[Solved] 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 a Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Q50. 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 a Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: B

Statement 1 is incorrect. 21 February is declared as International Mother Language Day by UNESCO. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. It was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since 2000.

Statement 2 is correct. In 1948, the-then Governor-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that “Urdu, and only Urdu” would be the official language.

The contentious nature of the official language question came to the fore during the first session of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. A member from East Bengal, Dhirendranath Datta, moved a motion to include Bengali as one of the languages of the Constituent Assembly along with English and Urdu. The motion was rejected.

Bengali was eventually granted official status under the 1956 Constitution.