Nearly 50 Bangladeshis and Irish residents paraded down Dublin’s main thoroughfare recently to highlight the threat to native languages around the world.
The rally – from the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square to the GPO on O’Connell Street – honoured Bengali, Irish and other languages as part of International Mother Language Day on 21 February.
The importance of maintaining mother languages along with linguistic diversity has been commemorated every February since 2000 following a proclamation by Unesco, the United Nations’ educational, scientific and cultural organisation.
More than half of the 6,700 mother languages worldwide are endangered, according to speakers at the rally.
The date of Mother Language Day has particular significance for Bangladeshis.
In 1948, the Pakistani government imposed Urdu as the sole national language in Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan. The move sparked massive protests by Bengali-speaking Bangla-deshis and led to the killing of several demonstrators by Pakistani police on 21 February 1952.
After years of civil unrest, the Bengali language was granted official status in 1956, and the language movement contributed to Bangladesh’s later fight for independence.
Speaking in front of the GPO at the rally – jointly organised by the Bangladesh Association of Ireland and Ionad Buail Isteach na Gaeilge – members of the Bangladesh Association of Cork highlighted the significance of the language movement and paid tribute to people who have lost lives in the independence struggle with a moment of silence.
Other speakers at the rally included Bangladesh Associ-ation of Ireland general secretary Syed Mustafizur Rahman, advisors Mohammad Nurul Amin and SM Mahfuzul Haque, and vice president Khalilur Rahman. Cris Ní Choisdealbha of Ionad Buail Isteach na Gaeilge also spoke at the gathering, hosted by Lubna Ahmed.
All underscored the importance of speaking Irish, as it is considered one of the world’s endangered languages.
