Bangladesh celebrates Language Martyrs’ Day: How it formed nationwide id

February 21 is widely known as Language Martyrs’ Day in Bangladesh and honours those that laid down their lives for the reason for the Bengali language. Here’s why it’s vital.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 21, 2023 15:04 IST

Bangladesh celebrates Language Martyrs’ Day right this moment (File picture)

By Devika Bhattacharya: Bangladesh noticed Language Martyrs’ Day on Tuesday, February 21, paying homage to those that laid down their lives 70 years in the past for the reason for the Bengali language.

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the nation in paying respect to the martyrs by putting wreaths on the Shaheed Minar beside Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

February 21 is a nationwide vacation in Bangladesh. It can also be known as Language Movement Day or State Language Day.

WHY BENGALI LANGUAGE MOVEMENT IS SIGNIFICANT

The Bengali language motion was some of the defining moments of Bangladesh’s historical past. It is broadly acknowledged that the muse of the nationwide id of right this moment’s Bangladesh was laid down in the course of the language agitation. The marketing campaign ultimately snowballed into the bigger motion for liberation.

The language protest began within the winter of 1947 in Dhaka, then the capital of East Pakistan. Despite the truth that an awesome majority of individuals residing within the jap province spoke Bengali primarily, the Islamabad-based authorities had advised Urdu as the only real state language.

Discontent and unrest roiled in Dhaka and the language motion was born. It regularly took root – starting with sporadic demonstrations in March 1948. By 1952, it had turn out to be a full-blown agitation.

On the morning of February 21, 1952, Dhaka University college students hit the streets to protest in defiance of prohibitory orders. A bunch of scholars tried to pressure their means into the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly, and the police retaliated by opening hearth on them.

At least 4 protesters had been killed within the police firing. The official determine has been disputed, however normally, the names of 5 martyrs crop up — Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and Shafiur.

Galvanised by the younger males’s sacrifice, offended Dhaka residents got here out in power the following day to protest towards the federal authorities and police. A monument to the martyrs was erected in a single day on the varsity grounds, however it was razed by the authorities on February 26.

On May 7, 1954, the constituent meeting resolved to grant official standing to Bengali and on February 29, 1956, Bengali got here to be recognised because the second official language of Pakistan.

To mark the language motion and honour these killed within the demonstrations, a symbolic sculpture, a 14-metre Shaheed Minar (Martyrs’ Monument), was erected on the web site of the bloodbath.

Edited By:

Devika Bhattacharya

Published On:

Feb 21, 2023