International Mother Language Day is an observance held annually on 21 February worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages. The day is observed annually in memory of four students in the former East-Pakistan (Bangladesh) who were killed by Pakistani law enforcement agencies on February 21, 1952, in Dhaka while protesting for the elevation of Bengali to official language status. The day was declared Mother Tongue Day by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1999.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2012.
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