Language Movement was more than for just language:
Some thoughts of
Abul Mansur AhmadDr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
February 2000
[The following translation was done in the context of a Topic of the Month discussion on Shetubondhon]
Dear Shetubondhon Friends,
Salam and greetings.
The decision of Shetubondhon to choose "Empowerment of Bangla Language" as February 2000's Topic of the Month is timely and relevant. Year after year we tend to discuss the same issues, basically chewing the cud again and again. One of the questions raised in the proposed Topic of the Month is: "Is there a necessary connection between empowerment of mother tongue and development of a country?"
Empowerment shouldn't mean an exclusivism of our mother-tongue. There is a legitimate, and even a vital, place for non-mother-tongues in any people's life. The issue, therefore, is not to discuss about Bangla, in exclusion of all other languages. To me empowerment in this context would mean elevating our mother-tongue to its "proper" level, where the "proper" level is something to be determined in light of the experience of many other nations in the world as well as our own need.
One of the aspects of the Topic of the Month is the relationship between mother-tongue and development in light of the historical experience of the world community. With the hope to contribute more in this regard as well as extending invitation to others to do the same, here I produce some pertinent thought of one of the icons of Bangladesh and Bangla language, Abul Mansur Ahmad.
[Please excuse my crude translation. I am simply trying to convey the thought the best I can subject to my time as well as other constraints and priorities. Also, readers should remember that these writings of Abul Mansur Ahmed were from pre-Bangladesh period. But they are equally refreshing for even today. All emphases are mine.]
Language Movement was more than for just language:
Some thoughts of Abul Mansur Ahmad"It would be a mistake to characterize the event of 21st February as merely Language Movement. It would be tantamount to diminishing the importance of it, whereby one might view only its outer dimension, while ignoring the essence.
Those who became martyred to establish their mother tongue, instead of others' tongue, as the state language, it is only the outer dimension of their struggle. The indomitable truth, the everlasting essence, and the perennial message underlying this struggle is rooted in the aspiration of national distinctiveness (shokioyta).
People do not become free (azad) just by achieving national independence. Freedom comes through the path of pursuing distinctiveness. After achieving independence from the Austrian empire in mid-nineteenth century, and establishing the independent and united Italy, Garibaldi said, "We have created Italy; now our task is to create the Italian."
Almost a century later, toward the mid-twentieth century, the student-youth community of Dhaka spoke in the language of Garibaldi, "Five years earlier we have founded Pakistan; now we are shaping the Pakistani." It was the tune from the bugle of new life of a new nation. Those who wanted to silence that resounding tune with guns were ignorant.The demand for mother tongue is the starting point of that pursuit of distinctiveness. The word of "bhasha" in English is tongue, in Farsi "zaban", in Arabic "lisan", in German "junge", in Latin "dingua" - all of which means tongue. It has been quite long since the medium of expressing ourselves has made transition from tongue to pen, quill, typewriter, yet "bhasha" remains as "tongue." After learning to talk by listening to one's mother, human beings have learnt so many scholarly languages from so many scholars. Nevertheless, there is always special language that sustains as the mother tongue.
Remarkably, it's mother-tongue, not father-tongue. Because it's not about description; it's symbol. It's about the navel connection, not about the outer relationships. The navel connection of any person is with the mother, not with the father. Here mother is the mother of nation, not of individual. Mother tongue here is the nation's mother-tongue, not merely individual's mother-tongue. The importance of mother-tongue in an individual's life is less important. An individual can forget his or her mother-tongue, and can even be educated or a scholar in another language.
But A NATION CANNOT.Even a nation has a personality. Just like the verbal expressions of a person is not the whole thing about an individual personality, so is the mother-tongue not the whole thing about national personality. The influence, scope, and significance of the mother tongue is so vital in national life, as it is in individual life. Yet, the national personality is not limited to language. Its sphere includes education-civilization, religion-ethics, art-culture, food-clothing, culture-ritual - all these.
To put it another way, what is personality in case of an individual is in the case a nation, culture. Culture is a nation's personality, which is its distinctiveness. The first principle of this distinctiveness is mother-tongue. That is why when the East-Bengalis, as constituents of an independent nation, demanded that their mother tongue be the national language, the demand that spearheaded a movement of the youth and the student to sacrifice their lives, it was on the surface a demand for their own language. However, essentially, it was a demand for the national distinctiveness. The real implication was that our state would be governed and conducted utilizing our mother-tongue. What does it mean?
Everywhere in the contemporary world now, statehood is the fifteenth-sixteenth of nationhood. We are no exception. Thus, the underlying demand of the language movement also included that our education and culture, industry and business, media and communication, traffic and transportation, art and literature, as well as recreation and entertainment would also be touched primarily by our mother-tongue. This also meant that in our food and dress, style and behavior, sports and entertainment, as well as custom and conduct we would be wholly "us". ..."
[Abul Mansur Ahmad, Bangladesher kulture, p. 109-110.]
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