International Mother Language Day Memorial in Gloucester
The Bangladeshi Women's Association in Gloucester has been instrumental in arranging the creation of a memorial to those involved in the Language Movement of Bangladesh. Gloucester Park is the site for this memorial, which was recently dedicated in a ceremony that also marked the celebration of International Mother Language Day.
The memorial consists of a paved red circle, which is also found on the Bangladeshi national flag, surrounded by five spring blossoming trees. It commemorates all those who died for the right to use their own language. The photograph shows Sakina Choudhury, from Gloucestershire Race Equality and Diversity Service, and members of the Bangladeshi Women's Association inaugurating the memorial.
During the late 1940s in Bangladesh, which was then East Pakistan, the government tried to impose Urdu as the only state language of the country. This was despite the fact that more than half of the population spoke only Bangla.
There was strong opposition from all areas of society. This led to widespread protest and on 21st February 1952 several peaceful protesters died in Dhaka as police opened fire. This did not end the protests, however, and the government later accepted Bangla as one of the state languages.
The recognition of the importance of linguistic diversity led to UNESCO deciding, in 1999, to instigate an annual International Mother Language Day. It is observed, worldwide, on 21st February each year, commemorating those who died in Dhaka.
Today, about half of the world's 6,000 spoken languages are under threat and UNESCO hopes that the annual event will promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education. This diversity represents universal values that strengthen the cohesion of societies and helps peoples define themselves. Ensuring that all languages can continue in use alongside the major international languages of communication is a challenge for all the countries of the world.
