Mother Tongue Day: Bengali Language Day

In 1999, UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day, recognizing the Language Martyrs’ Day or Bengali Language Movement Day commemorated in Bangladesh. The day is observed to promote linguistic diversity and multilingualism.

International Mother Language Day

‘Language’ is the most powerful tool for preserving and developing the tangible and intangible forms of cultural heritage. It carries a culture’s mindsets, attitudes and values. Perhaps, that is the reason due to which most people adhere to their language – because it represents and voices their traditions, aspirations and belief systems in a way that nothing else could.
Attempts to promote and disseminate mother tongues have taken place over the ages in several cultures. Battles have been fought and won in the zest to assert rights over using a particular language, supporting its awareness and inspiring tolerance and understanding among other cultures.

Bengali Language Day

All languages are not considered to be equally pure. In the Hindu Bengali community, most consider Sanskrit to be the Devabhasha (meaning the language of the Gods), though originally Bangla was closer to the Pali language. Some other cultures believe Arabic to be the divine language. Yet the Bengali community is not bilingual.

The problem faced by the Bengali Muslims is solved by the belief that every Muslim, after death, will speak in the language of the Quran or Arabic. They believe that God would Himself make them competent in the language once they give up their earthly garbs. Thus, the lingua franca of Heaven would not be a challenge for them. The Bengali spoken by Muslims is not believed to be pure. It is supposed to be a mixed language or sonker bhasha.