THE nation solemnly remembers the supreme sacrifice of the valiant souls who laid down their lives to establish the right of our mother tongue Bangla as the state language of Pakistan on this day in 1952. As the pioneering movement that led to our ultimate independence, Ekushey invokes the emotional attachment we have for our mother tongue, which provides us with our most basic identity and creates that incomprehensible bond with our motherland. Undeniably the language movement was the first stone in the establishment of Bangladesh as a sovereign state. The observance of Ekushey is not just a ritualistic but a declaration of our right to speak our language and our right to be free from oppression and discrimination.
The uniqueness of the Language Movement has been recognised by the world over, with February 21 being declared as the International Mother Language Day. It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. It’s a worldwide annual observance to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism.
Thus why Ekushey has universal appeal and will echo with people of all ethnicities. The true spirit of Ekushey does not lie in mere assertion of a nation’s linguistic freedom. It is the values of democracy, equality and social justice that the day upholds, and calls for reflections as to what extent we have been able to materialise the dreams of the martyrs of 1952.
While we mourn the martyrs, we should also restate our resolve to remain united in establishing a society based on freedom, equality and rule of law. A more and more democratic, freedom and rights for the citizens with socio-economic development for all is the true spirit of Ekushey. The respect to the martyrs can be paid if the state gets success in maintaining equality, justice, equity, human dignity, and status of ethnic or religious minority equal to the majority.
The uniqueness of the Language Movement has been recognised by the world over, with February 21 being declared as the International Mother Language Day. It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. It’s a worldwide annual observance to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism.
Thus why Ekushey has universal appeal and will echo with people of all ethnicities. The true spirit of Ekushey does not lie in mere assertion of a nation’s linguistic freedom. It is the values of democracy, equality and social justice that the day upholds, and calls for reflections as to what extent we have been able to materialise the dreams of the martyrs of 1952.
While we mourn the martyrs, we should also restate our resolve to remain united in establishing a society based on freedom, equality and rule of law. A more and more democratic, freedom and rights for the citizens with socio-economic development for all is the true spirit of Ekushey. The respect to the martyrs can be paid if the state gets success in maintaining equality, justice, equity, human dignity, and status of ethnic or religious minority equal to the majority.
