International Mother Language Day

In 1999, UNESCO formally announced February 21st as International Mother Language Day. It is observed every year worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. In Bangladesh, today celebrates Bangla language and culture, while at the same time mourns those who sacrificed their lives to keep Bangla the national language.

On the 21st of March, 1948 - when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan, known as East Pakistan - the Pakistani government declared that Urdu would be the official language for both West and East Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan, whose primary language is Bangla, were deeply upset by this ruling, and as a result, the Bangla language movement was born. On the 21st of February, 1952, students of Dhaka University and other activists protested the ruling. In response, the Pakistani police open fired, killing several protesters.

The language movement spread throughout East Pakistan and the entire province came to a standstill. Afterwards, the Pakistani government relented and allowed East Pakistan to keep Bangla as their national language.



To commemorate the day, every year on the 21st of February Bangladeshis dress in white and black and lay flowers on Shaheed Minar, the monument that commemorates the language movement and massacre. Today, I went down early in the morning and joined the procession, which starts a few kilometers away from the monument. The crowd was huge and the only time I can remember being surrounded by this many people was for President Barack Obama's inauguration. Despite the crowd, the procession was quite orderly (most of the time) as people patiently waited in line to get to Shaheed Minar. Overall, today is a day of great national pride for Bangladeshis, as many see the 21st of February as a one of the first steps to the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Make-shift food stand on the way to Shaheed Minar.

A sea of black hair.

Shaheed Minar.