Secretary of State of the District of Columbia Kimberly Bassett formerly inaugurated the newly built Shaheed Minar at the Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC on February 21, marking the Shaheed Dibash and the International Mother Language Day. The embassy said they observed the day by offering profound respect and gratitude for the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement. Officials and employees of the embassy and their spouses led by Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin paid glowing tributes to the language heroes by placing wreaths at the altar of the Shaheed Minar at one-minute past zero hour. They stood in solemn silence for a while as a mark of deep respect to the memories of the language heroes.
On that day, 68 years ago, Salam, Barkat, Rafique, Shafique, Jabbar and many others laid down their lives in Dhaka City establishing Bangla as the state language of the erstwhile Pakistan. The day was also observed as the International Mother Language Day declared by the UNESCO on November 17, 1999.
Displaying linguistic diversity and multilingualism in a brilliant fashion, artists from Bangladesh and 11 foreign countries sang and danced during a cultural soiree at Bangladesh embassy in observance of the International Mother Language Day. Performers from Bangladesh, USA, Afghanistan, Colombia, Russia, Nepal, India, Thailand, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and Ukraine sang songs and danced, enthralling the audience in the packed Bangabandhu Auditorium Friday evening, the embassy said.
American diplomat Daniel Buchman recited in Bangla a poem “Ekush Amar” written by Bangladeshi diplomat Mahbub Hassan Saleh. Speaking on the occasion, Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin said the dissemination of mother languages encourages linguistic diversity and multilingual education throughout the world. He said the respect for each other’s language, inspires international solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
On UNESCO’s proclamation of the International Mother Language Day, the Ambassador said Bangladesh as the pioneer of the resolution has a scared obligation not only to protect Bangla but also all other languages. Diplomats from different embassies, political leaders, journalists, representatives of social and cultural bodies and expatriate Bangladeshis largely attended the event. In the morning the Ambassador hoisted national flag at half-staff. Later, the messages of the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and State Minister for Foreign Affairs were readout. Special prayer was offered seeking divine blessings for the martyrs of the Language Movement and the Liberation War.
