Use of Bangla in all spheres of life remains elusive because of non-enforcement of the Bangla Language Introduction Act 1987 and High Court directives in this regard. The promise for spreading Bangla through the culture and literature, education and science, business and communication for a hegemonic pursuit is yet to be fulfilled though people from all walks of life observe International Mother Language Day on February 21. The government and socio-cultural organizations should come up with social engineering programmes, so that Bangla would be popular. The increased use of English in all sectors, especially in State purposes, disgraced the language heroes and the spirit of Language Movement of 1952. On February 17, 2014, the High Court after hearing a writ petition of lawyer Md Eunus Ali Akond asked the government to ensure the use of Bangla in all hoardings, signs, nameplates and in vehicle number plates.
The court in the directive also asked the government to explain why its failure in implementing the Bangla Language Introduction Act 1987 would not be declared illegal. A list of technical terms in Bangla has to be drawn up if we want to use Bangla in higher education and professionally in the present context. If we can succeed in this effort, it will be possible to apply Bangla in every sphere. A few ethnic minority communities also have their own languages. It is our responsibility to ensure the practice of those languages too and protect them. We express our admiration and gratitude to all the martyrs including Salam, Barkat, Rafiq and Shafiur who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the mother tongue. Their sacrifice eventually led to the independence of our country. We can honour the martyrs truly by ensuring the use of Bangla in all spheres.
Bangla has to be made self-reliant if we want to progress independently.
