Matri bhasha
The need to keep one's own language and culture was a huge motivating factor for the language martyrs and indeed for the creation of Bangladesh. Yet the same nation has often looked the other way as more and more pressure is put on the indigenous people of, for instance, the Chittagong division. The abuse of the most basic rights of these people has been time and again reported both nationally and internationally. While the present government is addressing corruption and thus the effects of some of the past injustices meted out against them, there is work to be done to ensure that all minorities are given the same opportunities as the majority. This does not mean just "treated in the same way", as the term equal opportunities is often translated. There needs to be a change of culture in the national psyche. Are some Bangladeshis less Bangladeshi because they speak English, Urdu or Changma Vaj as their first language?
Their numbers may not be large, but their treatment is a matter of prime importance for ensuring communal harmony.
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