Christians struggle in Bangladesh's literary landscape

Book hunters visit a stall at Amor Ekushey Gronthomela (Book Fair of Immortal 21). (Photo: Stephan Uttom/UCA News)

On the last Saturday of early spring, the famous Suhrawardy Udyan in central Dhaka thronged with thousands of book lovers.

The park has been hosting the month-long Amor Ekushey Gronthomela (Book Fair of Immortal 21), the largest and most popular annual literary festival of Bangladesh, for the past five years, offering more space for both book publishers and an increasing number of book hunters.

It started as an initiative of educationist-publisher Chittaranjan Saha, a Hindu, in 1972. The fair pays tribute to Bangla language martyrs of Feb. 21, 1952, who died in a clash with police during the Pakistan period upholding the rights of their mother tongue.

Since 1984, Bangla Academy, the state-funded autonomous body for the promotion of Bangla language, literature and culture, has organized the event.

However, the huge crowds at the fair pay little attention to Christian publications, largely because of their minimal presence and participation.

There are 873 stalls of 560 publishers and organizations at this year's book fair and only two of them are Christian. Some 15 Christian writers have published books so far, mostly through individual efforts and other publishers.

A tribute to the Language Martyrs

Language Martyrs' Memorial in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Today, February 21 is a red letter day in the history of Bengali people, especially those whose roots are in Bangladesh.

After the state of Pakistan was formed in 1947, there was a move to make Urdu the only recognized state language. This sparked uproar in East Pakistan where the great majority were Bengali people with their own rich language, literature, culture and traditions. An activist group called the Bengali Language Movement was formed and it quickly started to attract recruits in numbers.

The government imposed a ban on rallies and meetings, to stop the protests from building. But students from Dhaka University took to the streets and on February 21 1952, a number of them were killed. This sparked widespread civil unrest led by students and the Awami League, the incumbent political party in Bangladesh today.

The protests ultimately forced the authorities to recognize Bangla as a state language in the 1956 constitution, which meant the language could be used in government affairs. Bangladesh could well be the only country in the world where people spilt blood in defense of their language.

In 2000 UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day, in tribute to the Language Movement.

So after all that, it’s such a shame that many people here don’t speak Bangla correctly. A peculiar language, mixing Bangla and English, is creeping in. Then there are people who take pride in studying at an English-medium school and who insist on speaking English all the time.

Last week the High Court passed a rule to ensure that print and electronic media use Bangla correctly as misspellings and mispronunciations are proliferating.

Our native language is something we should all be fighting for!

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