided to observe the International Mother Language Day on February 21 every year. The roughly two-minute clip titled "What's your mother language?" was uploaded from Unesco's official YouTube handle with a description: “To celebrate the International #MotherLanguageDay, we’re asking people from around the world to tell us what their mother tongue is. So, what’s your mother language?” Unesco appears to have removed the video from its official YouTube page and its website shortly after Dhaka Tribune ran the report. Unesco says the International Mother Language Day's objective is to “promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, and to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.” This year, Unesco is celebrating the day under the theme “Towards sustainable futures through multilingual education.”