International Mother Language Day is the national festival of Bangladesh. The 21st of February has special significance to the people of Bangladesh. Each year, on this date, the country commemorates International Mother Language Day in recognition of the preservation of Bangla as the official language of Bangladesh. At the request of the people of Bangladesh and after investigating the matter, UNESCO declared the 21st of February each year to be International Mother Language Day on a world-wide scale among United Nations member countries.
The event leading up to the adoption of the 21st of February as International Mother Language Day started when the Governor General of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, declared at a public meeting on 21 March 1948 that Urdu would be the only official language for both east and west Pakistan. The majority of the people living in eastern Pakistan were Bangla-speaking and therefore protested against this declaration. But on 21 February 1952, ever in history, a bunch of young Bengali students gave their lives in a protest rally at the Dhaka university campus against the Pakistani authority’s attempt to impose Urdu (as the state language of Pakistan) over the 70 million Bengalis of East Bangla (then East Pakistan). The slain students are seen as martyrs for their cause, which turned out to be the beginning of Bangladesh’s struggle for independence. The time was 3.20 p.m. to 3.50 p.m. on 21st February '52. It was these 30 minutes that seeded a nation in the hearts of millions.
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