Bangladesh started observing the Amar Ekushey or the Martyrs Day (Shaheed Dibos) in the small hours on Monday marking the supreme sacrifice of the language heroes for upholding the right to speak their mother tongue, Bangla, in 1952
The Unesco recognized the day as the International Mother Language Day on November 17, 1999. Bangladesh Missions and private institutions abroad will also observe the day.
Walking barefoot to Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar with wreaths and singing “Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February” song, people from all walks of life started paying respect to the heroes of the 1952 Language Movement.
To reduce risk of the Covid-19 infections, the authorities have asked all to maintain social distance, wear masks and follow health rules.
Moreover, a maximum of five people under one banner will be allowed to lay wreaths at the Shaheed Minar while two persons will be allowed at a time to avoid public gathering.
The government has taken various programs to observe this public holiday day in a befitting manner.
National dailies will publish supplements and Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television and private radio stations and television channels will air special programs on the occasion.
On February 21, 1952, students and the common people in Dhaka took to the streets in protest against the then Pakistani government's denial of Bangla as the national language and imposition of Urdu as the only official language of Pakistan.
Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil were killed in police firings when students came out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus defying Section 144 to press home their demand for the recognition of Bangla as a state language of then Pakistan.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have issued separate messages.
In his message, President Hamid said the great Language Movement is a memorable event in our national history.
"On the occasion of February 21, the great ‘Shaheed Day (Martyrs Day)’ and ‘International Mother Language Day’, I recall with deep homage Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar, Shafiur and many other unknown language martyrs who laid down their lives to establish the right of mother tongue Bangla."
President Hamid also remembered Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with profound respect, who led “Sarbodolio Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad” (All Party State Language Action Committee) formed in 1948 and was imprisoned.
Besides, he said that many languages in the world are now at the risk of extinction with the passage of time. Extinction of a language means the disappearance of a culture, a nation and a civilization from the face of the earth.
"Therefore, the people of the world must raise their voice for protecting the language and culture of all ethnic groups, including the development of their respective mother tongues and culture."
The minor races in Bangladesh have their own languages and culture. Many of these languages have no specific written form, Hamid added.
"I urge all concerned to take initiatives for the preservation and development of these languages," said the president.
The spirit of Amar Ekushey is now the incessant source of inspiration for protecting the own languages and culture of peoples of different languages in the world, he said.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the people of all languages and cultures of the world, including Bangla.
"I pay my deep respects 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 Bengali of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose supreme sacrifices and struggle elevated the esteem of our mother, land, and people."
"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," she informed.
Hasina also said the foundation for a non-communal, democratic, language-based state system was laid through this movement.
She further 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 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, we have made tremendous progress in every field of the socio-economic sector during the last 13 years.”
"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 added.
Hasina mentioned that 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.
"We have made Bangladesh a role model for development in the world. We recently received the SDG Progress Award. We celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Independence and celebrated the Mujib Year. We have started implementing the second perspective plan to achieve Vision-2041. We are also implementing Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100," she added.
"I firmly believe that soon we will establish the developed, prosperous, and self-esteemed 'Golden Bangladesh' as dreamt by the Father of the Nation," Hasina continued.
