URDU IS A BANGLADESHI LANGUAGE TOO, YOU KNOW

Yes its true brother

hey .. people don’t have so much ill feelings and hatred against Urdu as language but against the people who tried to force Urdu to Bangladeshi. So I don’t see why you finding it that difficult see why Bangladeshi hates those people (that includes me). Urdu can not be Bangladeshi language, Bangladesh was formed only few years ago; does this also means Bangla is also Pakistany language?

many in pakistan speak bangla so i guess in a social sense yeah!

Wow really – sorry I didn’t know!! any idea why they speak Bangla in Pakistan, were they originally from Bangladesh?

Brother I don’t fully agree with you. Some people do hate the Urdu language too in addition to hating the people who tried to make Urdu as the state language of the Pakistan state. You are a Bangladeshi and I am a Bangladeshi and Jamdani saree is also a Bangladeshi heritage. All these were there before Bangladesh was created. Logic of Nationalism is perverse and cannot stand the scrutiny of a valid logical process.

Khan A Basher Jewel Lots. There is one singer called Alamgir, he moved to Karachi in the 60s to seek his fortune.

FUGSTAR.BLOGSPOT.COM

fug’s blog: [Important Cultural J] You Have Set Me Adrift from Alamgir and Fariha Parvez

Agree .. but that’s due to lack of knowledge, they are treating Urdu & Urdu speaking people the same; you can not use logic here… their is no reason to like Urdu either!!

Do you know if those Bangla speaking Pakistany were originally from Bangldesh? Fuad Ali

Its an important heritage of our land just like Lalbagh Kella and Mainamati Buddhist complex and Dhakashary Hindu Temple. All existed before Bangladesh was created and are important heritage of our land

Bangladesh doesnt exist before 1971, does it? there was considerable ‘internal migration’ between 47-71. and i think some immigration and outmigration after 71. Urdu is more to do with the north indian culture, similar forces have ejected arabic and persian content from urdu/hindu in India over the past few decades as ejected arabic and perSian concepts from ‘bangla’ in 19th century. its all a bit too entangled and interdependent to take astrong solid stand

I’m NOT sure, Bangladeshi must have rejected Urdu 500 years ago otherwise they would have been speaking Urdu not Bangla – hence no point of keeping this heritage..

our parents speak both. you dont have to limit yourself to one as nationalism demands. many poets used to play between them. real organic languages dont see national borders. for example my bangla has more english and i dont really get the long sanscritic words.

I don’t see many Pakistany speaks Bangla; those who speaks Bangla were originally from Bangladesh. Like you said our parents speak both language – I guess its not that difficult to understand why? Yes I agree, I don’t have to limit myself but I don’t want to be forced to learn another language.

Nazneen Afroza Pathak

Who is talking about forcing to learn a language? I am talking about recognising and respecting a historical truth and our common heritage.

JinLots of elite East Bengalis used to speak Urdu, it was considered the language of upper class Muslims. Eastern Bangla still has so much Urdu influence (we say paani not jvol like West Bengalis do) and our literary culture has always romanticised Persia and what became Pakistan. My name and my sister’s are both Persian. But that said I don’t see why pride in Bangla necessarily means hatred of other languages, linguistic nationalism to me is one of the more inclusive variants.

madrassa education also uses urdu, as it contains a big body of work from the islamic sciences, and in addition to arabic and persian, we need to (collective) know urdu to access that stuff.

Pride in Bangla does not necessarily and should not mean hatred of Urdu or any other languages. But unfortunately it does in Bangladesh.

Dulla – when I said forced; I wasn’t replying to your comments; I was replying to brother Fuad Ali’s comment – sorry for any mis-understanding. What I think – we don’t need to love, hate or learn Urdu – it’s not important; if some wants to learn it’s entirely up-to them. It’s the Urdu speaking people who made us Bangladeshi to hate urdu & urdu speaking people and upto them to fix it; I don’t expect Bangladeshi’s to do their job…

Brother Fuad Ali – all I can say is learn Arabic for Islamic science not urdu; develop Bangla so our Bangladeshi brothers and systens can read them… not a good reason to learn Urdu!!

You know Khan there are two sides or more sides to a story. Need to look at issues from multiple angles in order to understand complex historical issues. I agree with you partially that Urdu speaking people cause the problem. Have you ever asked yourself why there are also any Urdu sentiments in India. I cannot speak Urdu a bit and have no intention learning but Urdu is an important part of our common heritage and all heritages should be respected. For individuals they can like or dislike any of our heritage.

OK – try tell Pakistani people to respect Bangla heritage they tried to wipe-out Bangla by introducing Urdu. You respect & save heritage only if beneficial to you – otherwise I don’t see any reason.

Khan I hope you read Jinnah’s speech that he delivered at Dhaka University in 1948

Dulla – I’m NOT sure why you picked up this topics now; considering we just had our language day.. please have some respect for them who gave their lives for our language. I have no interest whats so ever to study history of Urdu or Jinnah’s speech; if they want to tell me something let them – I will go by recent history. You can see how Urdu got into madrassa, to our parents etc.. if you fail to see how they tried to introduce Urdu to our every day lives – that’s unfortunate!!

Muhammad Ahmedullah do you seriously not know why there is ill feeling and hatred towards urdu in Bangladesh? I simply don’t believe you.

It may not be rational but the reasons for this ill feeling are pretty obvious!

I think it is unfortunate to think that to speak about a historical truth, especially in the month of February which commemorates our martyrs language day on the 21st, is some kind of disrespect. I can understand some people feeling that I am being disrespectful by bringing this subject on the month of February. But reject that this feeling is legitimate. I think this feeling comes from the way the whole language movement has been framed. I have also discussed this subject in the past during other months. I only brought out as I was commenting on another facebook duiscussion and thought what I wrote might of interest to my FB friends.

I love my language Bangla but do not want to be told how I should love my language. I will never love Bangla in the Bengali nationalist way. I also love the English language and now learning the Indonesian language, which I am beginning to love very much and which is opening up a new world of experience for me.

In terms of Urdu I am not suggesting that all or most Bangladeshis should learn the language. I am saying that lets recognize the historical truths of the long presence and heritage of Urdu in our land, just as the Lalbagh kella, Dhakashary Hindu Temple and so on and stop hating the Urdu language (there is a sizeable number who do). Recognising historical truths do not mean that everyone should love a piece of heritage. For example, I don’t love mosque architecture and don’t find them at all aesthetically pleasing, but many others do. We all have different tastes and likes and dislikes, but we should not impose our particular dislikes on others.

Who decides what is beneficial heritage or not? If one generation or a group thinks something is not beneficial but later someone else or another group may find that beneficial. Heritage is common and URDU is also a Bangladeshi language with a long history or presence in our land.

But if you go around proclaiming your ignorance of why anyone in Bangladesh would

Benjamin Zeitlyn I know to some extent why there is ill feeling towards Urdu in Bangladesh but I don’t understand and accept why it is legitimate now. If you read my posting you will see I said that ‘of which was justified during transition and certain trajectories of our historical development’ but that now we are bigger and as such there is no need. I can see that what I am saying can ‘come across as rather perverse’ but I am saying that it is also perverse to hate a language that has been part of our history and heritage long before Jinnah or Paksitan was created.

The Bengali Language Movement really wasn’t that long ago. Urdu may have been around a long time, but in living memory it came to be associated with oppression in Bangladesh. The reasons for this are very well known.

Ben you are right but a state trying to make Urdu the state lanaguege is not the fault of the lanaguage. That state is gone from Bangladesh. Urdu is our heritage independent of the Paksitani state. I understand the strong feelings and sometimes I am appaled at the vile hatred expressed by many people towards Urdu. I don’t want to accept that this is legitimate. Its like I never accepted oppression of and discrimination against women even though many Muslims, others too, I know and knew although the number is lessening, feel strongly against women’s empowerment.

How true is it that the “Pakistanis” (we were Pakistani too before 71) tried to “wipe out Bangla” by making Urdu the state language of Pakistan? How true is the statement that “Maa, they tried to snatch away my language from my mouth” as is often stated by emotional people around 21 February?

Urdu is the state language of Pakistan now. But I do not see Pashto, Punjabi, Balochi, Sindhi, Hindko, Saraiki, etc. “wiped out” from Pakistan. Rather the locals speak their local language as well as Urdu, the same as we speak Bengali but use English at the office or university. I wonder why we never say that BUET has tried to “wipe out Bangla” by using English as its medium of education, same for all the other universities in BD.

On the other hand, not all of Bangladeshi citizens speak Bangla as their mother tongue. Aside from Biharis (let’s assume they don’t deserve anything), there are Chakmas and Garos and all sorts of indigenous people whose mother language is their own local language. Now, if Pakistan tried to “wipe out Bangla” by making Urdu the state language of Pakistan, haven’t we wiped out the langauge of the Chakmas, Garos and Biharis by making Bangla the state language of Bangladesh? What should we do if Chakmas start their Language movement tomorrow, demanding “Rashtro Bhasha Chakma Chai”???

But ‘they’ didn’t *just* try to make Urdu the state language did they?

Rez Kabir

If that is the debate then why dont we reject and start hating english or french or arabic…the fine point to understand in life..learn through knowledge hatred for anyone or anything is something which kills the ideal or principle…we can disagree with ideas..dislike the action accredited to a person or persons who causes pain, suffering and death..but if you dictate ideals alligned on facist principles the freedom fought for in independance and the struggle we have been given responsibility becomes futile..seek knowledge and actions to combat all forms of hatred…and prejudice…fear and ignorance shouldnt rule our heRts and minds…knowledge and love..forgiveness is greater tool..hardest to use…the language or people do not destroy others…often is is narrow mindeded opinions which we pass on to next generation and so the cycle continues…i do not hate english or french or urdu or bangla..i love them all if it carries knowledge and allows me to deepen my appreciation and understanding of life…my purpose and act well to others…that is the test..what do you feel…if i offend… forgive…

Beautiful words Rez

Ben what else did they try to do?

Wasn’t there a bit of a war?

yes Ben. Language issue emerged soon after Pakistan was created and kind of resolved after the unfortunate bloodshed of 1952. That Pakistan was different and people who created the war were in charge of a military dictatorship. The military dictator yahya khan was not trying to impose Urdu by his brutal action in 1971. If you link attempt to make Urdu the state language with brutality of 1971 then I cannot accept that this justifiable. Its like linking Muhib with Zia as a continuum of the same thing.

The same government was responsible for the language policy and the military action.

It was not

Not the Pakistani government?

who was it then?

Of course there were not only several wars but also 200 years of colonization and slavery under the British but Bengalis do not hate English. Rather they all try to send their kids to English medium schools and all watch English movies and dramas.

Pakistan was taken over by a military dictatorship I think after 1956

^Yes, after Awami League MP’s beat Deputy Speaker Shahed Ali to death with a chair inside Parliament during a meeting.

There was the small matter of an election in 1969?

As I said it is not necessarily rational or ‘good’ but it is pretty obvious. I don’t know why it is so difficult for you to understand this fairly simple point.

There was also the small matter of the Agartala Treason Case (falsely called Agartala Conspiracy Case) in 1968, 2 years before the 1970 election in which Mujib was caught meeting with RAW agents to discuss secession from Pakistan.

Ben I told you I understand to an extent but I don’t want to accept the hate against Urdu as legitimate, good or the right thing to do

Brother Rez and Dulla – We are talking about Urdu and Urdu speaking people and the reason for not liking them!! English and others doesn’t come to this discussion, we don’t hate any language but we do not like people who forced there language onto us. I am not against learning any language but absolutely dead against forcing language on to us or any other people. i’m all for combating hatred – but it is like pain, without pain you won’t survive.

Mehdi Salam

Totally agreed Khan!!

Khan You think its right to hate people who speak a language in the past Pakistani state tried to make Urdu the state language? I hope you think through what views and opinions you hold. Your reasoning is how dangerous fascist justifies communal violence and ethnic cleansing.

Dulla – I don’t hate people who speaks Urdu but I do hate them who tried to make Urdu as state language knowing very well that majority people speaks Bengali as a result people died. I also don’t understand why you trying to justify the cause and its harts you when you see Bengali hates Urdu. Its the Pakistany who made Bangladeshi to hate them and their language as a result of what they tried to do; I will understand if they tried to justify but not from you.

Who tried to make Urdu the state language? Whoever did they are long dead. Who do you hate now for 1952?

I was following the debate very carefully; I think you all are debating with an issue which was long settled. If a Bengali loves other language more than Bangla than there is a legitimate concern. Abdullah said he loves Bangla and also love other languages. That is very nice of him, but he didn’t understand loving own mother and loving others mother is not the same thing. Of course we should love all mothers in the world but not by ignoring dignity and respect of his own mother. When somebody tries to do that we must understand the ill motive.

Thank you brother Syed; well said, exactly what I tried to explain!!

Syed Haque There is no ill motives on my part in expressing my opinions on Urdu and my love for my own language. I would be grateful if you can point out or suggest what ill motives might be behind what I wrote. It is true that I love my mother more than any other people’s mother and my love for my language is special and dear to me. When I said I love the English language and started to love the Indonesian language I did not mean that I love them more. They are all different loves.

To understand the ill motive you will have to follow the dialogue you initiated. Some of your followers raised question on fight against `Urdu shall be only state language of Pakistan’. They even tried to justify that. Some Ahmed Hasan even raised question about Agartala Conspiracy Case, which has nothing to do with Urdu language controversy. Even if we accept Ahmed Hasan’s argument that it was a treason and Sk. Mujib was talking to RAW and Indian authority regarding independence, than what is wrong? That proves that Sk. Mujib knowingly prepared the nation for independence. Doesn’t he knows that help from India helped us to a great extend to achieve independence in a very short time and avoid many more casualty and misery.

One of your follower argued that we need to learn Urdu because this is language of instruction in Madrassa. What a shame!! Do you think GOD understands only Urdu not Bangla? They possibly don’t know that Urdu is not language of our religion; Urdu was created in Mughal harem. There is no harm in learning Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian, English or any language of the world, but my mother language comes first to me.

Why do you link me with others who comment on the the issue. I say what I think and conclude from my studies, research and reflections. I am not part of any group and I speak my mind. My view is that Urdu is a Bangladeshi language and it has its about 500 years of of presence in the land we call Bangladesh. Its our heritage, just like Lalbagh Kella and Dhakashary Temple. I do not like the hatred expressed against the Urdu language and people who speak Urdu. I believe in Bangladesh and in the Diaspora there exists an unjustifiable hatred, which I am against and will continue to express my views on. I respect your feeling that your mother language comes first.

Urdu was never a Bangladeshi language. It was not originated in our soil, until 1935 Farsi was the official language in Bengal. Mr Ahmedullah possibly confused Urdu with Farsi. After 1947 rulers of Pakistan tried to impose Urdu on us, and after migration of a large Urdu speaking community from India, Urdu became one of the major spoken language in the than East Pakistan. Bengali nationalism sparked in 1952 when Pakistani rulers tried to impose Urdu on Bengalis. This is the physiological reason that when anybody tries to favour Urdu upon Bengali, people of Bangladesh become suspicious. I have no reservation in learning Urdu or any modern language of the world and in fact there are great literature and writings in Urdu too, BUT I have strong reservation calling Urdu as part of my heritage.

Mehdi Salam

Hey Dullah, its not often that I like to get involved in these debates but we were originally ALL Bengalis. We were bound by language (and a passion for the arts) ……then 1948 came along and we suddenly became bound by religion instead. Essentially, if you take religion away, we probably have more in common with Indians than we do Pakistanis in nature. I worry about the recent activity by pro-pakistani political movements in our motherland particularly from a selfish perspective as my own village was ransacked by pakistani troops and my first cousin was shot dead in the 70’s civil war. My father worked in the Pakistani air force and was not treated as an equal. Its fine to say we should value dufferences b ut you need to be mindful that the cuts are still a little raw. Bangladesh and its people must define it/ themselves as they have done admirably for the past 43 years. Our culture, humour and general demeanour is quite unique, we have faults but also a funny slightly self-deprecating and charming attitude which means we can laugh at ourselves but are also fantastic and dependable neighbours and so we need to continue to building upon Brand Bangladesh, almost oblivious to the shenanigans of those who would prefer us continuing to be subservient to a nation thousands of miles away. Nuff said

Monowar H Badrudduza

Urdu is still a recognised and official (among others) language in India.

Syed Haque

Urdu was and is a Bangladeshi language with its unbroken presence in our soil for about 500 years so that we can call it a Bangladeshi heritage. If you say that something cannot be part of our country and heritage if it did not originate in our soil than according to logical deduction many other things cannot be considered to be part of our country, like the Parliament building, democracy, the English language, Bangla prose writing as it did not exist before the British came and we learnt from them, television, etc. I hope you think through the implications of what you say before making such an assertion, which is not really based on good knowledge of history.

I am not confusing Urdu with Persian. Persian was the official language but Urdu was spoken by various other people at different levels of our society but it was never an official language at any time. I also want to point out that by claiming that Urdu is a Bangladeshi language it does not mean that it was very widespread or that most people or a very large number of people spoke or practiced Urdu in the land we call Bangladesh. If you take Lalbagh Kella and the Dhakashary Temple, for example, although they are very small and occupy small spaces they are still part of Bangladesh and our heritage. Size has nothing to with whether something is Bangladeshi heritage or not. I know you did not claim that but I am pointing this out as a point of clarification so that our readers better understand what we are talking about.

I respect your ‘strong reservation about calling Urdu as part of our heritage’. If you do not want to admit or include Urdu as our heritage it is not a problem but I cannot engage in any ideological process of discarding historical truths.

This debate is good because on FB we can freely exchange our views, criticise each other and through the process help improve our understanding off issues we feel so dearly about.

Mehdi Salam,

Thanks for getting involved. Sometimes it is good to get involved so that one can get long held ideas exposed to critical examination and dissection by others. Although I respect your right to hold your views I will provide some critical responses to some of your assertions.

A long time ago I came to the conclusion, through self reflection and study, that if two or more people say exactly or more or less the same thing than it cannot be based on their study and independent thinking. They must be repeating what they heard from other people repeating. Many of what you say are exactly that you are repeating long repeated claims and assertions.

First, what has my assertion that Urdu is a Bangladeshi language got to do with your cousin’s tragic murder in 1971 and your village being ransacked by the Pakistani army?

Second, are you also sure that ‘we were bound by language (and a passion for the arts) ….. then 1948 came along and we suddenly became bound by religion instead’? Did anything happen in 1905 and for example in the early 1940s, or during the 1880s, which may throw some light why what you say, in my view, wrongly that ‘ we suddenly became bound by religion instead’. If you are right then how did you work this out.

Third, with respect to your father being discriminated against in the Pakistani air force I can believe and relate to him on this as I have also felt and experienced Pakistani Punjabi chauvinism and being looked down at in London. I was too young in East Pakistan so did not personally experienced any discrimination during the Pakistan days. But I have also had the same experience with Indian Sikh Punjabis in London who also looked down at Bengalis. I want to ask you what has Pakistan got to do with Urdu being a Bangladeshi language. I find it odd as Urdu has been in our country for more than 400 years before Pakistan was even created.

Fourth, it is true that Bangladeshi culture and humour, etc. are unique, but this is true of most groups in the world, nothing unique about us. Again I ask you to justify what has my assertion that Urdu is a Bangladeshi language got to do with your assertion that ‘ shenanigans of those who would prefer us continuing to be subservient to a nation thousands of miles away’.

I know you since 1981 and respect you Mehdi Salam and hope differences of opinion does not degenerate into mutual disrespect but through continuous dialogue both of us improve our understanding of our history.

Muhammad Ahmedullah. I fully agree with you that Lalbagh Killah, Dhakashary Mondir, Moinamoti or Paharpur all are part of our rich heritage. I also believe you understand very well that parameter for archaeological heritage and linguistic or Cultural heritage can’t be the same. In England Bangla had a presence for several centuries, first Bangla newspaper was published in England in 1913, more than one hundred years ago; about a million people in England speak Bangla, but would you argue that Bangla is part of English heritage? In the same way Urdu is not part of Bangla heritage. There are many foreign languages came and gone in Bengal, like Farsi, Portuguese, French, Dutch and so on, none of them are part of our heritage. Though their interaction definitely contributed in evaluation of our own language Bangla and our cultural heritage.

I know still there is a group of people in Bangladesh who dream some sorts of linkage with Urdu and Pakistan. But the wound of 1971 and 1952 still fresh in many million minds of Bangladesh. That doesn’t provoke me to even think of any such linkage.

many of the 52 and 71 protesters and fighters had excellent urdu, i think trauma closes peoples minds. Pakistan does not = Urdu any more than Iran = persian. We should even legitimately argue that the form of bangla enforced on the majority of bangladeshis is quite alien to them. Farhad mazhar wrote a very interesting reflection on this a few language days ago.

Let us conclude that there are many groups of Bangladeshis. Some of them feel that Urdu, Persian and others are a part of Bangladeshi heritage. While there are other groups of Bangladeshis who feel that Urdu, Persian, Arabic, etc. are alien cultures and have no place in Bangladesh.

These groups ought to live peacefully side by side in Bangladesh, under democracy.

Is killing in the Name of Bangla any more moral than killing in the name of URdu?

Syed Haque

Cultural, archaeological and linguistic heritages are usually intertwined. You cannot have a language without ideas and concepts, which are derived from people’s experiences with objects, each other and other ideas and concepts. Many of our ideas, expressed in linguistic symbols we call language, come from buildings that we experience and history of buildings that we read about from books, journals, biographies, etc. Further, buildings do not grow themselves but are built by people for a purpose, which means that from planning to construction there are various elements involved and later used by various people. When buildings become old, such as Lalbagh Kellah, sometimes they become a tourism interest and other times, such as Dhakashary Temple, they continue to play a religious purpose. They both have a lot of human interactions, which is nothing but culture and many elements of our language are derived from our experiences with buildings, old and new and discovered by archaeology. In addition, when archaeological digging bring ruins of buildings then experts start to interpret what they find to explain human purpose and interactions. So you can see that human culture is very very much intertwined with archaeology.

For me culture is about lifestyles and creativity of individuals and groups. It encompasses everyday living, special occasions and the beautiful and useful creations of poets, artists, musicians, writers, scientists, architects, businesses people, voluntary groups, etc. The social or isolated activities that people undertake are all forms of cultural expressions.

I would be grateful if you can explain to me what is linguistic and cultural heritage and how linguistic and cultural heritage do not include archeological heritage.

Yes, in the UK Bangla has become a British language now just like we are British Bangladeshis. British Bangladeshis are also a British people. In terms of Urdu, Portuguese, Dutch and French they are all parts of our history and heritage in specific ways. Of these Urdu and Portuguese have bigger Bangladeshi heritages, but the role of Portuguese in our land declined with the rise of the influence of English. Urdu being a Hindustani language, lingua franca of North India, which includes Bangladesh, has a more deeper heritage and is part of our country. It has a continuous and unbroken presence in Bangladesh for about 500 years and even today the language plays an important role in madrassa education. If you go to Kolkata you will see how big Urdu is in West Bengal.

I think Bangladesh should have good links with all countries, including India and Pakistan. There is nothing wrong if some people dream of close links with Pakistan as there is nothing wrong in some people dreaming of close links with India. I understand why you may not want Bangladesh to have close links with Pakistan but I do not accept that this is valid or a good reason. However, I respect your right to have your views.

Lastly, dreaming of good links with Pakistan is an aspiration of some people but Urdu being a Bangladeshi language with long history of presence in the country is a reality and empirical fact. I really hope you think through what you say because under scrutiny Bengali nationalist logic just crumbles.

Mohammed Ahmedullah. Many thanks for your thought provoking write-up. I appreciate your effort to explain your argument. But I didn’t get answer of my very simple question on this subject. My question was why Bangla is not a heritage of Englishman? The ingredients you used to prove Urdu as a Bangladeshi language and our heritage, all same ingredients remain for Bangla in England. Yes I understand Bangladeshi’s in the UK became British, but does it mean Bangla became heritage of Englishman? So why Bangla is not an English heritage? I am sure Mr. Ahmedullah knows the answer. For the reasons Bangla is not heritage of an Englishman, due to same reasons Urdu is not a Bangladeshi language or our heritage.

Archaeological heritage and linguistic or Cultural heritage has got many common parameters. But one main difference is that archaeological heritage is static and represent a period of history, but linguistic or cultural heritage evolves. Bangla language and heritage evolved in our part of the world more than one thousand years. During this period many alien language came and gone with many invaders, traders, rulers and religious missionaries. They all have enriched Bangla but remained alien in Bengal. Farsi, Urdu, Dutch, Portuguese, French all remain part of our history, not heritage, not Bangladeshi language.

Lastly I didn’t understand your last line, what did you mean by ‘under scrutiny Bengali nationalist logic just crumbles’ can you please explain this?

Syed Haque

You said

“WHY BANGLA IS NOT A HERITAGE OF ENGLISHMAN?”

My reply

Usually when people talk about heritage normally something to be considered heritage it has to have some history, not necessarily very distanced history. Some Englishmen in England do practice Bangla and I know some of them myself and in time the Bangla language will become part of Englishmen’s heritage too. Bangladeshi and Bengali people’s practice of Bangla in England are adding to that and currently, as far as I can, due to the nature of definitions used it is more convenient to say that Bangla is a British Language, rather than that it is an English language as English is a Language and we cannot say one language is a heritage of another language, but can legitimately say that Bangla is a heritage of England. One small point, which I will not elaborate now, that I want to make is that if I was to say that the English language is a heritage of Bangla language there would be some truths in this statement.

Kindly also notice that I have said Urdu is a Bangladeshi heritage, rather than a Bengali heritage, which is more broad than saying that it is a heritage of Bengalis. In history, many people, including Bengalis, in Bangladesh have practiced and continue to practice the Urdu language and it has an unbroken presence in our country for about 500 years. Urdu is a common heritage of Bangladesh, including that of Bengalis. It does not mean that most people like or admire Urdu in Bangladesh. I personally don’t like mosque architecture but just because I don’t like it does not mean that the Sixty Domed mosque in Bagerhat is not a Bangladeshi heritage. Nationalistic distancing by some from a language that existed in our country for centuries does not change that fact.

You said

“ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE AND LINGUISTIC OR CULTURAL HERITAGE HAS GOT MANY COMMON PARAMETERS. BUT ONE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE IS STATIC AND REPRESENT A PERIOD OF HISTORY, BUT LINGUISTIC OR CULTURAL HERITAGE EVOLVES.”

My reply

Are you sure archeological heritage is static and represents only a period in history? Do you think people just go to the museums and visits historical sites just to know or experience some old building? This is in fact what you are saying. But old buildings and objects are part of our present cultural and linguistic developments. We look at and discover various things from history and about the culture of people who lived in the past. Did you know before the British came to India the Indians did not know Indian history and it was looking at old ruins, buildings, carvings, discovered texts, etc. they started to build up a picture of history which helped understand Indian culture in evolution and developments.

Our understanding of archeological heritage also change and evolve and what we learn about them and people who constructed them and their purpose are part of the cultural development of people and help influence the future evolution of culture and language. When new coins or artifacts are discovered through archeology and fresh and new scientific techniques are used to interpret they also influence language development, either by coining new terms or by evolving the meanings of existing terms.

Recently, I have taken a lot of interest on old buildings of Bangladesh and textiles history, including that of Muslin fabrics. My visits to archeological sites have enriched my understanding, currently having an influence on my cultural development and also having an influence on the people who have been involved with and others who have benefited from the sharing of our findings. The archeological sites are also helping to understand the history of our cultural, linguistic and identity formation.

You said

“BANGLA LANGUAGE AND HERITAGE EVOLVED IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND YEARS. DURING THIS PERIOD MANY ALIEN LANGUAGE CAME AND GONE WITH MANY INVADERS, TRADERS, RULERS AND RELIGIOUS MISSIONARIES. THEY ALL HAVE ENRICHED BANGLA BUT REMAINED ALIEN IN BENGAL.”

My reply

First, I would like you to explain what do you mean by ‘ They all have enriched Bangla but remained alien in Bengal.’ In what ways they enriched Bangla and at the same time remained alien? Farsi was the official language of the state and many people learned Farsi in the past and it was the language of Iran. The Dutch and French had very little influence on our country but these are still our heritage and probably are more about them in our past to discover. The Dutch was involved with our textile trade in a big way so in the past there were a lot of interactions with Dutch officials and traders but not many local people learnt the Dutch language. Portuguese was much bigger but as I said before its role has declined. In a historical sense it was also a Bangladeshi language as it was practiced by a lot of people. I want to point out one thing to you to make my point more strong is that the English language is now the main Australian, New Zealand, American and many Caribbean island Language. English is not the original language of these countries but originated in England but over the years due to movements of people it has become the language of these countries. English is not original language of the of the soil of these lands, but brought in my invaders.

You said

“WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY ‘UNDER SCRUTINY BENGALI NATIONALIST LOGIC JUST CRUMBLES’”

My reply

What I meant to convey and will assert is that Bengali Nationalism has built up a false edifice of historical narratives, what constitutes Bengali culture and linguistic identity to justify their political programme. As they are false and untenable they cannot stand up to critical scrutiny. Some of the arguments you have used in the discussion are based on classical Bengali nationalistic perspectives, which are themselves based on a wrong serious misunderstanding of what constitute human culture and the links between culture, history, language and identity. In the past within Bangladesh the Bengali Nationalist faced no real intellectual challenge but now they will find it increasingly difficult to justify what they have been preaching for long because history does not support their cause and their definition of culture is ideological, not scientific. Therefore they will lose the argument.

Mohammed Ahmedullah. Yes I understand now where you come from. In last para you mentioned your colour. If Bengali nationalism is ‘a false edifice of historical narratives’, than I think we have fundamental difference of understanding and conviction. I am a proud Bengali and also a proud Bangladeshi and Muslim. My ethnicity is Bengali and nationality is Bangladeshi. There is no contradiction between this two. We have a history and heritage of more than thousand years old, we are proud of it. I don’t need to go to Urdu, Hindi, English or any other language to find my heritage. Foreign language and culture did influence our language and culture for more than thousand years, part of those alien language or culture absorbed in Bangla language and culture is also part of Bangla heritage, I have no problem with that.