International Mother Language Day and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Barrister Shah Ali Farhad:

During her first tenure as Prime Minister of PR of Bangladesh (1996-2001), H.E Sheikh Hasina played a crucial role in establishing 21st February and the Bangla language movement internationally.

An initiative was undertaken by two expatriate Bangladeshi in Canada, Freedom Fighter Mr. Rafiqul Islam and Mr. Abdus Salam to get 21st February declared as ‘International Mother Language Day’. However, the relevant body of the UN could not accept such a proposal from private persons. The request/proposal had to be submitted from a member state.

When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina got to know of this, there was not much time. In fact, there were only 24 hours at hand. The Awami League Government contacted the ‘Committee for the Preservation of the Mother Language’ which was led by the expatriate Bangladeshis and sent the country’s proposal to UNESCO through a fax message on 9 September 1999. As a matter of urgency, our missions were instructed to get in touch with other member states and seek their support for the proposal.

As a result, on November 17, 1999, the proposal was passed by the UNESCO General Conference. 21 February was recognised as the International Mother Language Day, observed annually since 2000.

After this achievement, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the formation of an institute in 1999 to contribute to language research and to preserve endangered languages. She laid the foundation stone in 2001. The then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was present at the ceremony which took place at Segunbagicha. Sadly, the next BNP government stopped its construction in 2003. In 2008, construction began again and the institute was fully operational by 2010.

We can feel proud thinking that 21 February, the day when Bangalees gave their lives for their language Bangla, became a day to renew the global pledge to honour and preserve the language rights of all peoples all across the world.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina carried on her resolve to further promote the mother language agenda in her second and third tenures as head of government too. In 2012, her government decided to publish free school textbooks in ethnic minority languages.

From 2017, the Awami League Govt has been printing and distributing textbooks for free in Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Sadri and Garo languages, side by side with the state language of Bangladesh, Bangla. In 2020, the government distributed 230,130 textbooks in the aforesaid ethnic languages to almost 100,000 ethnic minority students.

Writer: Special Assistant to Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina