Language breaks the barriers
Bangladesh police and members of Indian Border Guard also greet each other as thousands of Bangla speaking people of the two neighbouring countries gather near the barbed wire fence on Benapole border yesterday, International Mother Language Day.Photo: STAR
It was a different day at Benapole. Hundreds of people from Bangladesh and India, carrying banners, festoons and placards, gathered on no man's land at the frontier yesterday, marking the International Mother Language Day. Bangladesh police and Indian Border Guard (BSF) members also greeted each other with flowers through the barbed wire fence on the border. A temporary Shaheed Minar was erected on the no man's land to pay homage to the language martyrs. Two distinguished Indian guests --Minister for Food of Paschimbanga Jyotiprio Mallick and Lok Sabha member Shree Biswajit Das joined the programme. Lawmaker from Jessore-I constituency and Ashraful Alam, mayor of Benapole municipality were present. Speaking at the function, Jyotiprio Mallick said “I've come here to respond to the call of the mother tongue. I'm overwhelmed to see the friendly people of both countries observing the day together.” MLA Biswajit Das said people of this soil could set such a rare example of sacrificing life for their mother tongue. He hoped that such a gathering would bring the people of the two neighbouring countries closer. Lauding the role of the government and its people in Bangladesh's journey to independence, lawmaker Afiluddin said the language movement had led to the independence of Bangladesh. The nation will remember the heroes of the soil who sacrificed their lives to establish Bangla as the state language, he added. Several socio-cultural and political organisations joined the programme. Language Movement veteran Sayed Shamsul Haque, Anwar Ali, convener of International Mother Language Day Udjapan Parishad, and Golam Mostafa, director of Benapole Port, also spoke.
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