Make law to enforce use of Bangla
Photo: STAR
The 21st February, the Martyrs' Day, also International Mother Language Day, was observed with due respect. To mark the day, several linguists, litterateurs, academicians, artists and politicians appeared in Dhaka's nearly two dozen television stations. Also the field reporters broadcast live interviews of the members of the public taking part in the solemn celebration throughout the day. Many opined that English has taken over Bangla so far as the advertisement boards, names of areas, shops, government and private offices, factories, industries, billboards, rooftop and roadside sign boards, educational and other institutions, offices and business houses, etc., are concerned. A simple solution to this problem is that the government should enact a law to forbid the use of purely foreign languages in any advertisement, billboard, etc., excluding Bangla in 60% of all such spaces. This must also apply to all car number plates. Anybody violating this rule/Act must be penalised through imposing both fines and jail terms. Any language other than Bangla must be treated as a foreign language. No foreign films, TV serials, advertisements, or any other foreign language programmes, etc., be allowed to be broadcast in electronic and, print and other media in the country without having Bangla subtitles. Any school or educational institution not following Bangla syllabus must include two subjects in their curricula to teach (1) easy Bengali that must include reading, writing and speaking Bangla and (2) Bangladesh's history and culture. These should be from 1st upoto 12th grade. All non-Bangla medium and foreign schools must permanently keep at least ONE Bangladesh flag on the wall of each classroom, auditorium and other permanent structures as well as hoisting the national flag and institution's own flag [if any] in proper places on the institution premises. Each non-Bangla institution must have a plaque depicting national anthem in Bangla and its translation in English or any other languages in a prominent place in each institution so that students and visitors can have a glance of it. Private, commercial or non-commercial, technical or non-technical, professional or non-professional universities or colleges also must include easy Bangla and history/culture courses in their curricula that students must pass with a minimum of 50% marks. All court proceedings and deliberations must also be in Bangla. All government officials must speak in and deliver lectures in Bangla, if needed with their English versions when foreigners are involved. Bangla must be the compulsory mode of correspondence and the spoken language in every office and business house, be that government or private.
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