International mother language day is promulgated worldwide on the 21st of February in order to honor one’s mother tongue. It was officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in the year 2002. It highlights the significance of cultural multiplicity and the need to create widespread awareness about it. The day is celebrated in light of a proposal to conserve and stimulate languages spoken around the world. Every year International Mother Language Day is celebrated with a theme. The theme selected for the year 2021 was “fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society”.
The initiative to dedicate a day to celebrate mother language originated in Bangladesh. It pays homage to the movement made by Bangladeshis to preserve their language. Back in 1947, Pakistan was segregated into Eastern Pakistan (present Bangladesh) and Western Pakistan. The government at the time decided to declare Urdu as the official language although Bengali was spoken by a majority of the population. This led to unrest and people from Eastern Pakistan where Bangla was primarily spoken demanded that their mother tongue also be officially recognized.
Eventually, a large number of rallies and protests were held by the people to support their cause. This revolt went down as a colossal moment in history as it was the first of its kind where lives were sacrificed to preserve one’s own mother tongue. Hence, International Mother Language Day became a national holiday in Bangladesh and is remembered with melancholy.
Understanding one’s own mother tongue is of utmost importance as it brings you close to your community and makes you a part of it. A large number of people grow up not knowing their mother tongue owing to various reasons such as not having access to education in their native language, living in a country that has no association with their respective mother language, etc.
This brings into the light the imperativeness to celebrate World Mother Language Day. Undertaking various activities to foster the need to be acclimated with one’s own native language can go long way in helping to create a sustainable future.
World Mother Language day is commemorated in certain parts of the world in different ways. In the United States, Mother Tongue Film Festival is being held since 2017 and is aligned with Mother Language Day. The film festival screens movies from languages that are spoken by a minority of the population.
This can be considered a great initiative to bring languages that are unknown to many into the forefront. As discussed earlier World Mother Language Day is considered a public holiday in Bangladesh. They celebrate the day by honoring the legacy of those who sacrificed their lives to support their cause. They also organize various events and social gatherings.
In a country like India, which is so rich in culture and language, 21st February should be considered an important day. Observing this day should become a normal tradition in our country. We have 22 officially recognized languages, approximately 300 minor languages, and 3000 dialects. For a country with such diversity in its language, it is surprising to see that World Mother Language Day is not given much importance.
To quash this issue there are certain initiatives that can be taken up. This day should become a regular celebratory event in majority of the colleges, schools, and other educational institutions. Students should also be given the opportunity to learn their native language, especially in foreign countries. Holding various programs through television and radio stations can also go a long way in creating an impact.
Live programs and concerts can be held with artists from different communities performing songs in their mother tongue. Create blogs, posts, hashtags, and content concerning this day and creating consciousness about its history, existence, importance, etc. Social gatherings in allotted public places can be organized in order to acknowledge the day and to spend it in proximity with people speaking different languages. Conducting events such as book reviews of publications written in an individual’s mother tongue, poem, or story reciting in public libraries is also a good idea.
Stimulation of language and diversity is directly attributed to the development of a society. Mahatma Gandhi once said that the imposition of the foreign medium has made the youngsters of the country strangers to their own land. Mother tongue is a fragment of a person’s roots and culture. Hence, it becomes an indispensable part of our community and therefore and we should do everything in our power to preserve and protect our mother language.
