KUWAIT CITY, Feb 21: Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait observed Shohid Dibosh (Martyrs’ Day) and celebrated the International Mother Language Day 2013 at the embassy chancery.

The program began with Syed Shahed Reza Ambassador of the Bangladesh to Kuwait hoisting his country’s national flag at half mast in the presence of Embassy personnel, officials from the Bangladesh Military Contingent, representatives from the Bangladesh Biman, members of the community and representatives of the print and electronic media.

The main program began with recitation from the Holy Quran. Special dua and munajat were offered seeking divine blessings for the souls of the martyrs and a prayer for the continued progress of the country. A one-minute silence was also observed as a mark of respect for those who have laid down their lives for the sake of their mother tongue.

The messages of the President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh were read by embassy officials.
Following this there was a discussion session which took place in a very lively manner. Those taking part in the discussions highlighted various important events that took place before and after the language movement.

The ambassador also, in his speech, shed light on the language movement and its significance in the formation of the subsequent mass movement that led to the emergence of independent Bangladesh. He urged all Bangladeshis to work for unity for the benefit of the country and called upon Bangladeshis working in Kuwait to abide by the rules and regulations of the State of Kuwait. He then thanked the Government and the people of the State of Kuwait for their continuous support for the Bangladeshi community in Kuwait.

The Language Movement Day or Language Revolution Day (Bhasha Andolon Dibosh), which is also referred to as Language Martyrs’ Day or Martyrs’ Day (Shohid Dibosh), is a national day of Bangladesh to commemorate protests and sacrifices made by the Bangladeshis to protect Bengali as a national language during the Bengali Language Movement of 1952.

In 1952, the emerging middle classes of East Bengal underwent an uprising known later as the Bangla Language Movement. Bangladeshis (then East Pakistanis) were initially agitated by a decision by the concerned authorities to establish Urdu as the sole national language for all of Pakistan following which there was chaos throughout then East Pakistan and several people died from police firing.

This movement is thought to have sown the seeds for the independence movement which resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

UNESCO then decided to observe Feb 21 as International Mother Language Day. The UNESCO General Conference took a decision to that took effect on Nov 17, 1999 when it unanimously adopted a draft resolution submitted by Bangladesh and co-sponsored and supported by 28 other countries.