On Wednesday, people in Bangladesh honored those who gave their lives in 1952 to support the country’s language movement.
Bangladesh’s Central Shaheed Minar is a somber and iconic monument located in the country’s capital city of Dhaka. President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid wreaths at the monument one minute past midnight on this special day.
Alongside a dirge played by a bugle, a contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces presented a state salute.
After local and foreign representatives placed wreaths at the monument, it was opened to the public.
People from all walks of life thronged to it to lay wreaths and bouquets of flowers to show their deep respect to those who lost their lives on Feb. 21 in 1952 to promote Bangla as a state language of then East Pakistan.
In 1999, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared Feb. 21 as International Mother Language Day.
In order to encourage multilingualism and linguistic and cultural diversity, the International Mother Language Day has been celebrated annually since 2000 all across the world. (Xinhua/NAN
