* 21 February was declared to be the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999.
* It has been observed throughout the world since 21 February 2000. The declaration came up in tribute to the Language Movement done by the Bangladeshis (then the East Pakistanis).
* When Pakistan was created in 1947, it had two geographically separate parts: East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (currently known as Pakistan).
* The two parts were very different from each other in the sense of culture and language. The two parts were also separated by India in between.
* International Mother Language Day is a
national holiday in Bangladesh.* On this day, people visit Shaheed Minar to pay homage to the movement's martyrs and arrange seminars discussing and promoting Bengali as the state language of Bangladesh.
Source : wikipedia