Daily Sun
Anniversary issue
February 23, 2013
M. Serajul Islam
The
twenty-first of February or Ekushay February brings to the heart of anyone who speaks
Bangla as a mother tongue, nostalgia and pride. The poet’s query “Amar Bhaiyer roktay rangano
Ekushay February, ami ki vulitay pari?” has been immortalized in a manner that
as long as Bangla is spoken , even a thousand years from now, this spirit of this poem/song will remain alive and
its appeal to Bangla speaking people will be as strong as it is today.
The
sacrifice of the language martyrs of February 21st, 1952 is a unique
event in the history of mother languages of the world. For the first time in
history, people of then East Pakistan rose against the government of Pakistan
that had decided to marginalize the Bangla language by preferring Urdu over it
as the national language of Pakistan although Bangla was the language spoken by
the majority of the people of Pakistan. The Bangla speaking people of East
Pakistan were also those whose support had led to partition of India and
establishment of the independent state of Pakistan. The attempt of the rulers
of Pakistan to establish Urdu over Bangla as the national language of Pakistan
was not merely a matter of preferring one provincial language over another. The
decision to prefer a minority language over a majority one as national language
of Pakistan was much more than that; it was a conspiracy whose evil design was
to push the Bangla speaking citizens of Pakistan into perpetual subordination
whose ultimate objective was to turn East Pakistan into a colony of West Pakistan.
One’s
mother tongue is not just a matter of speaking the language of one’s parents.
It is what ties one to one’s soul. It is like a mother’s ties to her children
and vice versa; its depth can be understood only when there is a danger of a
people losing their right of speaking their mother tongue freely or where there
are attempts to undermine that language or to destroy it altogether. The
Pakistanis learnt it the hard way. Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s stupendous mistake on
which alone his otherwise extraordinary political career could be destroyed if
evaluated objectively was his statement to Dhaka University students in 1948
that “Urdu and Urdu alone would be the national language of Pakistan.” That
statement totally belied his claims to being a great leader of people.
That
statement was also the beginning of the end of Pakistan for Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s
fatal mistake was not to understand the force of one’s mother tongue when
threatened like it was as a result of Pakistan Government’s decision. The
people of then East Pakistan led by the students of Dhaka University started
the “Language Movement” as a consequence of which on February 21st, 1952,
they overcame the fear of death , sacrificed
their lives and embraced martyrdom for
their mother tongue thus becoming the first victims in history for the cause of
protecting one’s mother tongue. Those sacrifices brought a nation together and
eventually gave it the inspiration to stand up against genocide in 1971 and
free the motherland.
Language,
as the Pakistanis totally misunderstood, is the sum total of all the human
aspirations of a people grouped together as a nation and the expression of all
those aspirations. It is the medium through a people comes together in their
social, political, economic, cultural and aesthetic aspirations. It is in fact the sum total of their entire
being. It is the strength of a people’s language that takes it up the ladder in
the competitive and globalized world we are living today. By fighting and
winning freedom one the issue of threat to the language we established
something that no other nation has been able to establish; underscored how much
we value our mother tongue. Unfortunately, after we won that independence on
the basis of our mother tongue, we have not done enough for the language that
gave us freedom and respect in the world. The spirit of “Ekushay February” is
there still; it still makes us proud but the
value it could have been to us as a nation to achieve the vision for
which millions sacrificed their lives in 1971, remains largely unfulfilled
because we have made our passion for our language just a ritual and little
more. We have even named the month of February, the month of the language, but the
language that gave us so much has not been established as the essence of our
national aspirations; not yet by a long stretch of imagination.
That
we have not treated our mother tongue fairly is blatantly manifest when we look
at our education system, particularly higher education where the importance of
the mother tongue is of the essence. In fact, the generally held perception in
the country is that while independence has done little for our mother tongue
except lip service; it has also contributed to the weakening of English whose
value as the link language of the world has enhanced over the last 4 decades
that we have been independent. The true value of language for the overall
development of a nation is visible as clear as day light when we look at the
successful nations of the world. They have developed because they have been
able to do what we have been saying we will do over the last many decades; our determination to achieve “shorbo storay
Bangla vashar procholon “which is now just a slogan.
Despite
the failure to do more than provide lip service to the need of implementing
Bangla in every sphere in the country, abroad Bangladesh took a very
significant step for its mother tongue.
Bangladeshis in Canada moved to the UN for recognition of the sacrifices
of the martyrs of February 21st. It was UNESCO in Paris that later adopted the
resolution to make February 21st “International Mother Languages
Day”. Although the UNESCO resolution is not one specific to Bangla, it was
nevertheless a great recognition for the sacrifices of the martyrs of February
21st, 1952. Unfortunately, UNESCO has done little other than adopt
the resolution that has later been endorsed by the UN when it adopted the year
2008 as the Year of Language. UNESCO offices around the world do not make any
efforts to observe the day thus depriving Bangladesh and Bangla the advantage
of positive publicity for the country and its mother tongue. UNESO of course
observes the day at its headquarters in Paris.
The
Prime Minister made a number of very important observations at the Boi Mela on
Bangla. She spoke of the determination of her government to spread the glory of
the language that has been recognized by UNESCO and UN across the frontier of
Bangladesh. In this context she spoke of her initiative to make Bangla a UN
language. Nevertheless the task is a huge one where of the essence is to make
the demand for Bangla’s recognition internationally a demand of all
Bangladeshis. In this context, the Bangladesh Diaspora, now over seven million
spread all over the globe, could be extremely helpful. The national consensus
on spreading Bangla, with the Bangladesh Diaspora in the loop, should be
reflected in the foreign policy of the country as a new initiative of cultural
diplomacy where the Bangladesh Embassies and the Diaspora should work hand in
glove. As Ambassador in Japan between 2002-2006, I witnessed what could be
achieved by this hand in glove approach between the Embassy and the Diaspora.
There was a sizeable number of Bangladeshis living and working in Tokyo,
approximately 10,000, when I arrived there. They had been celebrating Baisaki
Mela at Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Park every year that was welcomed by Tokyo’s
residents very warmly because of the Mela’s rich cultural content.
The
leaders of the Mela later approached the authorities of Toshima-ku Ward for a
space in the Park for a permanent Shahid Minar. As Ambassador, I made the
formal request to the Mayor on behalf of the Bangladeshis. This was an
exceptional request as nowhere in Japan’s capital, nor for that is matter
anywhere in Japan, is there a place like the one had we sought for Bangla. To strengthen the request, we sought the
support of Japan’s Foreign Ministry and the Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary
League and both supported the request of the Bangladeshis for a permanent
Shahid Minar enthusiastically. The
Shahid Minar was built with funds contributed fully by the Bangladesh
Government. Thus today, the Bangladeshis in Tokyo have a Shahid Minar together
with their annual Baisaki Mela as structures through which to spread Bangla and
the culture of Bangladesh in Japan. My experience in Japan, in fact my whole career as a professional diplomat,
has convinced me that through the strength of our culture where our language will
no doubt be a major focus, we could achieve recognition for Bangladesh in a way
that traditional diplomacy has so far largely failed, portray a positive image
of the country. It is time to bring cultural diplomacy into the mainstream of
our foreign policy.
There
are a few formidable obstacles though in bringing cultural diplomacy and the
Diaspora into our foreign policy the way other countries, for instance India,
have done and benefitted tremendously. First, we need to decide on the need for
cultural diplomacy but not merely as lip service as is being done at present.
Second, we would need to provide funds for conducting such diplomacy where
there is not even a pittance being provided now. Third, we have to have a united
Diaspora and not the one we have that is
divided in the same way our domestic
politics is; unlike any other country in the world. Political parties in the
country must thus stop having their branches overseas to encourage the Diaspora
to remain united and interact with the Embassies for Bangla, our culture and
Bangladesh.
Bangladesh
has failed to encourage UNESCO to do more for the International Mother
Languages Day. It is time for the Bangladesh Government to revisit the UNESCO
resolution to utilize fully its scope which imposes much more responsibility
upon UNESCO than the latter has done so far. UNESCO’s powers and
responsibilities extend to all its member states. Hence anything that UNESCO
does under the scope of the resolution will expose Bangla, our culture and Bangladesh in positive light across the
world. The need to study the UNESCO Resolution and to carry out discussions
with UNESCO to encourage it to do more for International Mother Languages Day should
therefore become a major focus of the government’s cultural diplomacy.
Once
the government decides to give cultural diplomacy the importance it deserves
and have a policy firmly laid out, the Embassies/High Commissions and the
Diaspora can the work hand in glove for the cause of Bangla and Bangladesh. A key initiative in that context could be the
effort to do what we did in Tokyo; get a permanent Shahid Minar at as many
capitals as possible. Already a few capitals have done so. Others should try
for a permanent Shahid Minar at their respective capitals and come around these
living symbols of our culture and in fact our nationhood. It is time for the nation to benefit from the
strength of our culture and our mother tongue cultural diplomacy in the
driver’s seat of our foreign policy.
The
writer is a retired career Ambassador and Chairman, Centre for Foreign Affairs
Studies, CFAS
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