On Mother Language Day, Kolkatans say language, not religion, must define human identity

On the occasion of International Mother Language Day, people in Kolkata associated with the written word said that language, and not religion, must define human identity, and that even Bangladesh, where this particular day originated, showed that recently by rejecting an Islamist party in the elections.

“Language is the primary force of identity for any nation or community. People who lose their language lose their identity. They live under the identity of others, like dependants. When a people are deprived of their mother tongue, they lose their self-respect. So February 21 (the Mother Language Day) is a festival of language. It reminds humanity that the mother tongue is as sacred and life-giving as mother’s milk,” renowned Bengali writer Amar Mitra said.

“My mother tongue is Bangla, and I speak on behalf of all mother tongues. Research suggests that nearly half of the world’s 6,000 languages are endangered, with one language disappearing every two weeks. When dominant languages suppress minority languages, alienation and separatism grow. India is a multilingual country. States were reorganised on linguistic lines. All languages must receive equal dignity. In these anxious times, language — not religion — must define human identity. Only then shall we survive,” Mr. Mitra said.

It was on February 21 in 1952 that several Bengalis in East Bengal (later Bangladesh) were shot dead during protests demanding their language be given official status by Pakistan. The day has been observed worldwide since the year 2000; in India, West Bengal in particular celebrates the day with vigour, with most educational institutions organising events.

“With the current fashion for translation from one language to another, the inclination towards language — and the language day — has become more prominent. The beauty of today’s India lies with its multiple doors of truth and faith redolent with languages. Now people are more rooted in their native languages as a part of their long walk to freedom. Education for generations among the Indians has given them the strength to capitalise on the power of culture and language without any doubt,” Jaydeep Sarangi, Principal, New Alipore College and a poet himself, said.

Ashok Singh of the West Bengal Hindi Speakers’ Society pointed out that Bangladesh was the first nation in the world to be named after a language and that the country was an example that it was language, more than religion, that kept people united.

“There, fanatics attacked the very history of the country’s independence; they broke the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, but in the end, people rejected the Islamists in the general elections. That’s the strength of language,” Mr. Singh, a retired professor, said.

According to Satarupa Basu Ghosh, who has been a journalist in English and Bengali, Language Day today holds particular importance for regional languages in India. “English may still unite the world, but for long that very English has been customised to fit alongside regional dialects. As far as pure regional language is concerned, its significance is growing by the day. Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp winning the International Booker Prize last year (2025) is the biggest example of the triumph of regional language on the world stage in recent times,” Ms. Basu Ghosh said.

“With the world today fraught with severe identity crises and intolerance, as human beings drop bombs on one another at the drop of a hat, language is perhaps the only marker of an identity left for the marginalised and the victims. In another parallel world, you kill a people’s language, and you erase their existence,” she said.