“Shuddho Likhi” For the love of Bangla

Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

We, the youth have both the time and strength to recreate the world as it should be. To achieve peace for all; and the prime goal is always to start small but stay constant and to never give up - because like ripples on water, one wave will start many more. Our generation has learned to rise up and cause change and have shown the most important component needed to take action; the power of will! One of the many examples of true will power was displayed during the recent event hosted by the One degree Initiative Foundation as part of their Active Citizens campaign, known as 'Shuddho Likhi'. The event took place on the 21st of February and was aimed towards commemorating the spirit and love for language that the day exemplifies.

Volunteers united with only one mission in mind and that is to correct all the unfortunate errors in language (English & Bangla) on billboards, signboards, walls and posters. All day long the volunteers worked to find and fix these misspelled texts in many parts of Dhaka city, with the spirit of the martyrs who gave their lives for the recognition of the mother language in 1952. The volunteers sought to keep their sacrifice intact by trying to recover the value of our beloved language by starting at the place we utilize it most, the streets. The event was also to attract attention towards the use of proper spelling and grammar in all aspects of life, and to discard ignorance towards language, as it is and forever will be the most important tool for civilization.
Shuddho Likhi began as a project that aimed towards correcting errors in language all around the city from grammar to sentence structure and improper usage. A team of twelve volunteers had been divided into teams of four and they went off. The volunteers spent the two hours that the event lasted correcting around 30 spellings and many more blunders. In general, the remembrance of 21st February, 1952 was observed with full force and spirit.
The youth tried to remind their generation and the ones before and after them, that there is more to 21st February than just remembering and mourning. This is the time to take action and to rekindle the hope for a united Bangladesh that is proud of the language that it fought so valiantly for.