Remembering Ekushey
The nation solemnly remembers the supreme sacrifice of the valiant souls who laid down their lives to establish the right of our mother tongue on this day in 1952. Their blood did not go in vain and the day has remained an eternal fountain of inspiration both to enrich our culture and heritage and in our fight against injustice and oppression.
Our struggle for cultural emancipation that planted the seed of freedom led to the emergence of independent Bangladesh. The Language Movement was a precursor of the Six-Point movement, the mass upsurge against Ayub regime in 1969, and ultimately the War of Independence which witnessed the birth of a nation rooted in an ethno-linguistic struggle. Throughout our recent history, it has worked as a catalyst reflecting our basic identity, a reminder to us of the values we live by as a nation.
The true spirit of Ekushey, however, does not lie in mere assertion of a nation's linguistic freedom. It is the values of democracy, equality and social justice that the day upholds, and calls for some sombre reflections as to what extent we have been able to materialise the dreams of the martyrs of 1952.
It is unfortunate that many minority languages have become extinct in our country. It is for the state to ensure that every non-Bangla-speaking people is accorded the facility and opportunity to practice its own mother tongue.
While we mourn the martyrs, we should also restate our resolve to be united in establishing a society based on freedom, equality and rule of law. This is essentially what Ekushey stands for.
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