The Chief Advisor of the Interim Government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, said, "Today, on Mother Language Day, we have pledged to preserve all mother languages. There are emotional reasons, but there are also reasons of great interest. Now we don’t know which unknown mother language will completely change the world. If we ignore any possibility, we will make a big mistake.”
He said, “In many countries of the world, a citizen speaks more than one language. Therefore, it is not that you have to forget Bengali just by learning English."
He said this in his speech as the chief guest at the International Mother Language Award ceremony on Friday afternoon.
The ceremony was organized at the International Mother Language Institute. Gold medals, certificates of honor and prize money were awarded as medals at the ceremony.
The Chief Advisor said the importance of the language movement in the history of the nation's liberation struggle is immense. Through this movement, the foundation for the formation of a non-communal, democratic, language-based nation and state system was laid.
He said, “Although the 'Rashtra Bhasha Bangla' movement was initiated to protect the dignity of Bengali's mother tongue Bangla, its main spirit was to establish independence. It was a movement for the political, economic and cultural liberation of Bangla. So for Bangalis, ‘Ekushey’ means a firm determination of not bowing down. Therefore, February 21 of 1952 is not only a day for shedding tears remembering the painful past, but also an indestructible inspiration, a mantra to stand against all kinds of injustice, unfairness and conspiracies.”
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
