Shaheed Dibosh (Martyrs' Day)

February 21st is a national holiday called Shaheed Dibosh (Martyrs' Day) in Bangladesh. The nation stops to remember events which took place during its Pakistan period, when it was known as East Pakistan. Of the two Pakistans, West Pakistan was politically dominant; and these events were set in motion when the Prime Minister stated publicly in Dhaka that Urdu (the language spoken in West Pakistan) would be the sole national language of Pakistan.

The written alphabet of Urdu (showing to the left in the picture, from this blog ) is nothing like the written alphabet of Bangali  (right in the picture). The spoken languages also bear little resemblance to each other. From my understanding, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

The people had struggled for years under the West-Pakistani rule, and when it became apparent that their mother language would lose its status under the law of the land, it was too much for them to bear. Even though the authorities had made gatherings illegal, students felt compelled to gather in protest. On February 21st, 1952, eight young people were killed after the police started firing upon the crowds near Dhaka Medical College. (This blog provides an in-depth description of events.) This incident is said to have accelerated the people of Bangladesh along the path to claiming independence for their country.

UNESCO launched its first International Mother Language Day to, "promote linguistic diversity, and multilingual education, to highlight greater awareness of the importance of mother tongue education" back in 2000 (learn more here), and chose February 21st in recognition of Bangladesh's history. We were still living in Chittagong and I have vague memories of the British Council organising events to mark the occasion.

The picture (right) published in 'The Daily Star' was taken at 12:01am today and shows the 2013 observance of the tragic events at Shaheed Minar (Martyrs' Monument). (More local newspaper coverage by 'The Independent'  here). 

The Shahbag movement (learn more here and here) has been lauded for reviving the spirit of the Liberation War Heroes and its supporters attended the ceremony in full force. They are holding a rally at Shahbag as I type this and via Twitter I am reading that their leaders have asked the people of Bangladesh to, "think of them as human beings not as religious or non.religious" [sic]. 

I admit I am very removed from the unfolding events and hence not in a position to really understand what it all means, however, I still like to learn what I can (from a great distance) about the historical background and mull over the significance of this latest movement. Earlier in the week, I read an article here with the provocative title, "Media Blackout: Why isn't the world acknowledging Shahbagh?".

I believe the reason why is because the Shahbag message needs to be expanded and interpreted for the rest of the world to understand its nuances, and while it may not be the popular line, it must be done in English if they wish their message to reach a large audience. It is not immediately apparent to non-Bangalee people that the call for the death sentence for Abdul Quader Mollah was, in part, a reaction against the current judicial system, the rising influence of Islamic parties in Bangladesh and a loss of confidence in the effectiveness of political parties in general.

The promotion of Bangali since 1952 has been very successful, but from what I have witnessed, it appears that English has been neglected in the process. The country has had to make tough decisions when allocating its resources. I recognise this, but I still feel the result has its drawbacks. It means that the people of Bangladesh have difficulty imparting their message to the world. And it means that people here do not have easy access to the vast reserves of information that is readily available world-wide, and which could be very helpful in varous sectors such as education, farming, manufacturing etc. (This book mentions this phenomena.) The editorial of the Daily Star today expressed a similar sentiment as it concluded thus, "...our endeavour should be to grow effectively bilingual in the very least like India and Sri Lanka where people speak English with ease and competence, communicating with the business world in a more proficient way than us."

Lastly, I really wish the young Shahbag supporters had included un-blocking YouTube as one of their seven demands to the Government. It would be easy for the Government to concede this, and it would effect an immediate, practical difference in the country. In view of their intensive use of social media to advance their cause, I am surprised they have not done so already. This is not as trivial matter as it may seem on the surface. YouTube is a powerful medium in the classroom and the absence of its instructive presence is damaging when there are no other affordable avenues to learn available.

Their grass-roots campaign is still going strong (see photo above, published in the 'New Age' newspaper today), and according to Twitter, they are planning to hold mass rallies every Friday. Will they be able to maintain this momentum? And does this constitute a feasible long-term agenda? I will revisit this topic next Shaheed Dibosh and let you know how it transpires.