Our mother tongues are considered to be one of the most significant components of our identity. The language we speak outlines our culture and heritage while helping us create a powerful sense of self. February 21 is International Mother Language Day, a day that should serve as a reminder of the rich variety of mother tongues across the world. However, February 21 isn’t only a day to cherish the language you spoke as a child. It’s also a day that commemorates the struggle for language rights in many places, such as Bangladesh, where conflict over language inspired the creation of the International Mother Language Day in the first place.

The significance of February 21 dates back to 1948 when then-president Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared Pakistan’s language to be Urdu, a minority language spoken mostly by the elite in West Pakistan. The people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) responded to the military administration’s enforcement of the ruling by starting what later became known as the Bangla Language Movement. On February 21, 1952, demonstrators at Dhaka University protested the ‘Urdu only policy’ and demanded that the government recognize Bangla as one of the official languages. The police fired bullets to try and halt the protest, killing several students and activists.

In November 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially recognized February 21 as the International Mother Language Day to raise awareness of linguistic diversity. Since then, several countries around the world have started to celebrate the day. More.

See: The McGill Daily

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