13th International Mother Language Day

             "International Mother Language Day" is observed annually on February 21 (i.e., today). The event encourages people to maintain their knowledge of their mother tongue while learning and using more than one language. It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing '2008 as the International Year of Languages'. The idea behind this observance was to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

              The date represents the day in 1952 when students in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) demonstrating for recognition of their language Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Islamic republic of Pakistan, were shot and brutally killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of present day Bangladesh.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Mother language is the medium of one’s inner thoughts and reflections. Thought and language are interrelated for acquiring knowledge. Mother tongue is the best medium available to covey ones feelings. And it is considered as one of the best source of creativity and vehicles for social expression, mother languages along with linguistic diversity matter a lot for the identity of individuals and vital for the health of societies.

          It opens opportunities for dialogue necessary for understanding and cooperation. As wellsprings of knowledge, mother languages are starting points for greater sustainability in development and growth endeavors, and for managing more harmonious relationships with the environment and change. It has been scientifically proven that the absorption of facts is easier through one’s own language. This is one of the reasons the founders of many nations gave importance to mother tongues while they considered the idea of sovereign states after their nations had undergone colonization. Most of these prominent personalities were passionate advocates of their mother tongues.