Nagaland is celebrating the International Mother Tongue Day today. The day promotes awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
On the occasion, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio emphasised the importance of celebrating the diverse languages and the unique cultural heritage that they represent.
In a social media post, the Chief Minister noted that preserving our mother tongue is key to maintaining our identity, and diversity, & fostering respect across communities.
Mr. Rio also informed that all schools in Nagaland will observe International Mother Tongue Day today.
Nagaland is celebrating the International Mother Tongue Day today. The day promotes awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
On the occasion, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio emphasised the importance of celebrating the diverse languages and the unique cultural heritage that they represent.
In a social media post, the Chief Minister noted that preserving our mother tongue is key to maintaining our identity, and diversity, & fostering respect across communities. Mr. Rio also informed that all schools in Nagaland will observe International Mother Tongue Day today.
International Mother Language Day is celebrated on February 21 to promote awareness of the linguistic and cultural uniqueness of different people. First announced by UNESCO on November 17, 1999, it was formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of UN resolution 56/262 in 2002.
International Mother Language Day is part of a broader initiative “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world” as adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 16, 2007, in UN resolution 61/266, which also established 2008 as the International Year of Languages. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh, a country which came into existence with the brave operation of the Indian Army against Pakistan’s atrocities against the Bangla-speaking people of East Pakistan. This day is very significant for Bharat due to many reasons.
When Pakistan was created in 1947, it had two geographically separate parts: East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (currently known as Pakistan). The two parts were very different to each other in sense of culture, language, etc. In 1948, the then Government of Pakistan declared Urdu to be the sole national language of Pakistan, including for the people of east Pakistan who were native speakers of Bangla. The East Pakistan people protested since Bangla was the mother tongue of the majority of the population from East Pakistan