International Mother Language Day

Background of the International Mother Language Day

With the partition of India in 1947, the Bengal province was divided according to the predominant religions of the inhabitants. The west part became part of India and the eastern part became a province of Pakistan known as East Bengal and later East Pakistan. But, there were problems between East and West Pakistan like economic, cultural and linguistic disagreements and these disagreements were gradually increased in 1948 because of the Pakistan government declared that Urdu should be the only national language. After that, the protests started among the Bengali-speaking people who were the majority in entire Pakistan. The government banned the protests but many students at the University of Dhaka and other activists organized a big protest on February 21, 1952, for the right to use their mother language. Many people died in this protest for defining Bengali as one of the national languages of Pakistan.

Finally, in 1956, the Bengali language became one of the national languages in Pakistan. After a few years of this, there was happened "Bangladesh Liberation War" in 1971. In the end, Bangladesh became an independent country. Also, the Bengali language became their official language. 

On November 17, 1999, UNESCO selected the 21st February to be the International Mother Language Day (IMLD) for remembering the importance of using the mother languages. UNESCO give high importance to cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies and traditions. Also, language is a fundamental human right for all of the people. Language diversity plays a vital role in our lives, memories, cultural values and intercultural dialogues. UNESCO believes that cultural diversity and respect for the rights are the main elements for developing peace.

Related links and sources

https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/motherlanguageday

https://interlibnet.org/2017/03/10/21st-february-the-background-history-of-becoming-international-mother-language-day-and-a-proposal-of-establishing-ekushe-corner-at-every-library-of-the-world/

https://en.ccunesco.ca/-/media/Files/Unesco/Blog/A-Brief-History-of-IMLD_EN.pdf?la=en

Poster: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000366769