The spirit of Ekushey
TODAY is a day of renewed pledges, and as millions of Bangalees trek barefoot to the Central Shaheed Minar, the place hallowed by the blood of the martyrs of the Language Movement, to pay homage to them and renew their pledge, it would be well to be conscious of the very important fact that we are the only nation that shed blood for our mother tongue.
Ekushey was in many ways the rebirth not only of a distinct nationalism but also the beginning of the assertion of our nationhood, the precursor to the struggle for and achievement of a separate state. It must give us all a sense of contentment that the spirit of Ekushey has transcended our border, having been given international recognition with the UN declaring February 21 as International Mother Language Day.
This year's Ekushey is being celebrated under a democratic order and thus there are great expectations of the people from this government, expectation of a vigorous effort for the realisation of the dreams of the martyrs and all those that struggled to give Bangla its deserved standing in the comity of nations.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the young men, some known but many unknown, whose lives were cut short at their prime in 1952 in defence of our culture, so that we would be able to laugh and cry and share our joys and sorrows in the very language that our mothers used to sing to us lullabies when we were children as did their mothers to them.
Every year this day brings us mixed feelings, a sense of achievement but not quite of fulfilment. And that is what demands deep introspection on our part so that we may evaluate objectively all that we should have, but not been able to achieve.
It is a time also for us as a nation to renew our pledge collectively towards building a prosperous nation. And a prosperous nation cannot be possible without the light of education touching the hearts of each and every citizen. Our special Ekushey supplement touches upon the need for the rejuvenation of Bangla and its application in all spheres of our life and through it making the country not only more educated but also bringing more and more people under the pale of education.
It is our hope that the spirit of the day will be a constant part of our collective psyche and not something which will be restricted to remembrances and lectures and sermons in a yearly ritual.
It is our hope too that just as much as we honour Bangla, and no sacrifice would be too great for us to defend its glory, let us also accord due importance and support to the use and development of the language of the many indigenous groups in Bangladesh, for their fulfilment, in equal measure.
Comments