The Patrika
Friday, February 27th, 2015
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The International Mother Language Day
Translated by: Dr H S Aulakh CTTIC/STIBC-Certified Translator
21st February is observed every year as the International Mother Language Day all over the world. This day symbolizes one’s infinite love for one’s mother language and culture. The significance of this day is based on the fact that in order to maintain cordiality for our mother language, we ought to nurture our love and fidelity toward it by deflecting from our establishment and personal interests. This day becomes more important for us when our mother language and culture are being continuously attacked. At such a time, it becomes even more imperative to know the importance of the mother language. Before going more seriously into this topic, it is necessary to understand the basis of the International Mother Language Day.
It is absolutely correct to state that talking about saving the mother language begins in a country where the rulers and the ruled have different languages. The ruling class launches relentless attacks on people in order to impose its culture and language upon them. It could be either overt or covert. Just a similar thing happened in Bangladesh. When the ruling class attacked the Bangladesh, the Bangalis demonstrated their opposition. On 21st February, 1952, in favour of their mother language, the Bengalis were demonstrating their protest against the government. The police threatened them with dire consequences if they did not end their demonstration. But the people were ready even to lay down their lives for their language. The police was, therefore, helpless vis-a-vis their adamance, and so they were fired at. As such, the demonstrators’ leaders, Barkat Salam, Rafique, and Jabbar got killed. The martyrdom day of these martyrs proved a turning point in history. It generated,
among the people, a spark of love for the mother language. This day is inspirational to every mother language lover. Understanding the real objective of the significance of this day, attention needs to be paid to two aspects in order to create popular fondness of the mother language. First, people’s slave mentality be changed. For this, people will have to be made aware that if we want to lead a free life, we must be given to free thinking. Only then can we express ourselves to others without any impediment or constraint. But all this will be possible in the mother language only. The mother language has made a significant contribution to the development of human life. There is no denying the fact that language is one of man’s important inventions. To people, it is the medium of life, and man’s social heritage, too. Man learns the language from his environment. Because of the language alone, we are humans. Melody or rhythm of every language, and its culture are shaped according the society and history. Mother language occupies a special spot in the all-round development of a child’s personality. The significance of the International Mother Language Day is that we ought to raise our voice in favour of the mother language. This is possible only if literature councils, writers’ councils, and mother language lovers, too, move forward in this direction. Finally, let us all firmly and solemnly resolve to observe 21st February every year as the International Mother Language Day so as to promote unity in linguistic and cultural diversity in the multi-cultural society that Canada is!
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