It is believed that there are nearly 6,000 spoken languages in this world of ours. Some are spoken by a large number of people and have a vast array of printed and electronic resources that are dedicated to those languages. Others are spoken by a relatively small number of people with a not-so-vast array of materials dedicated to them, and these languages may not be as familiar to us.

Regardless of whether a language is spoken by a large or a small number of people and whether its resource list is long or short, the common thread that runs through these 6,000 modes of expression is that each of them is a ‘mother tongue’ to its speakers. This mother tongue gives its speakers a sense of distinct identity. It is the language we first used to communicate with our mother, and to tell her that we loved her.

The world body of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) took a significant step in 1999 by setting aside a day to honor mother tongues. This day is now known as the International Mother Language Day. In doing so, the United Nations affirmed that each and every single person in this world ought to have the right to speak and express themselves in their own mother tongue. It was an acknowledgment that differences in languages and cultures can be points of strength from which the world community could benefit. It was a confirmation that everyone in this world ought to be able to express hopes, aspiration, dreams and sorrows in their respective mother tongue.

UNESCO’s decision to pick Feb. 21 as the day to celebrate International Mother Language Day was not a random act. It was on this day that the people of then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, placed their lives on the line, some of them by making the ultimate sacrifice of death, to oppose its government’s decision to take away their mother tongue of Bengali and replace it with a language they did not speak or understand.

The people of then-East Pakistan vehemently opposed the government’s plan and took to the streets to protest the proposal. Mass rallies were organized in the capital city. The government confronted demonstrators with full force, including firing on unarmed people, on Feb. 21, 1952. Many had died trying to defend their cause. Eventually, in the face of growing opposition, the government reversed its decision. Bangla, the mother language of the Bengali people, was given the status of one of the state languages of Pakistan.

UNESCO’s adoption of Feb. 21 as the International Mother Language Day was a bitter-sweet experience for Bangladesh. While lives were lost to preserve Bengali as a mother tongue, it was comforting to be appreciated and recognized by a world body for the sacrifices made in 1952. In stark contrast to Bangladesh’s typical characterization as a land beset with natural disasters and poverty, it was a rare dignified moment for this country to claim the fathering of a very special cultural milestone in world history, albeit at a very high price.

The 21st of February represents all peoples’ right to speak and cultivate their mother tongues and the acceptance that unity can be achieved through diversity.

Dr. Muhammed Quddus, a native of Bangladesh, teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno and specializes in economic forecasting.