UPSC Prelims 2021 · Question 50 of 97
UPSC Prelims 2021 question on International Mother Language Day
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2021
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectInternational Relations
- TopicCurrent Affairs
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Consider the following statements:
1. 21st February is declared to be the International Mother Language Day by UNICEF.
2. The demand that Bangla has to be one of the national languages was raised in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: B. 2 only
Verdict
Correct statements: 2 only → Option (b).
Statement by statement
Statement 1 – INCORRECT: Ekushe February, or simply "Ekushe", which is "The 21st" in Bangla, commemorates the day in 1952 when students of the University of Dhaka launched a nationwide protest against the imposition of Urdu on the people of what was then East Pakistan. In 1999, in recognition of the Bengali people's struggle for their language and culture, UNESCO (not UNICEF) announced that February 21 would be observed worldwide as International Mother Language Day. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
Statement 2 – CORRECT: During the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on 23 February 1948, some of the government officials stated that only Urdu or English could be spoken at the Assembly, excluding Bengali. Dhirendrana Datta, a representative from the East Pakistan Congress Party, requested a motion to include Bengali at the Assembly. The Chief Minister of East Pakistan, West Pakistani leaders, and the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan opposed the motion. Hence statement 2 is correct.
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