Two women, one language struggle

The slogan “Rashtra-bhasha Bangla chai” or “Bangla as a state language” had a great deal of power during the Language Movement. After the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, this slogan first united Bengalis in protesting against discrimination and in demanding just rights. With this slogan, lovers of the Bangla language from diverse backgrounds across religions, castes and professions gathered in the shade of a singular unity, creating a stir in cities and villages everywhere. Through the Language Movement, Bengalis stood up against injustice and discrimination and never again looked back. Spurred on by that courage, through demands for autonomy that culminated in the Liberation War and the sacrifice of millions of lives, an independent Bangladesh was established. Therefore, the language movement is the beginning of the Bengali struggle for independence.

Just as Bengali women played an important role in the Liberation War, they also played a fearless role in the movement for the Bangla language before it, participating alongside men as fellow warriors. Setting aside all fear of the Pakistani police’s baton charges, bullets, and arrests, women were at the forefront of the language demand processions. Housewives sheltered students who were being chased by police for participating in the protests. Female Dhaka University students used to make posters with various slogans for language demands secretly under the cover of night. Female students also clashed with police when participating in the processions in defiance of Section 144 on February 21, 1952; they too were injured by baton charges and tear gas. Rawshan Ara Bachchu, Sara Taifur, Borkha Shamsun, Sufia Ibrahim, Suraiya Dolly, Suraiya Hakim were notable among those present. Female students of Dhaka Medical College played a crucial role in the treatment of those injured that day. Housewives donated funds to help with the treatment of the injured and donated their gold ornaments at the foot of the Shaheed Minar to fund the movement. Women actively participated in the language movement not only in Dhaka, but also in district towns and subdivisions. I am talking today about the roles of two such women in the language movement, their sacrifices, and their subsequent neglect in state honours.

In 1948, Laila Noor, a resident of Comilla city, was a 14-year-old girl. Her father was a renowned engineer since the British era, everyone in the house read books. That year’s declaration of Urdu as the state language of Pakistan by the Governor-General of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was unreasonable—Laila Noor had learned so much from various books at a young age. Laila, then a Class 10 student, protested against this discriminatory declaration. She looked for a way to express her anger. A few days later (in 1948), she protested by speaking at a meeting of opponents of the Bangla language held at the Town Hall, the heart of Comilla. She said, “Bangla is the language of the majority of Pakistan’s population and it has all the qualifications to be the state language; Bangla is the only language in the Indian subcontinent that has a Nobel Prize-winning poet.” In the Muslim League-influenced and narrow zeitgeist of the day, this protest by a teenager in a small town was unparalleled and akin to a logical cannonball against injustice. Therefore, there was an immediate reaction at the meeting place, the Town Hall grounds. Laila Noor's microphone was turned off and she was threatened.

Taleya Rahman was directly involved in the language movement in Chittagong in 1948. At that time, she was a ninth-grade student of the famous Khastagir School in Chittagong. In protest of the unjustified declaration by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, she took to the streets alongside senior and junior students of Khastagir School. Students from other institutions also gathered at the city's Laldighi Maidan. The slogan “Rashtrabhasha Bangla chai” ("We want Bangla as a state language") was on everyone’s lips. Taleya Rahman's fellow fighters there were Halima Khatun, Pratibha Mutsuddi, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Rasheda Zaman, Fazilatunnesa and many others. The students also marched in trucks in the city. In an interview conducted by the author on January 15, 2017, Taleya Rahman said, "At the time, the movement was not owned or directed by any political party.. It was a matter of our own existence. A fight to protect the existence of Bengalis."

The news of the killing of students in Dhaka on February 21, 1952, gave rise to intense protests and movements in Chittagong. The anger of Bengalis spread like wildfire. Taleya Rahman, an intermediate student at the time, also participated in that movement. When asked about the courage and strength of the students in the cities outside Dhaka to take to the streets to protest, Taleya Rahman said, "In the anti-British movement, Pritilata Waddedar, a girl from Chittagong, directly supported Surya Sen in looting the Chittagong armory in 1930 and led the attack on the European Club on September 23, 1932, which shook the hearts of the occupying British government. Pritilata's role was an inspiration for the girls of Chittagong. The girls of several conservative families in Chittagong also participated in the language movement. The truth is that there was an awareness and awakening among the women of Chittagong about the rights of the Bangla language. The first poem of Ekushey was written in Chittagong. It was Mahbubul Alam Chowdhury's poem “Kandte ashini, phaanshir dabi niye eshechhi” ("I didn't come to cry, I came to demand the death penalty").

The second phase of Laila Noor and Taleya Rahman's Bangla language movement was a national struggle. Taleya Rahman was admitted to the Economics Department of Dhaka University in 1953 for an honours degree. Laila Noor was admitted to the English Department for a Masters degree in 1954. She was the only female student at the university at that time and lived in the residential Chameli House. They actively celebrated Ekushey February in 1954. According to Taleya Rahman, Ekushey February was celebrated in secret in 1954 due to administrative obstacles. On February 20, at the present site of the Shaheed Minar, medical students would lay bricks to pay their respects. In the morning, the police would come and demolish it. At that time, the students said, "Are we to celebrate Ekushey February like this?" Anger began to grow. For this reason, preparations began with increased enthusiasm from 1954. In 1955, the students said, "The government is not listening to any of our demands. So we must protest strongly once more." This was evident from February 20. The female students put up posters in various places with demands for the Bangla language. At night, a black flag was hoisted on the roof of Chameli House in remembrance of the language martyrs. The army was not allowed to enter the students' hostel. Even then, they forcibly entered the hostel and lowered the black flag. At that time, Article 92-A was in effect. But the students ignored these obstructions.

The police and the army understood that the students would likely do something. The students of Chameli House also assumed that the administration might resort to repression. Keeping this fear in mind, the students paid their respects by laying flowers at the brick structure at the site of the Shaheed Minar in the early hours of February 21. About 50 students of Chameli House, including Laila Noor, Taleya Rahman and Pratibha Mutsuddi, participated in this programme.

The meeting started at 10 AM in Amtala. The student leaders gave speeches while students stood and listened. At that time, there were two rows of police all around. At one point, the police started entering the gathering. The inflammatory speeches were still going on—then the police baton-charged the students and made them disperse. Taleya Rahman was slightly injured by the baton charge. At this, Laila Noor, Taleya Rahman, and other students took shelter inside the Dhaka University library. Later, when the students gathered at the library gate, they were arrested. The police and army were unable to handcuff them due to the students’ collective resistance. That day, 20 or 21 students were arrested from Dhaka University and taken to jail.

The observance of Ekushey February in 1955 and the subsequent police and army repression were notably provocative events. An illustration of its intensity can be found in the statement of one of the main photographers of the language movement, language soldier Professor Rafiqul Islam. He said, “…in fact, Ekushey February in 1955 was a repeat of Ekushey February in 1952. The only difference is that this time there was no shooting.” (Amar Ekushey Book Fair Memorandum 2012, Bangla Academy).

Laila Noor and Taleya Rahman’s experience of prison life was very difficult. The family also had to suffer from the incident. No attempt was made by the university administration to free the arrested students. In 1955, the Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University was Dr Jane Kins. He was a British citizen and disapproved of the students violating Section 144.

Taleya Rahman’s father, Abul Mohsin Khan, was a government official. It was natural for the government to pressure him after his daughter was arrested. After 10 days, the father came to the jail to free Taleya. Abul Mohsin was so angry with his daughter that he slapped her while at the jail. Taleya's uncle was also a government employee. Because of this, Taleya had to undergo a humiliating ritual of apology before entering the house. After that, she was kept under house arrest for a month at her house in Chittagong. On the other hand, according to the university records, Laila Noor's guardian was her elder sister Gul Nahar Noor. She was teaching in Faridpur at that time. It was not possible for her sister to come from Faridpur and get Laila Noor released from jail. Thus, after 21 days, Laila Noor was released from jail alongside others.

Laila Noor retired as a professor of the English department of Comilla Victoria College in 1992 after a long teaching career. She was the first female professor of this famous college. She spent her retirement writing. Laila Noor passed away of old age while undergoing treatment in a hospital on May 31, 2019.

Despite making such great sacrifices and contributions to the language movement, Laila Noor and Taleya Rahman were not awarded the Ekushey Padak. When I spoke to Laila Noor about the Ekushey Padak during her lifetime, she sighed and said, “I have heard that you have to send a proposal for the Ekushey Padak, it takes a lot of effort and lobbying. I do not want to accept an award I must beg for.” Her comment is very profound, yet this depth of feeling did not appear to move public conscience. Or perhaps it was deliberately overlooked.

In an article titled “Nari Bhashasainiker Khoje” by journalist Sohrab Hasan published in Prothom Alo, the issue of Laila Noor being ignored for state honours was also highlighted. Sohrab Hasan’s comment was, “She served time in jail while partaking in the language movement. The people of Comilla are proud of this. At the same time, that she has not received state recognition even today is a source of heartache for them; even though she was felicitated several times by the district administration and local cultural organizations. …How can we forget such an educator and language warrior?” (Prothom Alo, 2016).

Sohrab Hasan asked Laila Noor, “What is your life’s achievement?”— In response, Laila Noor said, “Thousands of students have come out of my teaching career and they have established themselves later in life. Rafiqul Islam, on whose proposal 21st February was recognized as International Mother Language Day, was also my student. This is my accomplishment.” It is worth noting that, thanks to the efforts of the author of this article and fiction writer Muzaffar Hossain, language warrior Laila Noor was awarded the “Anannya Shirsho Dosh Nari Award 2014”.

Language activist Taleya Rahman has been ill for a long time. During an interview in 2017, Taleya Rahman also had some discussions about the Ekushey Padak. She said, “I have never received any state recognition or honor. I was out of the country for a long time. Not many people know my contribution in that regard. Moreover, I do not like to publicize my contribution. I did not participate in the movement for recognition or awards.” She regretfully said another thing in the context of that time, “I am Shafik Rehman’s wife. This could also be a reason for not giving me a state award.”

The events and historical importance of the language movement are recognised worldwide today. 193 independent member countries of the United Nations celebrate February 21 as International Mother Language Day. Therefore, the language movement is not only the pride of Bengalis or Bangladesh alone, but of language lovers all over the world. Laila Noor and Taleya Rahman are participants in and architects of that glorious chapter and history. It was not easy for women to play such a courageous role in the socially restrictive Bengali society. Therefore, the active participation of Bengali women in the language movement and the contribution of Laila Noor and Taleya Rahman are important steps for the progress of all Bengali women. They are national heroines and heroes of Bangladesh’s early independence struggle. They certainly deserve due respect.

Translation of Bashar Khan's essay "Dui narir bhasha shonangram" by Arwin Shams Siddiquee.

Bashar Khan is a writer and journalist.