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Background of Ekushey Feb.
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UNESCO Proclamation
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Ekushey Padak 2004 |
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Bangla the International Mother Language Day |
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Articles
Mother Language Day UNESCO's declaration of 21st February as the International Mother Language Day has brought fresh glory and prestige to Bangladesh which is making significant strides towards peace, progress and prosperity at home and discharging international obligations abroad. After 1952, the people of Bangladesh have been observing every year the 21st day of February as their glorious and unforgettable Language Martyrs Day. What happened on 21st February 1952 is widely known. Still let me very briefly recount the fateful happenings of that day and the circumstances that led to and followed them.
In August 1947, a new state called Pakistan, comprising two far-flung wings in the west and east, separated by 1600 kilometers of foreign territory, emerged on the world map. The ideological basis of that strange phenomenon was the absurd and pernicious two nation theory of Mr. Jinnah that ignored such basic elements as language and culture and considered religion as a bond strong and sufficient enough to transform a people into a nation. The language of the people of eastern wing of Pakistan, and they were the majority, was Bangla. It had a rich tradition of literature of over a thousand years. The Bangalees also had a highly developed culture that had little in common with the culture of the people of western wing of Pakistan. The Bangalees' love for and attachment to their language and culture were great and when in 1952 the neo-colonial, power-hungry, arrogant rulers of Pakistan declared that 'Urdu and Urdu alone would be the state language of Pakistan, they sowed the seed of its future disintegration. The people of the then East Pakistan, particularly the students, rose in angry protest against the vicious undemocratic designs of the government. Those designs really amounted to the destruction of Bangla language and culture and imposition of the language and culture of the people of western wing on the people of eastern wing. The reaction was strong and spontaneous. The government decided to quell protests by brute force. The police opened fire on 21st February 1952 on unarmed peaceful protesters, most of whom were students, resulting in the death, among others, of Rafiq, Barkat, Jabbar and Salam. As the news of those deaths spread, the entire people of the eastern wing felt greatly involved emotionally. Those who lost their lives to uphold the prestige defend the rights of their mother-language became hallowed martyrs. Their sacrifice at once tragic glorious and the indignation of the people against an autocratic government had far reaching effect. 21st February became a symbol and attained mythic properties, it nourished the concepts of democracy and secularism. It also contributed significantly to the flowering of Bangalee nationalism. It led to the dawning of the realization in the minds of the Bangalees that they constituted a separate nation and their destiny lay not with Pakistan but elsewhere as an independent country. The subsequent democratic mass movements of the late fifties, throughout the sixties and the seventies, and finally the struggle for independence and the war of liberation owed a great deal to 21st February. From 1953 onwards, starting from 21st February 1953, the immortal 21st February has been observed as a great national event all over Bangladesh, and also beyond the frontiers of Bangladesh: in several places of India, UK, USA, Canada and elsewhere, wherever there is a sizeable concentration of Bangla speaking people. Yet so long, it has been mainly a national event of Bangladesh. But with the declaration of 21st February as the International Mother Language Day, it has transcended the national borders of Bangladesh and acquired an international significance and a global dimension. At the initiative of the United Nations and its various organs, a number of specific days have been declared over the years as international days for observance by the people of the whole world. All these days highlight some values, events and issues and are intended to generate a healthy awareness in the people of the world about them with the ultimate aim of making this world a better place to live in for the entire human population. Thus we have the international literacy day, international women's day. international children's day, the international day for eradication of racial discrimination, international day for ensuring pure drinking water, international habitat day, international day for preservation of environment and many others.
Some of these international days are linked with certain specific events that took place in some specific countries. While observing these days, the people of the world recall those events and those countries as a matter of course. The world is thus brought closer providing peoples of the world with the chance to get out of their insularity. International Mother Language Day is particularly significant in the sense that it has a cultural importance. From now on, 21st February — so long observed in Bangladesh as the Bangla Language Martyrs' Day — will be observed here simultaneously as the Bangla Language Martyrs' Day and the International Mother Language Day. And in nearly 200 countries of the world, various peoples speaking various languages and belonging to various national cultures will observe 21st February as the International Mother Language Day. They will naturally celebrate their own mother languages, but while doing so, it is more than likely that they will refer to Bangladesh and the Language Movement launched by her people that reached a climactic point on 21st February 1952. The declaration made by the UNESCO in November 1999 designating 21st February as the International Mother Language Day has placed Bangladesh on the cultural map of the world with a highly positive image. We, people of Bangladesh, should now do all that we can to further develop our mother language Bangla in all branches of knowledge so that it can play a worthy role in the community of world languages. We shall love, cherish and promote Bangla, our own mother language, but we shall not indulged in any kind of chauvinism. While devotedly serving our own language, we shall respect the languages of all the peoples of the world make 21st February - The International Mother Language Day - a great day, to be observed worldwide in the new century and the millennium that we have recently stepped into. Long live 21st February the International Mother Language Day!
Source:
The Daily Star The Krishnachura trees will be in full bloom once again. All around the Dhaka university campus the sprouting greenery, the Jarul and Radhachura trees with its vibrant purple and yellow contrasting the bright blue sky will announce the beginning of Boshonto. As we mark the 51st year of our language movement, its easy to see how little has changed in how we observe Ekushey, the unforgettable atoyi falgun....
....It seems like yesterday. Rehearsals for the Ekushey had started a month back and was going on in full swing. A group of more than forty students were busy as usual for the performance on the big day ahead. A group of girls were busy discussing what to wear at the function. Obviously it would have to be white saree with black border. The boys would wear white paijama panjabee and a black shawl. A black badge made from satin ribbons would be pinned to the dress as a mark of respect for the martyrs of the language movement. Bouquets which were to be placed at the graveyard and at the Shaheed Minaar were ordered beforehand. Our music teachers made sure that rehearsals were rather exhaustive. "Chayanaut" would have to stage the best musical show in town at the Central Shaheed Minaar. Lyrical themes centering around patriotism and communal harmony were chosen for the occasion. It would have to be passionate, bold and appealing.
Since its inception Chayanaut has undoubtedly played an important role in the cultural history of Bangladesh. The then-Pakistani ruling clique had made repeated attempts to put a brake on our cultural advancement and imposed restrictions on the ongoing cultural movement. In 1961, the birth centenary of Tagore was observed with mass enthusiasm despite opposition from the ruling junta. As an inevitable consequence Chayanaut made its debut as an expression of our cultural identity. It was a time when songs containing mythological themes were not allowed to be aired on radio and T.V. Songs by Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam were under strict scrutiny. In spite of all obstruction people began to participate spontaneously and enjoy the seasonal programs on monsoon, spring, Pohela Baishak, the birth and death anniversaries of Tagore and Nazrul, fund raisers for the flood victims and other similar programs. This played a major role in inspiring the Bengalis to identify with their roots and indicated the unity and the popular support for the cultural movement. Songs for February 21, like amaar protibader bhasha, biplober roktey raanga, jonotaar shongram, o kokil rey, Jessore Khulna Dhaka Barisal, rokto shimul topto polash were sung in chorus. O amaar desher mati, eki oporup, apon kajey, nai nai bhoi, ekbaar tora ma bolia daak, jodi tor daak shuney keo na asey and the like were mostly sung by individual artists. The opening song on February 21 was amaar bhai er roktey rangano. On that day we would wake up before sunrise and gather at our music school. From there we walked barefoot to the Central Shaheed Minar and placed wreaths. Programs of other cultural organizations started much earlier. Usually our program was scheduled on the eve of February 21. Iqbal Ahmed, Mahmudur Rahman Benu, Golam Murshed, Yafez Ahmed, Iffat Ara Dewan, Talappu, Shaheen Samad, Sakera Ahmed, Milia Ghani, Selina Malek, Dalia Nausheen, Ruhi, Sarwat, Rana Mahmood, Nadera Omar, Iktiar Omar, Minakshi, Sonia and so many of us were the regular performers.
It was a time when we were blessed with the best tutors of music. Wahidul Huque, Zahidur Rahim, Sohrab Hossain, Sanjida Khatun, and of course the indomitable Sheikh Luthfur Rahman. Despite his frail figure, his walking disability, he commanded respect from all around him. Luthfar Rahman was a great composer, teacher and man with a melodious voice. He made a great contribution in tuning geet, gazals and later on, the patriotic songs in his collection of songs. A number of songs composed by him from jonotaar songram cholbei to biplober roktey raanga have been and still are a source of inspiration throughout the cultural movement of our country. Luthfur bhai was a very meticulous teacher. He made sure that each of his students understood the inner meaning of the lyric and sang whole-heartedly. Every single detail of the song from its throwing to harmonization was done over and over again until we sang with full confidence and vigor. While Wahid Bhai was busy making the schedule of the programme, Luthfur bhai, Zahed bhai and Sanjida apa worked untiringly on our lessons. It was not possible for Luthfar bhai to climb the stairs of our five storied school. So the entire group had to be shifted downstairs in a big room to accommodate the number of enthusiastic students. Sohrab Hossain our teacher and the man with a legendary voice was full of jokes and laughter. He would call Luthfar bhai "Taimur Lang" because of his walking handicap. Luthfar bhai called him "Khorap" Hossain, kharap meaning bad! At times Zahid ur Rahim a well built man with the most powerful voice, would start up a big fight and punch the bulging belly of Sohrab Hossain in front of his students and we would all roll down in laughter. At the same time we were taught to maintain strict discipline and respect our teachers. These were the teachers who were trying to reshape our cultural world. Archaic tradition-bound music of the indoors was popularized and presented at open air concerts. The programs at Shaheed Minaar, Ramna or the Boldha garden were organised with great enthusiasm.
These legendary figures in music inculcated a sense of pride in our mother tongue. After almost thirty four years the memories are still afresh of the open air concerts we used to have at the Central Shaheed Minaar on Ekushey.
So little has changed. Very few of us walk without a heavy heart, barefoot, in the early hours of the morning, with the never-to-be forgotten songs of Ekhushey on our lips. We still sit spellbound before the Shaheed Minar, listen to the inspiring songs, the poems, the dramas performed with such heartfelt passion. In all this it is impossible to forget those who had braved all resistance to work to preserve the memories of Ekushey. Ekushey is now recognized as the International Mother Language Day. There are very few instance in history, if at all, of a rebellion for the right to speak in one's mother tongue. For the millions who have not witnessed the uprising, the Shaheed Minar and the undying cultural activities will forever remain as its unshakeable symbol. |
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