International Mother Language Day 2024
UNESCO to celebrate silver jubilee of International Mother Language Day
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to celebrate the silver jubilee of International Mother Language Day on February 21, 2025.
Police opened fire after 3:30 p.m.
Ahmed Rafiq is a language activist, a key organizer in the forefront of the great language movement. He is a researcher on Rabindranath Tagore. Simultaneously, he has gained fame as an essayist, poet, and columnist. He was actively involved in politics during his student life, which made his educational life turbulent. Ahmad Rafiq has edited multiple literature and science journals. He has been involved in various social and cultural movements with a sensitive heart. The number of his published books exceeds 30. Jagannath University's Assistant Professor Rahat Minhaz discusses with Ahmad Rafiq various events and trends related to the language movement at the author Iskatan's residence. In a brief conversation, he explores various unknown aspects of the Language Movement of 1952.
The politics of language
Let's imagine a situation where a cake would be cut on an occasion. The cake is small and not enough for the guests. I would feel good if most portion of the cake is served on me or my children, my relatives and people from my side. My opponent would feel the same if the lion's share of the cake goes to him. If each guest gets equal share, everyone would be happy. Popular Bangla proverb 'Chacha Apan Pran Bacha!' fits in this situation. In that case, the question will arise whether sharing the cake with the opponent or everyone else will ensure my own nutrition. Self-preservation is the first law of nature. So, deciding which decision in distributing the cake is better for the individual, group and social level is politics.
Bangabandhu's position in language movement in historical context
The region that makes up Bangladesh today has a long history of language disputes. Despite this, 21 February 1952 remains a symbol of the language movement for most Bengalis. However, in the writings of most of the researchers, the time frame of this movement is around the period from 1948 to 1952. If you consider this movement a struggle for the status of the Bengali language, not everything will be said. The student leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has led this movement since the beginning of 1948. Although he led as a representative of the emerging middle class of East Bengal, he had a deep connection with the country's peasants, workers, and lower middle class. Therefore, in a public meeting held at Armanitola Maidan on February 01, 1953, as part of the first anniversary celebrations of the 1952 February Mass Explosion, he said, 'The language movement of 1952 was not only about language, but it was also our life and death struggle. We want to live like humans. We want food, we want clothes, we want shelter, we want civil rights. We want the right to speak. We want a society free from exploitation.' ('Secret Documents', Report No. 47, February 21 1953).
How significant it is for us to know English in professional skills
People speak roughly 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique, both in its structure and in the way it reflects the culture of the people who speak it.
Development of state language Bangla shouldn’t be hindred for upgradation of mother tongue
In the world, daily newspapers are published in nearly two hundred languages. These languages are evolving. Among them, Bengali still holds a prominent position in terms of knowledge, science, art, and literature. Apart from these, there are several thousand small ethnic groups in various continents. They also have separate languages. Their languages are also dissolving.
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