The Spirit of Ekushey

I am not sure how many of us have sincerely thought about what Ekushey February really means. Everybody knows it stands for our right to speak in Bangla. Had it not for this day, had Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar, et al did not bring out the procession defying the Section-144 on this day in '52, we might have been speaking in Urdu in our daily lives today and probably have been writing Bangla in Urdu scriptures. We protected our mother tongue by sacrificing blood on this day, and so we commemorate the 21st February by placing wreaths on the Shahid Minar. But it is high time that we should ask ourselves whether we truly understand the spirit of the great sacrifice. Was it only to protect the Bangla language, or was it to protect the mother tongue? Many of us often tend to equate them both. But when thought carefully, we realize the difference.

Or, do we? Do we realize that there are thousands of Bangladeshis whose mother tongue is not Bangla. No, I am not talking about the dwellers of Geneva Camp in Dhaka who only recently got Bangladeshi citizenship. I am referring to all the indigenous people living in backward areas in CHT and in the North. Backward? Yes, of course! They have remained 'backward' even after all these years of our nationhood! But why? Is it because the people there are not one of us? Their mother tongue is not Bangla? It is disturbing to learn that these Bangladeshis cannot use their own mother tongue in their daily lives. They have to write their languages in Bangla scripts instead of their own. There's is no press, let alone software, to keep these languages alive. These fellow citizens are forced to learn and use Bangla and its scripts to earn their livelihood. Does this sound familiar? Is this not what we fought against in 1952? Or, was Ekushey a selfish revolt? Selfish in the sense, only for the Bangla speaking countrymen.

We all know, Ekushey February infuses a lot more within us. It was not just for protecting Bangla, but rather for establishing the right to speak in Bangla, that is, our mother tongue in our daily lives. The ruling Bangalis must honour that cause by ensuring the Arakanese, Bishnupriya, Chak, Chakma, Garo, Ho, Kokborok, Kurukh, Khyang, Bawm, Falam, Khasi, Rajbanshi, Sadri, Santali, War etc. speaking citizens their rights to use their mother tongue, or risk being branded as hypocrites. And if not, do not get surprised if there is another Ekushey in the future in these 'backward' regions of Bangladesh.

Outsourced World

Outsourcing is when a company contracts with another company to provide services that might otherwise be performed by in-house employees. It is cost-effective and at many times is really a time-saver. Wikipedia says, almost any conceivable business practice can be outsourced for any number of reasons. A friend of mine casually suggests how about extending this practice outside the world of business. Why not make a contract with another person to do your chores? ...Brilliant, why not! But aren’t we doing that already? Aren’t we hiring household helps to perform our everyday tasks? Employing peons to run our errands? Keeping chauffeurs to drive our cars? As a matter of fact, we are so much used to these that we take this lifestyle for granted, especially in this part of the world. Outsourcing our daily duties are not only very common, they have become the second nature.

But what if we extend its periphery further? Outsource our studies? Make a deal with someone to go to school for us, take the exams, but earn the degrees in our name like Rancho in 3 Idiots? Outsource our work-outs? Pay someone to run on that trade-mill on our behalf while you put your feet on the ottoman and drink coffee? Or, bribe someone to go shopping with our wives for the entire day while you chill out with your buddies? Life would be so enjoyable if we could outsource everything unpleasant and boring! And, why not!

Is it possible to outsource our sorrows? Can we strike a deal with someone who can shed tears on our behalf? Interestingly yes, in rural India the professional lamenters (rudali) will come to your house and mourn for you, cry for your miseries! How about outsourcing child-birth? Surrogate mothers have been there for ages. Probably one of the earliest outsourcing we can think of is hiring wet-nurses who would breastfeed your baby when you cannot or do not want to do the same.

So outsourcing have been everywhere! From surrogate birth to sharing your tiffin with your schoolmate to do your homework, from back-office processing to your arrangement with the wedding-planner, from the nurse for taking care of you to the funeral home to make you look good after you die. Long live outsourcing!