Beginnings Start from the Past

I think it's really fitting that I start off my blog on this date—February 21. In 1999, UNESCO proclaimed the date as International Mother Language Day to commemorate the tragic, yet inspirational events that unfolded on February 21, 1952 in Dhaka, Bangladesh—my parents’ hometown.

In 1947, the British Raj was divided into two independent states—India and Pakistan. Pakistan comprised of a Western and an Eastern province which is now the nation of Bangladesh. However, in 1948, the Pakistani government ordered that Urdu would be the official language of the nation; thus alienating the Bengali-speaking East Pakistan, who also constituted the majority of the population. The “Urdu-only” policy sparked widespread protests.

The Bengali language has a very strong literary tradition and history. Some of South Asia’s greatest and most influential writers were Bengali; including: Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, and of course Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore’s influence on Bengali and South Asian literature could be compared to Shakespeare’s in the English language. Tagore’s poems and songs (numbering over 2000) comprise his own musical genre—rabindrasangeet. The author of both the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems, Tagore became the first Asian Nobel Prize winner in 1913, winning the award for Literature. This great legacy was threatened to be lost in the midst of the “Urdu-only” policy.

Fearing widespread demonstrations, the Pakistani government banned public gatherings of more than 4 people. In defiance of the ban, on February 21, 1952, thousands of students led a procession to the Legislature; demanding the lawmakers to recognize Bengali and reject the central government’s proposition of converting the language into Arabic script. After a few students snuck into the building, the police began firing and killing the demonstrators. The news of the killings inspired a city-wide general strike. My Uncle Raymond—only 16 at the time—participated in the protests. In the process of escaping gunfire, he suffered a deep gash on his right leg. It was from him that I first learned of this incredible day in not only the history of the Bengali language, but of language in general. Ultimately, Bengali would be granted official status in 1956 and Bangladesh would achieve its independence in 1971.

Shaheed Minar in Dhaka--National Monument commemorating the events of Feb. 21, 1952

The sacrifice and struggle of making Bengali an official language solidifies the importance of language and communication in our society. Living in a multicultural society like Canada, it is great to see so many languages thriving and still being recognized. Our ability to communicate and document communication separates us from every other species on this planet. We need to continue to write, read, and share what we write and read with the world—because language is one of the great inherited traditions we have. This blog is just a beginning of what I hope to be a great source of my various views and thoughts on life and a small, yet thoughtful addition to the great tradition of language.