Eid is the main religious festival of the Muslims in Bangladesh. Eid means happiness. Everyone wants to share this happiness with near and dear ones. So most of the people. who are living outside their homes for different reasons have a strong desire to get back home during the Eid vacation. As a result, there is a mad rush to board buses, trains, or launches for going home. This often causes transport accidents that take away many lives. However, these cannot stop people from going home to meet their family, in-laws, or friends. What makes people rush for their homes in spite of serious hazards? This is nothing but people's desire to return to the roots. Do human beings have roots like the trees? The answer is 'yes' but unlike the roots of the trees they are invisible, they lie in our minds. It's these roots that make a bond between us and family members, in-laws, friends, neighbors or even between us and the land where we were born and grew up in that sense our families, our land of birth, relatives, our culture traditions, or surroundings are our roots) And wherever we stay, we feel the power of our roots. It's our roots that develop our identity making us what we are. When we lose that bond, we become rootless. Human beings who do not have any roots are a non-entity. In other words, they do not have an identity. They do not know where they are from, and/or where they are heading to. This often makes them feel empty and lost.

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21 February is a memorable day in our national history. We observe the day every year as International Mother Language Day. The day is a national holiday. On this day, we pay tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives to establish Bangla as a state language in undivided Pakistan in 1952. The struggle to achieve our language rights is known as the Language Movement. The seed of the Language Movement was sown on 21 March 1948 when Mohammad ALi Jinnah, the Governor General of Pakistan, declared in a public meeting in Dhaka that Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan. The declaration raised a storm of protest all over the country. The protest continued non-stop, gathering momentum day by day. It turned into a movement and reached its climax in 1952. The government outlawed all sorts of public meetings and rallies to stop it. The students of Dhaka University defied the law and brought out a peaceful protest procession on 21 February 1952. When the procession reached near Dhaka Medical College, the police opened fire on the students, killing Salam, Rafiq, Barkat, Safiur and Jabbar. As a result, there were mass protests all over the country and the government had to declare Bangla as a state language. This kindled the sparks of independence movement of Bangladesh.

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26 March, our independence day, is one of the most important state festivals. The day is celebrated every year in the country with great enthusiasm and fervour. It is a national holiday. All offices, educational institutions, shops and factories remain closed on this day. The day begins with a 31gun salute.

Early in the morning the President and the Prime Minister, on behalf of the nation place floral wreaths at the National Mausoleum at Savar. Then other leaders, political parties, diplomats, social and cultural organizations, educational institutions and freedom fighters pay homage to the martyrs? People from all walks of life also go there in rallies and processions. There are many cultural programmes throughout the day, high lighting the heroic struggle and sacrifice in 1971.

In Bangabandhu National Stadium, school children, scouts and girl guides take part in various displays to entertain thousands of spectators. Educational institutions also organize their individual programmes. Sports meets and tournaments are also organized on the day, including the exciting boat race in the river Buriganga. In the evening, all major public buildings are illuminated with colourful lights.j Bangla Academy e Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and other socio-cultural organizations hold cultural functions Similar functions are also arranged other places in the country.

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