The forgotten women veterans of the Language Movement

Many women including female students of the Dhaka University played an active role in the Language Movement of 1952. The heroic deeds of these valiant women are now slipping into oblivion. Sanjay Dey speaks to a front- ranking woman activist of the movement, Rawshan Ara Bachchu, on the role of women in those turbulent days.

Dhaka, Feb 24 (bdnews24.com)- "All Party State Language Action Committee wanted to hold a peaceful procession after a meeting without breaking section 144, but we the workers of University State Language Action Council workers wanted to protest government imposed policies by breaking section 144,"said Rawshan Ara Bachchu, going down memory lane to the 1952 Language Movement.

Bachchu, who played the role of an organiser of the movement at the then Women Students Resident Hall of Dhaka University (now Rokeya Hall), said, "We won the fierce war of words between the two groups at the University Amtala the next day. The decision of the majority of the student activists in favour of defying the section 144 was accepted as final, and split the All Party State Language Action Committee.

Speaking about participation of women in the language movement Rawshan Ara Bachchu said, "In the then conservative society it was not at all easy for women to directly participate in such a movement. The female students of the university had to pay Rs 10 as fine for talking to any male student without the proctor's permission. The number of girl students in Dhaka University was 40 to 50- of them 25 to 30 remained in the hall. About four of us secretly joined student meetings after class or during recess."

Rawshan Ara Bachchu hails from Kulaura in Sylhet. Her father, a government servant, posted in Barisal got involved with the language movement in around 1948. Seven to eight students of Barisal BM College including Bachchu used to secretly attend student meetings. In 1947, at the initiative of the University students and Tamaddun Majlish they formed the State Language Action Council.

Rawshan Ara got involved in the politics of Democratic Progressive Front after getting admitted into the University. Narrating the mental state of female students of Dhaka University during the volatile period prior to February 21, 1952 Bachchu said, "At the time very few of them joined the secret meetings. Apart from me, Sufia Khan, Sufia Ali, Baby Apa, Rokeya Apa and a couple of others attended. Most of the meetings were held at room no 74 or 75 of the University Main Building."

During the movement, the responsibility of writing posters went to the girls most of the time. Nurunnahar Kabir was an ace at the job. Others of the hall stayed awake by night to help her. The task of bringing girl students from different schools of Dhaka city for protest processions was also performed by the students of the women students' residential hall.

The night prior to February 21, 1952, word reached the girl students hall that the All Party State Language Action Committee wanted to hold a peaceful procession without breaking section 144. On the other hand, the University State Language Action Council decided to defy section 144. The girl students had a heated debate over the matter throughout the night. Rawshan Ara and others supported Action Council.

The next day they won at the University Amtala. Rawshan Ara said, "On the day we went out in the morning to bring girl students from different schools in Dhaka city and were quite tired when we reached Amtala along with the school girls."

Later, we decided that the student activists would be divided into groups of 10 to bring out processions. Rawshan Ara was in the first procession. A while later police started baton charges, used tear gas and finally started shooting.

Rawshan Ara, in the later part of her life, still vividly recalls the memory of those days. To her the language movement was a united struggle of men and women imbibed with political consciousness. She laments that today the history of women's active participation in the struggle is being shadowed. Rawshan Ara wants to tell the story of the valiant women who contributed so much to the Language Movement.

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