UNESCO observes 21st February as International Mother Language Day since 1999 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This day commemorates the martyrs of Bangla language movement who sacrificed their lives to protect their linguistic rights way back in 1952.
The Dhar India Studies Program at HLS, IUB co-sponsors this event every year and this has become a significant tradition at the university that celebrates the diversities and uniqueness of all the languages taught here every year.
I had known about this day since I was a child. But, in India, I never got to celebrate this unique day the way we celebrated here at IU. I organized and hosted this event along with other members of our department and the Bangladeshi Student Association (BSA). I hosted the event and my Fulbright friends from Tanzania in Africa, Finland in Europe, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and India from Asia and members of the BSA performed in their respective Mother Tongues. This program not only helped me in recognizing the fact that IUB teaches the most number of languages in the USA but also enriched my knowledge about various cultures and traditions from around the world.
