Language Movement A Shared Heritage Of Humanity

Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
Language shows a vital part in the life of a human being. It is the prime carrier of a culture. It is also the most powerful instrument of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. During the course of world history, many cultures and civilizations have been shattered, devastated and crushed because of the demolition of their languages. Nations in the past have not only lost their freedom to the powerful, influential and predominant ones, their languages and identity has withered and been lost as well. It is estimated that around 6000 to 7000 languages are spoken in the world today. This initiative of celebrating a day specifically as Language Day will enable development of a fuller awareness of such linguistic and cultural traditions and will inspire solidarity based on understandings, tolerance and dialogue. The day reaffirms the commitment of UNESCO towards preserving language diversity and reflects the importance of increasing efforts to conserve languages as a shared heritage of humanity.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Nation told “Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty is the far-reaching result of the language movement.” He devoted himself to establishing the status of Bengali language. The historic role he played in his speech in Bengali at the United Nations on September 25, 1974 will be written in as a red letter day in the history of the world. This was the first successful initiative to establish the status of Bengali language in the world assembly. In the constitution of 1972, he adopted Bengali as the state language. This was the first Bengali language constitution in the history of the world. From birth he has worked for the development and growth of Bengali language. He has spoken about the demands of Bengali language and Bengalees. It is the sacred duty of all Bangladeshi citizens to maintain the dignity of this language. We all pledge to develop the country through modernization and successful implementation of this language.
The language facilitates comprehension of surroundings, learning of concepts and achieving several skills. A child who ably learns their lives, amass extensive language skills that help them to express themselves and develop their thinking capacity. Additionally, this language cultivates confidence and a sense of self-worth in a child in learning other things. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his head -Nelson Mandela Mother tongue is the first language one learns as a baby, the language one grows up knowing, which is also known as the native language. A child first comprehends what is around them through the language they hear their mother communicating in from before they are born and thought their lives. Mother tongue is appreciated due to numerous reasons. The Mother’s tongue is central in framing the thinking and emotions of individuals. Learning in school highlights the use of the mother tongue. The mother tongue is an influential tool in advancing learning in people. The importance of mother tongue is studied because when children develop their mother tongue, they are simultaneously fostering a whole host of other essential skills, such as critical thinking and literacy skills.
Language is not only the principal representative of a culture of one nation but it also creates sense of patriotism and nationalism in people’s mind. Bengali and Bangla language is an appropriate example of that. Bengali people created one of the greatest political and cultural histories in the 20th century. The events of 21 February 1952 proved that a nation which is strong and powerful politically cannot destroy a spirited civilized nation if they have a unifying language like Bangla. The language movement was a student movement. The students protested, the students marched and the students went to jail. In their immediate response in 1947 and the beginning of the movement in 1952, they realized that their mother tongue Bengali was facing cultural aggression. Our expectation to the new generation is that the students who led the language movement in Bangladesh will be conscious of establishing the truth and will strive to establish the glorious history for getting the status as an official language of the United Nations.
Mother languages need to be well reflected and highly focused in all day to day activities of nation. Again the the importance and significance of international mother language is enormous. It is true that mother language plays a vital role for a knowledge based society. The question arises is our mother language flourishing or prosperous. It is obvious that correct application and introduction of mother language can protect nation from misleading to culture and socialism.

(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP).