Pullman Bangladeshi Community aims to uplift all cultures and languages

PULLMAN — Multiculturalism is one of several principals uplifted by the Bangladeshi community of Pullman.

The group organized this year’s International Mother Language Day celebration to honor language diversity and the significance the observation holds.

Shaheen Khan, co-owner of Mela Bangladeshi Cuisine and community member, said Washington State University hosts its own celebration annually. It was the first time the event was hosted exclusively by the community at the Gladish Community and Cultural Center on Saturday.

Khan noted that hosting the event downtown helped to bridge the gap between the student and local community.

Golam Saroare Shakil, WSU postdoctoral research associate and community member, said they succeeded in opening the celebration to different communities this year — more than 170 people attended from multiple cultures.

Shetu Ranjan Biswas, WSU graduate student and group member, said the event represented international life, culture and heritage.

The celebration included 13 performances by singers, dancers, musicians and poets from many various cultures around the world, as well as a keynote speech by WSU Professor Emeritus Anjan Bose. He said roughly eight languages out of the many from India, Nepal and Bangladesh were spoken during the performances.

Mela also served an entire course of authentic Bangladeshi cuisine at the event.

International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held Feb. 21 that was established by the United Nations Educational (UNESCO), Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1999. The day commemorates the Bangladesh Language Movement of 1952, where Ranjan Biswas said Bangladesh is the only country to sacrifice their lives to speak their mother tongue.

Ranjan Biswas said a series of political events were triggered to separate West Pakistan, now Pakistan, from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Protests erupted in the late 1940s following the announcement that Urdu was declared as the official language, even though more than half of East Pakistan’s population spoke Bangla.

The movement peaked on Feb. 21, 1952, when a group of students protesting the language policy were killed by police, Ranjan Biswas said. This resulted in the Pakistani government recognizing Bengali as one of the state languages in 1956.

More tension was experienced in the region surrounding the emancipation of Bangladesh. Ranjan Biswas touched on the 1952 Language Movement that was the grounding stone of the liberation of Bangladesh.

Ranjan Biswas said International Mother Language Day is about embracing linguistic diversity and cultural beauty of all countries around the world.

“Though we are from different countries we are united in our spirit to honor other language (and) culture,” he said. “The day came from Bangladesh, but I think it should be celebrated by every language, every culture all over the world.”

Saroare Shakil said people using their mother tongue is not only necessary from a cultural perspective, but it helps keep the languages alive.

“Languages are disappearing all over the world,” he said. “There’s raised concern about endangered languages and it’s necessary to speak your own mother tongue to keep them intact.”

He said the day also honors culture through food and attire in addition to language.

Khan said holding events like International Mother Language Day highlights the region’s multiculturalism and celebrates all languages spoken locally. It’s also another way to make Pullman feel like home — even though she said it already is home.

“I’ve never felt like an outsider here,” she said. “I feel like it’s home.”

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.