- Sunday, April 27, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Bangladesh on Tuesday (21) observed the Language Martyrs’ Day by paying homage to those who sacrificed their lives more than seven decades ago for the cause of the Bengali language.
The country’s president M Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina led it in paying respect to the martyrs by placing wreaths at the famous Shaheed Minar (martyrs’ monument) beside Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in the national capital.
Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League tweeted a picture of prime minister Hasina paying tribute to the martyrs by placing a wreath.
“In the first hours of #21stFebruary, HPM #SheikhHasina has paid respect to the martyrs of the #languagemovement commemorating the #InternationalMotherLanguageDay and National #MartyrsDay,” it said.
In the first hours of #21stFebruary, HPM #SheikhHasina has paid respect to the martyrs of the #languagemovement commemorating the #InternationalMotherLanguageDay and National #MartyrsDay. pic.twitter.com/KHmhLkgcWx
— Awami League (@albd1971) February 20, 2023
The day is observed as a national holiday in the south Asian nation. It is also called Language Movement Day or State Language Day.
The Bengali language movement is one of the most defining moments in the history of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) which gained independence from the clutches of erstwhile West Pakistan in March 1971.
It is widely acknowledged that the foundation of modern-day Bangladesh’s national identity was laid down during the agitation over language. The campaign later snowballed into a larger liberation struggle.
The language protest kicked off in the winter of 1947 in Dhaka (then Dacca). Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of people living in the eastern province spoke Bengali, the Islamabad-based government was accused of imposing Urdu as the sole state language.
This led to discontent and the language movement took birth. Starting with sporadic demonstrations in March 1948, it became a fill-fledged agitation by 1952.
On the morning of February 21 that year, students from Dhaka University took to the streets to defy prohibitory orders. When some of the students tried to force their way into the legislative assembly, the police retaliated and opened fire, killing at least four.
This fueled the protest and angry residents of Dhaka came out the next day to protest against the federal government and police. A monument was made overnight on the university grounds but it was razed by the authorities five days later.
But they eventually had to give in and on May 7, 1954, the constituent assembly resolved to give Bengali an official status and in February 1956, the language became Pakistan’s second official one.
To mark the language movement and honour the martyrs, the 14-metre Shaheed Minar was erected at the site of the massacre.
