Bangladeshi students from U of R celebrate 27th annual International Mother Language Day

(Damian Smith / CTV News)

International Mother Language Day, declared by UNESCO in 1999, is an important day for the Bangladeshi people, including those at the University of Regina.

As Bengali is spoken the most among the Bangladeshi people, students in 1952 wanted the language to be spoken in Bangladesh, formerly known as East Bengal. The language movement started in 1948 and reached the peak after a series of students were killed in protests.

“We were told that Urdu will be the national language of Bangladesh,” said Eftakharul Alam Bhuiya, a Bangladeshi student at the University of Regina. “Some of our people and students protested, and they were killed. Though it’s not confirmed, an estimated of 10 or 11 people were killed.”

Much of the push for change was put on at the Dhaka University. Though far away from home, it’s a proud day for the Bangladeshi students to honour their history.

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In far colder weather than back home, the students gathered at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to celebrate their country, waving the green and red flag.

“This [location] is a symbol of a place where we can gather most of the people from the community. We want to call everyone to respect your mother language,” said Alam Bhuiya.

Bangladesh officially gained independence in 1971.