International Mother Language Day: Iran and Pakistan are destroying our languages: Hyrbyair Marri

LONDON:  On the occasion of International Mother Language Day, the Baloch leader and head of the Free Balochistan Movement Hyrbyair Marri in series of tweets has expressed his concerns over Pakistan and Iran’s systematic policy of destroying the mother languages of Baloch and other occupied nations.

 He said that on 21st Feb 1952, the Pakistani government killed Bengali students when they demanded their linguistic rights. Luckily, the Bengali nation achieved independence in 1971 but still, Pakistan was committing the same crimes in Balochistan.

He added that similarly, since the 1920s, the racist governments of Iran are systematically destroying the languages of colonised nations by imposing Persian and banning mother tongues.

The Baloch leader added, if the ‘so-called civilised world’ and the UN had taken serious notice of the incident in Dhaka on 21st Feb 1952, then in 1971, the world could have avoided the massacre of 3 million Bengalis and the rape of a hundred thousand women by the Punjabi Army.

Hyrbyair Marri

The head of the Free Balochistan Movement said that the Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic genocide was going on in Iran and Pakistan, by Persians and Muslim Punjabis against other nations there, and the people of occupied Balochistan.

Hyrbyair Marri in his tweets also used the hashtag #MyMotherTongueMyID which was used by activists from occupied nations including Baloch, Kurds, Turkomans, Ahwazi and others to emphasize the importance of mother tongues.

Meanwhile, the vice president of the Free Balochistan Movement Dr Shahzavar Baloch also expressed his views about the importance of mother languages.

He demanded that the colonialism of language must end in Balochistan and adding that ‘preservation of the mother tongue is a universal human right.’

He said it was the natural right of the Baloch to maintain and develop their mother tongue and that education in Balochistan must be through the medium of Balochi languages because the mother tongue is most vital to self-expression.

Dr Baloch emphasised, ‘mother languages are the root of a nation’s culture and heritage and freedom from subjugation without freedom of education in mother tongue is impossible.’

Dr Shahzavar Baloch