The historic 7th March speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ahead of the Bangladesh War of Liberation in 1971 has been translated into Mro language.
A booklet of the translated speech titled ‘Take Me Lake loo’ in Mro language was unveiled at ‘Jum Ghar Library’ on the hill of Ramri Para on the Bandarban-Chimbuk road in Bandarban.
Yang Ngan Mro, 33, translated the speech. The writer said that his grandparents and parents used to tell him stories in his mother tongue on various topics -- tales of mountains, mythology, and sometimes about politics too. Sometimes they used to tell stories of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the events that took place in the hills during the war of independence, he said.
His parents hoped that all these stories would live on among the next generations.“With this inspiration, I have translated the Bangbandhu's speech into Mro language,” Yang Ngan Mro said.
With more than 50,000 population, the Mro community is the second largest population among the hill tribes in Bandarban, according the to 2022 census. Though Mro people are backwards in all almost aspects compared to other ethnicities, 70-80 per cent of the population can read and write their language.
He hoped that the book would help the Mro community to know about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s contribution to the country’s freedom struggle.
“I also write to write about the freedom fighters in the hills including Veer Bikram U k Ching, and Labre Mro, the only martyred freedom fighter among Paharis, in Mro language,” he said.
The cover of a book titled Mro Cha Sanchia (Collection of Stories of the Mro Language) containing stories of Mro folklore and mythology was also unveiled at the event.
Yang Ngan Mro, a prolific writer in both Bengali and Mro, has written written 33 books.
