Bangladesh remembers Language Movement heroes

Bangladeshis are remembering the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement who sacrificed their lives to establish the right of Bengalis to speak their mother tongue and gave impetus to the struggle to carve an independent nation out of Pakistan.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 Feb 2020, 06:10 PM
Updated : 21 Feb 2020, 05:25 AM

People from all walks of life have been streaming into the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka to pay homage to the martyrs after President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the tributes by laying wreaths at the memorial on the first hour of Friday.

Hasina placed another wreath along with other leaders of the ruling Awami League after Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury paid respects to the heroes.

The Shaheed Minar opened to all after the VIPs paid homage amidst tight security.

The immortal line -- “‘Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano Ekushey February, Ami Ki Bhulite Pari’ (Can I forget the 21st of February, incarnadined by the love of my brother?) -- was on everyone’s lips.

Several youths were killed in police firing on Feb 21, 1952 to quell protests against the then Pakistan government decision to impose Urdu as the state language on the people of erstwhile East Pakistan, who wanted Bangla to be recognised as the mother tongue.

The Language Movement began the intense alienation of the Bengalees and finally led to the Liberation War in 1971.

The UNESCO in November 1999 had declared Feb 21 as the International Mother Language Day.

The day is a national holiday. The national flag will fly at half-mast in honour of the martyrs.

The Shaheed Minars throughout Bangladesh are also being covered with flowers.

Hamid, in a message to the nation on the occasion, said “The aim of the Language Movement was to establish the right of our mother tongue as well as to protect self-entity, cultural distinction and heritage.

"Being a source of ceaseless inspiration, Amar Ekushey inspired and encouraged us to a great extent to achieve the right to self-determination and struggle for freedom and war of liberation,” he said.

He also called for strengthening the bond of friendship among multilingual people for revival of world’s almost defunct languages to diversify the globe in respective

societies.

“As the spirit of Amar Ekushey is now the incessant source of inspiration for the protection of own languages and cultures of people around the world, let the bond of friendship among multilingual people be strengthened, world’s almost defunct languages be revived-it is my expectation on Shaheed Day and International Mother Language Day,” he said.

Hasina in her message said The Prime Minister said the resonance of the pride of Amar Ekushey is now resounded in the hearts of the people of the world surpassing the boundary of Bangladesh.

“The International Mother Language Day is now a source of inspiration to all people of the world in establishing the truth and justice,” she said.

The prime minister also said her government established International Mother Language Institute where there are scopes for conducting research on the origin and development of all the languages of the world and for preserving them.

She said by upholding the spirit of Ekushey and War of Liberation, Bangladesh has now emerged as a role model for development in the world.