The nation paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of the historic language movement since early Saturday to commemorate the supreme sacrifices they made for the cause of the mother tongue, which in time turned into the movement for self determination and finally independence.
The agitation by some students on the Dhaka University campus began very much in 1947 in protest against suggestions about making Urdu the state language, and reached its climax in Feb 21 in 1952.Students under the leadership of Abdul Matin, Oli Ahad and Gaziul Haque gathered at the DU campus near Dhaka Medical College Hospital, violating Section 144, which had been imposed on that day to restrict assembly and protest programmes near the then provincial assembly hall (Jagannath Hall auditorium).
The procession they brought out was fired upon by police, leaving many including Rafique, Jabbar, Barkat and Salam fatally injured. Their death spread fire into the language movement that forced the then Pakistani government to adopt Bangla as a state language alongside Urdu.
However, Ekushey did not end there; it rather planted the seed of freedom in the hearts of Bangalees and 19 years later, an independent country named Bangladesh was born in 1971.
In November 1999, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) proclaimed Ekushey February as the International Mother Language Day, which has since been observed every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
The day is being observed this year with the theme “Inclusive Education through and with Language – Language Matters.”
The day is being observed with all institutions of higher learning remaining under siege of the activists of one single political party those of the opposition remaining expelled from those institutions and their dormitories for six years in a row.
The monopolisation has gone to such extreme that pro-government student leaders are even dictating even admission in many institutions and have quota of their admission seekers in some others. Students having allegiance to other political parties or thought thus remain alienated.
In Bangladesh, out of about 40 languages used by different communities including the ethnic minority groups, only Bangla has made it to the education system and the digital world.
As in other years the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka was the centra of the Amor Ekushey programmes which began with barefoot processions and placing of wreaths from zero hours past Friday midnight. First to place wreath was President Abdul Hamid. Then came Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Speaker of Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury followed soon afterwards
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee and Speaker of the British House of Lords were among the noted foreign guests place wreaths.
Leaders of different Political parties and organisations and scores of socio-cultural organisations places wreaths at the minar and walk past it in solemn silence. Among those were the Bangladesh Awami League, the BNP, the Jatiya Party.
A BNP delegation, led by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s adviser Enam Ahmed Chowdhury, along with activists of the party and its front organisations went to the Central Shaheed Minar in the morning and placed a wreath there to pay homage to the language martyrs on behalf of the party.
BNP will arrange a doa mahfil at the party chairperson’s Gulshan political office after Asr prayers today seeking salvation of the departed souls of the language martyrs. – Staff Reporter
