With songs of remembrance and flowers, Bangladesh honours heroes of 1952 Language Movement

People from all walks of life pay tribute to the fallen heroes of the Language Movement at the Shaheed Minar

MAHMUD ZAMAN OVI

Clad in white and black attires with flowers in hand, each step they took radiated pride in preserving the honour of their mother tongue. As dawn broke on Feb 21, all paths converged on the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka.

Bangladeshis are remembering the Language Movement heroes who sacrificed their lives in demanding Bangla as a state language of Pakistan in 1952 before independence.

People began flocking to the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka and other memorials up and down the country on Wednesday to pay homage to the martyrs.

Barefooted, they carried flowers in their hands and the immortal line -- “‘Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano Ekushey February, Ami Ki Bhulite Pari’ (Can I forget the twenty-first of February/ incarnadined by the blood of my brother?) on their lips.

Salam, Rafique, Shafique, Jabbar and Barkat embraced martyrdom in police firing as they took to the street to intensify the campaign to establish Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan, sowing the seeds of subsequent movements for independence.

Eventually, Bangladesh snatched independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Feb 21, therefore, is not only a day of sacrificing lives for the right to speak one’s own language, but also a memorabilia of Bengali nationhood, individuality and cultural identity.

UNESCO in 1999 declared Feb 21 as International Mother Language Day.

The observance of the day, Shaheed Dibosh or Martyrs’ Day, kicked off at 12:01am on Wednesday formally with President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar.

Both the president and the prime minister placed wreaths and observed a moment of silence, honouring the sacrifices of the language martyrs. Subsequently, Hasina, in her capacity as the leader of the Awami League, paid her respects once more, this time flanked by fellow party leaders.

After the prime minister, notable figures including Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, and Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku also paid homage to the martyrs.

The ceremony was also attended by members of the cabinet, the chiefs of the Armed Forces, and diplomats, all of whom visited the Shaheed Minar bearing flowers.

Language movement veterans, sector commanders, and leaders of the Freedom Fighter Command Council also paid tribute to the martyrs.

Dhaka's mayors Sheikh Fazle Nur Taposh and Atiqul Islam laid wreaths at the monument, as did Dhaka University's Vice Chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal, who was accompanied by university colleagues in paying their respects.

After the president, prime minister, political parties and dignitaries, people were allowed to place flowers at the Shaheed Minar.

As the day rolled, the queue at the Shaheed Minar became longer as people from all walks of life came to pay their homage. They carried flowers and small flags and waited for their turn.

Besides the political, social and cultural organisations, people from each social strata came to the Shaheed Minar with their children to pay tribute to the martyrs.