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    Nabiha Atiquzzaman LM

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    International Mother Language Day commemorates the deaths of students in Bangladesh who were killed while protesting for their native Bengali language to be recognized officially in 1952. At the time, Bangladesh was ruled as East Pakistan by West Pakistan, whose leadership refused to acknowledge Bengali culture and barred literary works in the language. On February 21st, students marched to demand Bengali be made an official state language and were fired upon by police, with many losing their lives. While the author was born in the US and learned English in school, their parents emphasized the importance of maintaining their native Bengali after learning of the sacrifices made in Bangladesh. The author takes pride in representing their Bangladeshi heritage through continuing

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    Nabiha Atiquzzaman LM

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    72 views1 page
    International Mother Language Day commemorates the deaths of students in Bangladesh who were killed while protesting for their native Bengali language to be recognized officially in 1952. At the time, Bangladesh was ruled as East Pakistan by West Pakistan, whose leadership refused to acknowledge Bengali culture and barred literary works in the language. On February 21st, students marched to demand Bengali be made an official state language and were fired upon by police, with many losing their lives. While the author was born in the US and learned English in school, their parents emphasized the importance of maintaining their native Bengali after learning of the sacrifices made in Bangladesh. The author takes pride in representing their Bangladeshi heritage through continuing

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    International Mother Language Day commemorates the deaths of students in Bangladesh who were killed while protesting for their native Bengali language to be recognized officially in 1952. At the time, Bangladesh was ruled as East Pakistan by West Pakistan, whose leadership refused to acknowledge Bengali culture and barred literary works in the language. On February 21st, students marched to demand Bengali be made an official state language and were fired upon by police, with many losing their lives. While the author was born in the US and learned English in school, their parents emphasized the importance of maintaining their native Bengali after learning of the sacrifices made in Bangladesh. The author takes pride in representing their Bangladeshi heritage through continuing

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    72 views1 page

    Nabiha Atiquzzaman LM

    Uploaded by

    api-458692431
    International Mother Language Day commemorates the deaths of students in Bangladesh who were killed while protesting for their native Bengali language to be recognized officially in 1952. At the time, Bangladesh was ruled as East Pakistan by West Pakistan, whose leadership refused to acknowledge Bengali culture and barred literary works in the language. On February 21st, students marched to demand Bengali be made an official state language and were fired upon by police, with many losing their lives. While the author was born in the US and learned English in school, their parents emphasized the importance of maintaining their native Bengali after learning of the sacrifices made in Bangladesh. The author takes pride in representing their Bangladeshi heritage through continuing

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    Gunfire rang through the air like fireworks, it was February 21st, 1952.

    This day marks


    International Mother Language Day- a day where we all appreciate (more than we normally do)
    linguistic diversity around the world. The reason this day means so much to me is not only
    because my first language was the root force behind this establishment, but also because
    language is a powerful representation of our heritages, our cultures, and our homes.

    International Mother Language Day is observed in order to recognize the Language


    Movement Killings in Bangladesh in 1952. At the time, Bangladesh was “East Pakistan.” “West
    Pakistan” (current day Pakistan) declared the Bengali language as a quality of a Hindu
    civilization, despite the fact that both East and West Pakistan were/are predominantly Islamic
    territories. West Pakistan didn’t allow those in East Pakistan to have literary and artistic
    manifestations in the Bengali language. But on the 21st of February, many University of Dhaka
    (capital of Bangladesh) students organized a procession in which they demanded for Bengali to
    be the official state language. These students were confronted by the police at their campus, but
    they refused to stop. They continued to march until they reached a legislative building, which is
    where many students were killed by the police officers. The bustling city of Dhaka became a
    quiet town; the police continued to kill others who were demanding Bengali to be the official
    state language. Bengali was not only a way of communication for those in East Pakistan, but it
    was also a way of life. When the people in East Pakistan found out their language was being
    taken away from them, they had no other choice but to rebel and fight for what was near and
    dear to their heart.

    Although I was born in the United States, Bengali was my first language. As I grew older,
    I learned English when I started school. However, I gradually started to lose my Bengali
    tongue since I was speaking English everywhere I went. My parents constantly told me to speak
    Bengali, but I never really understood why they wanted me to speak a foreign language in a
    country where English is mainly spoken. I didn’t realize the importance of my original language
    until my parents explained to me what people did to get their language. They told me that I had
    the free ability to speak my language while there were others who had to be killed in order for
    others to speak their language.

    Even though I’m 17, I encourage everyone to grasp their language and speak it. There is
    no way of changing who we are; even if we want to change ourselves, it won’t happen.
    Language should be a part of our list of accomplishments and we should be proud to represent
    where we come from. What inspires me to speak my language, Bengali, is a quote by Nelson
    Mandela, “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 heart.” When someone speaks Bengali to me, it goes to my
    heart, not my head. I feel pride when I speak my mother language, and it gives me a sense of
    honor when I represent Bangladesh.

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