International Mother Language Day

Mother tongue is the initial Language one learns as a baby, the Language one grows up knows go which is also known as the native language. A child first comprehends what is around him/her through the language they hear. Mother tongue is valuable due to several reasons.

When Pakistan was created in 1947, it had two different parts: East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (currently known as Pakistan). The two parts were very different to each other in sense of culture, language, etc. The two parts were also separated by India in between. In 1948, the then Government of Pakistan declared Urdu to be the sole national language of Pakistan even though Bengali or Bangla was spoken by the majority of people combining East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan) The East Pakistan people protested, since the majority of the population was from East Pakistan and their mother language was Bangla. They demanded Bangla to be at least one of the national languages, in addition to Urdu.

To demolish the protest, the government of Pakistan outlawed public meeting and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka, with the support of the general public, arranged massive rallies and meetings. On 21 February 1952, police opened fire on rallies. Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and Shafiur died, with hundreds of others injured. This is one of the very rare incidents in history, where people had to sacrifice their lives for their mother tongue.

The sacrifice of the martyrs was not wasted. After years of continuously growing protests, greater rallies, great other sacrifices by the Bangladeshis (then East Pakistanis), in 1956, the government was bound to grant official status to Bangla.

Since then Bangladeshis celebrate the International Mother Language Day as one of the tragic days. They go to Shahid Minar, a monument built to honor the martyrs, and express their deep sorrow and gratefulness to the martyrs.

Mother tongue is crucial in framing the thinking and emotions of people. A language plays a very good part in life of a human being. The language facilitates a comprehension of the surrounding, learning of concepts and at training of various skills. Additionally, Mother tongue cultivates confidence and a sense of self worth to a child in learning other things.

Mother tongue is a powerful tool in advancing the learning in people. In childhood, when a kid speeds its time with parents, friends and other, it develops communication skills, skills that become paramount in school settings etc. Also when parents tell story or discuss mother with their children it develops their language and communication terminology and concepts.

Mother tongue develops a strong foundation for learning and additional second language. Having strong foundation of mother language the children always get advantage to learn a second language.
Mother language develops a personal and cultural identity. Personal identity emerges out of a person's understanding of himself, his surrounding and his history. The great leader Nelson Mendela said "Talk to a person in his language, and it go to his heart".

The knowledge of the native language is a crucial aspect of a person's life. It not only stimulate one's confidence but also create awareness of an individual and cultural identity, facilities learning create job opportunities keep very confident.