Ekushey in Tripura

The International Mother Language Day 2015 was celebrated in Agartala on Saturday along with Bangladesh and other Bengali dominant states like West Bengal through various events.

The central gathering took place at the Rabindra Centenary hall where hundreds of students, teachers, poets, ministers and officials gathered and paid floral tribute at a temporary memorial of the language martyrs of 1952.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar used the occasion to reiterate his demand for recognition of the state’s tribal language Kokborok.

This is spoken by the majority of the tribals who are around 31 percent of Tripura's population.

He also recalled the language martyrs of neighbouring Bangladesh, Assam and Tripura who sacrificed their lives for the cause of their mother tongue.

Various cultural programmes were performed to observe the day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

This year year’s theme is Inclusive Education through and with Language - Language Matters.

The day, February 21, represents the date in 1952 when students from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.

Meantime, Bangladesh Visa Office here also celebrated the day by recalling the sacrifice of the 1952 language martyrs.

The national flag of Bangladesh was flown half mast.

The head of the mission Obaydur Rahaman speaking on the occasion said: “Some of those who supported Pakistan all through are now trying to disrupt peace and prosperity of Bangladesh by enforcing violent blockades and strikes. This is the section that supported Pakistan and opposed the creation of a free Bangladesh."

International Mother Tongue Day, announced by UNESCO on Nov 17, 1999, has been observed on Feb 21 every year worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.