Bangladesh is the only nation in the world which fought for its mother language. On this very day in 1952, hundreds of students and political activists staged demonstrations to push home their demand of recognising Bangla as their official language. Some even lost their lives during the demonstrations, sparking unrest throughout the region.
More than six decades might have elapsed since that historic day but the language martyrs’ sacrifice was not lost on Bangladesh limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza. Mashrafe yesterday informed the media that it is an honour for him to speak in Bangla.
The Tigers, who are currently busy with training ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup Twenty20, paid their tribute to the language martyrs at National Bangla High School on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day and Mashrafe said, “I do not think it is a big thing to be able to speak in English. I do not think I have to know English and speak it everywhere. Being a Bangladeshi, it is a great feeling to speak in Bangla and we all believe that. But sometimes I have to speak in English in different situations.
“It is a huge day for all the Bangladeshis so we went to place garlands. However, I think it is more important to have respect from the heart instead of only giving flowers. At times we have to speak in English during international matches but I think being a Bangladeshi, we should know our mother tongue properly,” he added.
Alongside Bangladesh manager Khaled Mahmud, all the 15 members of the Asia Cup T20 squad placed flowers at the Shaheed Minar.
Bangladesh will begin their Asia Cup T20 mission against India this Wednesday in the tournament opener in Mirpur.
