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In an exclusive interview with bdnews24.com on 71 years of the movement, the 93-year-old recalls the key demands they raised in 1952
Published : 22 Feb 2023, 02:21 AM
Ahmed Rafiq, Language Movement veteran and researcher, fails to reconcile with the fact that Bangladesh still has not embedded Bangla at all levels 70 years into the history-bending event.
In an exclusive interview with bdnews24.com on the 71st anniversary of the 21st February, the 93-year-old recalled the key demands they raised in 1952.
The demands were the recognition of Bangla as a state language, the release of political prisoners and the inclusion of Bangla in official use at all levels of national life.
The last demand was the key one, he said.
“It was written on many posters. All levels of national life mean, from higher education to science education to the High Court. My only regret is the slogan: ‘Use Bangla at all levels.’ has not been put into action.”
“The students have been divided into two groups – Bangla medium education and English medium education. I say everyone should be equal; control the English medium.”
Born on Sept 12, 1929, at Shahbazpur in Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar, Ahmed Rafiq completed his higher secondary education at Haraganga College in Munshiganj.
He was admitted to Dhaka University’s chemistry department but left it after failing to get a seat at the residential hall. He then started studying at Dhaka Medical College.
He was a third-year student of the medical college in 1952. Besides working as a liaison between Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall, Dhaka Hall and Sir Salimullah Medical College, formerly Dhaka Medical School, he regularly participated in demonstrations during the Language Movement, the foundation stone of Bangladesh’s independence struggle.
He credited the general students, not their leaders, for the movement's success.
“They were the real heroes. The general students launched the movement, and the general public, including the workers, joined them. Otherwise, it could not have spread all over the country.”
Ahmed Rafiq said school students in all areas, from Pabna to Gaibandha to Meherpur, took the movement to villages. “This is why the Language Movement of 1952 was so strong.”
Tamaddun Majlish, an Islamic cultural organisation formed by Professor Abul Kashem after the partition of India, played a crucial role in starting the Language Movement.
Their organisational objective was to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic nation, and they wanted to use the Bangla language as a tool, said Ahmed Rafiq. “Nonetheless, I don’t deny the credit they deserve.”
A doctor by training who made a career in writing and research, Ahmed Rafiq believes the lives of the martyrs of Feb 21, 1952 could have been saved had their quick treatment been ensured.
Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Shafiur Rahman, Abul Barkat and Abdul Jabbar lost their lives in police firing on a procession during the movement that day.
“Barkat and Jabbar could have been saved if our medical college hospital had been a developed facility. After examining them, the doctor said they died of excessive bleeding. We didn’t even have a blood bank at the time.
“I’ve written and said that at least three of the four, who are mostly remembered, could have been saved. We were responsible for that situation. The officials in the administration were Bengali, but they did not do it [develop the health facility].”
Ahmed Rafiq declined to recall what happened on that day. “Everything is written in books. I’ve written these. Many organisations recorded the same thing year after year.”
