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PM urges judges to write verdicts in Bangla

February 23, 2019 00:00:00


(Top) President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paying homages to the martyred language heroes by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar in the city on Thursday at one minute past midnight. (Bottom left) Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and chiefs of three services also paying tributes to the language martyrs at the Shaheed Minar — Focus Bangla

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged on Thursday the higher court judges to write verdicts in Bangla so that justice-seekers can easily understand those without depending on lawyers, reports UNB.

"If those who work in courts practise the writing of verdicts in Bangla, less-educated people like us can at least get the scope to understand the judgments going through those," she said.

The Prime Minister was inaugurating a four-day programme taken by the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI), marking the Amar Ekushey, the Language Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day.

The theme of this year's International Mother Language Day was 'Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation'.

Sheikh Hasina said if the court verdicts are written in Bangla, the justice-seekers will not need to depend on their lawyers to understand those. "They (justice-seekers) fall victims to harassment in many cases also (for writing the court verdicts in English)", she said.

"They (judges) can translate the verdicts into English after writing those in Bangla," Hasina said.

She also said even if anyone wants to write the verdict in English, he or she can do that. "But there'll be a condition that the verdict will have to be published and circulated in Bangla."

The Prime Minister said the 21st February is not an asset for Bangladesh alone but also for the people of the world. "The International Mother Language Day is now observed in over 190 countries. The 21st February is the day of establishing the right to speak in our mother tongue," she said, paying deep respects to the language martyrs and veterans.

Sheikh Hasina paid her deep homage to greatest Bangalee of all times and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, saying he had launched the Language Movement to establish the right to speak in mother tongue.

Bangladesh achieved the independence following the ways of the Language Movement under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, she said.

Sheikh Hasina, Bangabandhu's eldest daughter, mentioned different incidents from the secret reports of Pakistani Intelligence Branch (IB) that reflected that Bangabandhu had played the leading role in the Language Movement since 1948.

Noting that IB started making reports against the Father of the Nation since 1948, she said, "We know from the reports that how he started the struggle for the mother language."

Referring to the IB reports, she said Bangabandhu played the role for the Language Movement even from the jail.

Hasina said they will soon complete publishing a book in 14 volumes on the 23 years' secret documents of the Pakistani Intelligence Branch. The first two volumes of the book have already been published.

Talking about the International Mother Language Institute, she said it has collected many lost mother tongues.


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