Celebration of mother tongue, freedom and cultural expression

Some students protesting the flower-giving ceremony in contrast

Foreigners are no exception in attending the celebration

A Kolkata boy cycled for six days to reach Dhaka to celebrate 'Amar Ekushey', the immortal 21st

The occasional roar of "Joy Bangla" echos the evening sky with thousands singing in tandem

The Kolkata-Dhaka cycle rally group had a 12 year kid as well as a 68 year old senior citizen

A team of cyclists from Kolkata rallied for six days to attend this year's celebration

Their moment of opportunity is only a few seconds, but they are happy to wait under the strict security

Political parties, NGOs, student organisations, employee associations and every possible peer group come under a banner and form groups to march together

People wait for hours patiently to commemorate the occasion

People travel from far away cities and spend the night in the Dhaka University campus just to give flowers to the monument

The day is a celebration of victrory over oppression with colorful clothes designed with Bengali imprint all over

Every year many people from India join this celebration of mother tongue

People march from all corners of Bangladesh with flowers to pay respect to those for whom they speak their language

Students of various universities decorate the monument foreground with flowers on the eve of 21st

Main celebration spot at Dhaka University, called Shahid Minar where entire Bangladesh sends their homage to the language martyres

UNESCO says, “Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritages. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education, but, also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.”

International Mother Language Day is being observed on February 21 every year since 2000 to promote peace and multilingualism. The date corresponds to the day in 1952, when students from the University of Dhaka, Jagannath College and Dhaka Medical College, demonstrating for the recognition of Bengali as one of the two national languages of East Pakistan, were brutally shot dead by police (then under Pakistan government) near the Dhaka High Court in the capital of present-day Bangladesh.

Media India Group was present in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and celebrated the ‘Amar Ekushey’ (Immortal 21st) with millions of Bangladeshis paying homage to the language martyrs at Shahid Minar, inside the Dhaka University campus.

The theme of 2017 International Mother Language Day was ‘Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education’. UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova said, “On the occasion of this day, I launch an appeal for the potential of multilingual education to be acknowledged everywhere, in education and administrative systems, in cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and trade.”