THE PARADOX OF INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF BENGALI LANGUAGE DEVALUATION IN ITS HOMELAND

Abstract

This comprehensive research paper presents a critical examination of the paradoxical decline in the status and functional use of the Bengali language in Bangladesh, the nation that spearheaded the global movement for linguistic rights culminating in International Mother Language Day. Despite a history steeped in a bloody struggle for linguistic recognition (1952) and a constitutional mandate establishing Bengali as the state language, a pervasive devaluation is evident across elite domains including higher education, the judiciary, civil service, and the corporate sector. This study employs a qualitative, critical policy analysis and desk-based methodology, drawing on theories of linguistic imperialism, cultural capital, and language ideology to argue that this devaluation is driven by the forces of globalization, internalized neocolonial attitudes, and a systemic failure in policy implementation. Through an exhaustive analysis of legal documents, educational policies, media content, economic patterns, and digital spaces, this research identifies key mechanisms of this shift: the aggressive privileging of English in private education creating an "educational apartheid," the linguistic hybridization propagated by broadcast media, the non-enforcement of the Bengali Language Introduction Act (1987), and the challenges of the digital age. The findings reveal a stark contradiction: a nation that ritualistically celebrates its linguistic heritage on a global stage simultaneously undermines it through daily practice and policy inertia, resulting in significant sociolinguistic stratification and a crisis of cultural identity. The paper concludes that without a concerted, multi-sectoral effort to materially reinforce Bengali in all public spheres, the legacy of the language movement remains critically endangered. Detailed recommendations are offered for legislative, educational, economic, and cultural intervention to reconcile this profound national paradox.