'February 21' is known as the International Mother Tongue Day. Why on February 21? What is the special of February 21? This article will give a brief account of February 21 and its role for the creation of a new country called, 'BANGLADESH.'
Amar bhai rakete rangano ekushe February ami ke bhuliti pari! (How can I forget February 21, which is dyed with the blood of my brothers!)- This popular Bengali song by Abdul Gaffar Choudhury perhaps the most sung, depicts a mass movement, reminds one of a fateful day- February 21, now commemorated as ‘International Mother Language Day’. It is one of the most momentous days, not only in the South Asia’s tiny country Bangladesh, but also in human history. It was on that day the valiant Bengalis sacrifice their lives to defend their sweet mother tongue, Bangla language. Over the centuries people gave their lives for love, faith, freedom, nation and the state. But on 21st February 1952, for the first time in history, a bunch of young Bengalis laid down their lives in a protest rally at the Dhaka university campus against the Pakistani authority’s attempt to impose ‘Urdu’ as the state language of Pakistan.
After 1952, the people of Bangladesh have been observing every year the 21st day of February as their glorious and unforgettable Language Martyrs Day. The entire nation throngs at the Shahid Minar (monument of martyrs) to pay their homage and reverence to the great heroes. The commemoration which was observed within the axis of Bangladesh is now being observed throughout the globe as the UNESCO declared it ‘the International Mother Language Day’ in November 1999. It is an honour bestowed by the international community on the Language Movement of Bangladesh. What happened on 21st February 1952 is widely known. Still let me very briefly recount the fateful happenings of that day and the circumstances that led to and followed them.
1947: Though political freedom from the British but all round exploitations began
In August 1947, a new state called Pakistan, comprising of two far-flung wings in the West and East, separated by 1600 kilometers of foreign territory, emerged on the world map. The Bengalis had a highly developed culture that had little in common with the culture of the people of the Western wing of Pakistan. There was nothing common between these wings except the religion. But religion could not bring them together. The Bengalis, mostly Muslims in East Bengal (officially known as East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) formed a majority in the new state of Pakistan but its government, civil services and military were dominated by West Pakistanis. They began to exploit the people of Bengal in all possible manners. They kept the central power at their hands and discriminations were visible in all sectors of the society. They did not even spare their mother tongue Bangla, which was the mother tongue of the majority of the newly formed state.
Assault on the Bangla Language
Immediately after independence, at an education summit in Karachi a proposal was submitted to the government to make Urdu as the state language, the medium of communications and a compulsory subject at primary level. The Pakistan Public Service Commission removed Bangla from the list of their official subjects’ and from the currency notes and stamps that were published. Under the initiative of the Central Education Minister Fazlur Rahman, the elaborate preparation were taken in various forums of the Central Government, to make Urdu the only state language of Pakistan. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was in session at Karachi, the then capital of Pakistan-from 23rd February 1948. It was proposed that the members would have to speak either in Urdu or in English at the Assembly. Dhirendranath Datta, a member from the East Pakistan Congress Party, moved an amendment motion to include Bangla as one of the languages of the Constituent Assembly. He noted that out of the population of 6 crore 90 lakh of Pakistan, 4 crore 40 lakh were from East Bengal with Bangla as their mother tongue. While the legislation received the support of several Bengali legislators, the then Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and the Muslim League denounced the proposal as an attempt to divide the Pakistani people while reiterating the paramount status of Urdu. The legislation was defeated, but Datta's efforts had attained popular support in East Bengal.
Rashtrabhasha Shangram Parishod (State Language Committee of Action)
Despite extensive protests in 1948, the policy of making Urdu as the state language was enshrined into law and reaffirmed by national leaders. The declaration of proclaiming Urdu as the state language came under heavy protest from the Bengalis. The people of all sections including farmers and students rose in angry protest against the vicious undemocratic designs of the government. The students of the Dhaka University took the leading role. They demanded Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan and instead that it be East Bengal’s official language and the medium of education. The student leaders inaugurated the first “Rashtrabhasha Shangram Porishod” (State Language Committee of Action) to help the movement to reach its goal.
Jinnah’s visit: Pouring oil into the burning furnace
The founder of Pakistan and its first Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah came to Dhaka on March 19, 1948. In his speech during a civic reception on March 21, at the Racecource Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan) he complained that the language movement was introduced to create rift among the Muslims. Though he pointed out that the official language of East Bengal would be decided by the inhabitants of the province, he also clearly declared that Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan and no other language could substitute it. While Jinnah was making his speech, a part of the crowd became annoyed with Jinnah's comments on the language movement. He also made a similar speech when he went to Curzon Hall of the University of Dhaka on March 24. He alleged that this movement was a way to spread provincialism and complained that some people were trying to take advantage by doing this. When he reiterated his position about Urdu as a state language a loud ‘NO’ came from the students. That same day, Jinnah called a meeting with the state language Committee of Action. The meeting was highly tense and a strong debate took place. The students handed over a memorandum to him demanding Bangla as the state language. Jinnah left Dhaka on March 28, and his stand on the language movement was expressed in his speech on the radio that evening.
Agitations of 1952
The Urdu-Bangla controversy was reignited when the Governor-General Khawaja Nazimuddin staunchly defended the ‘Urdu-only’ policy promoted earlier by Jinnah in a major speech on January 27, 1952. On January 31, 1952 the Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrobhasha Kormi Porishod (All-Party Central Language Action Committee) was formed in a meeting chaired by Maulana Bhasani at the Bar Library Hall of Dhaka University. The central government’s proposal of writing the Bangla language in Arabic script was vehemently opposed at the meeting. The committee also called for complete agitation on February 21, including strikes and rallies. The students also warned the government to terminate the proposal of writing Bangla in the Arabic script and reiterated their demand for the recognition of Bangla.
February 21: The fateful day
At nine o’clock in the morning, students began gathering at the Dhaka University premises to protest against section 144, which banned public demonstrations and to make the East Bengal Legislative Assembly aware of the position of the people about the language policy. Police carrying arms made a cordon around the meeting place. At quarter past eleven, students gathered at the gate and came out in the street to break the session. Police tried to drive away the students by firing tear gas shells. Some students ran into the Dhaka Medical College, while others rallied at the Dhaka University premises cordoned by the police. The vice-chancellor then asked the police to stop tear gas shells and ordered the students to leave the area. However, as the students started to leave the campus, the police arrested several students on grounds of violating section 144.The arrests further enraged the students who congregated at the premises of the legislative assembly and blocked the way of legislators, asking them to present their demand at the assembly.
At 3 pm: The alphabet bleeds
The fight between the students and the police forces went on and on. But the situation reached its darkest phase when, around 3 pm, a group of armed police, instructed by district magistrate Koreshi, opened fire. Some bodies fell on the streets, streaming blood dyed the roads. Soon the news of police shooting the students spread like thunderbolt. The students then started throwing brickbats at the police, who retaliated with tear gas. Unable to control the agitated students, the police fired upon the crowd of students, who were proceeding towards the Assembly Building. Three young men, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar and Abul Barkat (an MA student of Political Science) were fatally wounded and subsequently died. Many injured persons were admitted to the hospital. Among them Abdus Salam, a peon at the Secretariat, subsequently succumbed to his wounds. A nine-year-old boy named Ohiullah was also killed.
Life in Dhaka turned into a standstill. Thousands of people streamed into the Dhaka Medical College Hospital to pay their tribute to the martyrs. Shocked and grief-struck their face turned stone, amber in their hearts. At the Legislative Assembly, the session was about to begin. Hearing the news of the shooting, some of the members went out and joined the students. In the Assembly, the chief minister Nurul Amin continued to oppose the demand for Bangla. The legislators demanded that chief minister Nurul Amin should visit wounded students in hospital and that the assembly be adjourned a sign of mourning. This motion was also supported by some of the treasury bench members, but Nurul Amin refused the demands.
The fire kept on burning
The next few days saw the movement in intensify throughout East Bengal, with shops and offices closed, train and bus services paralysed over wide areas and Dhaka simmering in anger. The Kendrio Shorbodolio Kormoporishod decided to commemorate every year February 21st as the Shohid Dibosh (Martyrs Day), which was also supported and observed by the Awami League. On the first anniversary of the language movement people wore black badges in solidarity with the victims while most offices, banks and educational institutions were closed. More than 100,000 people assembled at a public meeting held in Dhaka, where the movement leaders demanded the immediate release political prisoners. The West Pakistani politicians such as Fazlur Rahman declared that anyone who demanded Bengali as an official language was to be considered an enemy of the state.
Finally the Red letter day
In 1956, February 21 was observed in a government friendly atmosphere for the first time. On that day, the foundation stone of Shaheed Minar was planted. The session of Pakistan Constituent Assembly was also halted for five minutes to express respects for the martyrs of the Language Movement. After nearly ten years of starting of the language movement Bangla was officially recognized as the one of the main state language of Pakistan on February 29, 1956. The 214th section regarding to state language was like this: “The state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali …” However English continued to be the official language as it was during the British period.
The impact of language movement
Their sacrifice at once tragic glorious and the indignation of the people against an autocratic government had far reaching effect. The Language movement had a major artistic and cultural impact. The success of the agitation raised considerable interest in the development of the Bengali language, literature and culture. However, the struggle also heightened the cultural alienation between the two wings of Pakistan. In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against the national interests. The widespread participation of Bengali Hindus and the Hindu foundations of Bengali culture also caused considerable opposition in West Pakistan.
It contributed significantly to the flowering of Bengali nationalism, especially with the rise of the Awami League as the dominant political party in the province. It led to the dawning of the realization in the minds of the Bengalis that they constituted a separate nation and their destiny lay not with Pakistan but elsewhere as an independent country.
Initially the remembrance and commemoration of Language Day used to wear a sad and pallid look. However, by the end of 1960s the Language Day had abandoned this sad demeanor and it took a more heroic and jubilant tone. The legacy of the Language movement was invoked in the Awami League-led 6-point movement for greater autonomy and democracy. The Bengalis took to the streets in 1968 and 1969 to denounce the heavy-handedness of Ayub’s regime dealing with Agartala Conspiracy case. They demanded that East Bengal be called ‘Bangladesh’ and consequently the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
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