The grateful nation on Tuesday paid rich tributes to the Language Movement martyrs, marking the 1952’s historic day of ‘Amar Ekushey’ with a call for making Bangla as one of the United Nation’s official languages.
The day was also observed as Shaheed Dibas in the country while as the International Mother Language Day across the globe.
People paid their deep respect to the heroes of the Language Movement, who sacrificed their lives for achieving the recognition of Bangla as the state language of erstwhile Pakistan, walking barefoot to the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka with wreaths and flowers singing ‘Amar bhaiyer rokte rangano Ekushey February’.
At the first hour of the ‘Amar Ekushey’, Dhaka University Vice-chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique welcomed the guests who came to the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina first paid their homage to the language martyrs by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar at one minute past midnight. Ministers, advisers to the Prime Minister, parliament members, the chiefs of the three services, diplomats, senior Awami League leaders, high civil and military officials were present on the occasion.
Flanked by cabinet members and senior leaders of the party, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh Awami League, later placed another wreath at the Shaheed Minar on behalf of the party.
Awami League general secretary along with his party leaders and activists also placed a wreath at the Shaheed Minar in the morning. Talking to reporters there, he said, “We want the United Nations to recognise Bangla as one of its official languages as we 32 crore Bangalees speak Bangla.” Quader, also the Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said all should take a vow on the International Mother Language day to place a strong demand to the UN for having the acknowledgment of Bangla as its official language. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia together with her party senior leaders also placed wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar around 1:30am, putting an end to speculation over her attending.
Different political parties and their front organisations as well as socio-cultural organisations paid their homage to the language martyrs placing wreaths. Later, people from all walks of life paid their homage to the language martyrs. For their unfounded love for their mother tongue, thousands of people from Bangladesh and Indian state of West Bengal gathered at between Benapole and Petrapole check-posts in Jessore around 8:30 am defying the barriers of geographical border to observe the International Mother Language Day.
They paid rich tributes to the Language Movement martyrs placing wreaths at the makeshift Shaheed Minar, ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib 21 Manch’ marking the day. Besides, people placed their wreaths at different Shaheed Minars across the country to observe the International Mother Language Day.
Adequate security measures were in place in the city and other parts of the country for smooth observance of the day. There was no untoward incident reported from anywhere in the country.
On February 21, 1952, students and the common people in Dhaka had taken to the streets in protest against the then Pakistani government’s denial of Bangla as the national language and imposition of Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan. Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil were killed in police firings on this day in 1952 when students came out in processions from the Dhaka University campus defying section 144 to press home their demand for the recognition of Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan. The Pakistan government was ultimately compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on February 29, 1956 that declared ‘the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali’.
The protest sparked on February 21 in 1952 progressed into the long-drawn struggle that eventually led to the birth of independent Bangladesh in 1971.
