ObservanceInternational days
International Mother Language Day
Next date
Sunday, 21 February 2027
- Tithi at sunrise
- Waning Firstuntil 02:03 next day
- Nakshatra
- Maghauntil 13:50
- Lunar month
- MahaFagan in the purnimanta reckoning
- Sunrise
- 07:06Sunset 18:40
In short
International Mother Language Day is an international awareness or commemorative observance and is optional in the calendar.
The story
International Mother Language Day is observed on 21 February and has a particularly important connection with the Bengali Language Movement. On 21 February 1952, students and activists in Dhaka, then part of East Pakistan, protested for recognition of Bangla as a state language; police firing killed several demonstrators, and their memory became a powerful symbol of linguistic rights. Bangladesh later proposed an international day celebrating mother languages, and UNESCO approved the initiative at its 1999 General Conference. The observance has been held worldwide since 2000. It celebrates linguistic and cultural diversity and stresses that people learn, preserve knowledge and express identity through language. The day also draws attention to endangered languages and to multilingual education, especially the value of giving children early education in a language they understand while enabling them to learn additional languages.
Why it matters
International Mother Language Day is intended to build public awareness and encourage attention to its associated global issue.
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