As long as Bangla language exists and International Mother Language Day is celebrated, Rafiqul Islam, one of the architects of the day, will live on in people's hearts, said speakers yesterday.
They were paying tribute to Rafiqul Islam, who passed away on Wednesday at Vancouver General Hospital in Canada, at the central Shaheed Minar. Sammilito Sangskritik Jote organised the ceremony.
Different ministries, social and cultural organisations and educational institutions also placed wreaths at the portrait of Rafiqul Islam.
Mofidul Haque, one of the trustees of the Liberation War Museum, said the initiative taken by Rafiqul and Abdus Salam, members of Vancouver-based NGO "Mother Language Lovers of the World", in 1998 inspired the then government to work towards achieving UN recognition of the Language Movement.
Responding to Bangladesh's proposal, the UNESCO in 1999 declared February 21 as

International Mother Language Day.
He said many languages had been on the verge of extinction, but the duo's initiatives brought spotlight to those languages.
Terming Rafiqul a brave freedom fighter, Mofidul said Rafiqul nurtured secularism and it was reflected in his initiative.
Liberation War Affairs Minister Shahjahan Khan said, "Rafiqul introduced Bangladesh to the world through his merit, and I seek salvation of his departed soul."
The programme ended with lighting candles.