The seed of independence
This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the 1952 Language Movement. Drawing on research based on various published books, this 21-part series tells the story of the historic struggle for our mother tongue.
"Amar bhai er rokte
Rangano ekushey February,
Ami ki bhulite pari?
Chhele-hara shoto maa er osru
Gora-e February, ami ki bhulite pari?"
(Tainted with the blood of
My brother is February 21.
Can I forget?
The tears of a hundred
Mothers, who lost their sons,
Flow through February.
Can I forget?)
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. These words stand as witness to a turning point in history -- an eternal reflection of the bloodstained chapter in the fight for Bangla as state language.
The first two lines came to Abdul Ghaffar Choudhury, a student of Dhaka College, upon witnessing the body of language martyr Rafiquddin Ahmed in Dhaka Medical College. He had gone there to visit the students who were injured in police firing on February 21, 1952.
Ghaffar completed the poem the very next day.
In 1953, it was published as "Ekusher Gaan" (Song of the 21st) in the anthology Ekushey February, edited by Hasan Hafizur Rahman. The poem, later transformed into a song, became synonymous with the Language Movement – an anthem without which the Shaheed Dibosh (Martyr's Day) has become unimaginable.
WHAT UNFOLDED ON FEBRUARY 21
From the early hours, students and locals began gathering in the Amra Tal area at Dhaka University, and a meeting, presided over by Gaziul Haque, began around 10:00am.
There, Abdul Matin, convener of the DU's Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad, and Gaziul spoke in favour of violating the Section 144 order, and the students, divided into several groups, complied.
Police responded with teargas shells, and students retaliated with brickbats and stones in front of the Medical College Hostel. Several of them were arrested.
A session of the East Bengal Assembly was scheduled to begin at 3:30pm. As students began marching toward the Constituent Assembly, police again charged batons and lobbed teargas shells.
The students retaliated, forcing the law enforcers to retreat momentarily. However, police soon began firing indiscriminately from the Medical College Hostel gate, the university's playground, and towards the Medical College gate.
Rafiquddin Ahmed, a student of Jagannath College, thus became the first martyr of the 1952 language movement.
Several others were injured and later died. University student Abul Barkat succumbed to his injuries that night, while Abdus Salam, a worker at the Secretariat, died from gunshot wounds on April 25.
As soon as the news of police firing on students reached the legislature, Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish immediately walked out of a session and rushed to Dhaka Medical College. That evening, the Chhatra Sangram Parishad, with Golam Maola as the convener, met at the Medical College Hostel.
A nationwide strike was observed, while the local administration of some districts towns imposed Section 144.
But as soon as the news of police firing on students spread, outrage erupted across the country. Almost immediately, students and public took to their respective streets.
That very night, students in Rajshahi and Narial built Shaheed Minars – monuments in memory of the Language martyrs, while ailing Chattogram poet Mahbub-ul-Alam Chowdhury penned the touching "Ekhane ami kadte ashini, phashir daabi niye eshechhi" (I have not come here to weep, I have come to demand the gallows.)
HOW THE MOVEMENT CAME TO BE
In December 1947, at an education conference in Karachi, a decision was made to adopt Urdu as the sole state language of Pakistan. In response, a protest meeting, presided over by physics lecturer Abul Kashem, was held at the Bel-Tala of Dhaka University on December 6.
Following the meeting, the university's students began a march, demanding Bangla as a state language – the first ever procession in support of Bangla.
Khwaja Nazimuddin's declaration that Urdu would be the state language, in response to Dhirendranath Dutta's proposal for Bangla, on February 23, 1948, prompted the student community to boycott classes starting February 26 -- an act that ignited the movement in the city.
On March 21 and 24, 1948, when Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared Urdu as the sole state language of Pakistan during his speeches at the Racecourse Maidan and Dhaka University, students shouted a resounding "No!"
THE BEGINNING OF THE '52
On January 31, a meeting was held at the Bar Library Hall of Dhaka University, where, under the leadership of Mawlana Bhashani, the 40-member Sarbodoliyo Kendriya Rashtrabhasha Kormi Parishadh was formed.
A protest meeting was held on February 4 at Dhaka University. There, a nationwide protest programme was announced for February 21.
On February 20, the provincial government imposed Section 144 across Dhaka for one month. The language committee decided not to violate the order.
At 8:00am the next day, a namaz-e-janaza was held for the language martyrs and hundreds poured in to pay their respects. Later, a condolence meeting, chaired by advocate Emadullah, was held, followed by a massive march and multiple processions.
The same day, Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, editor of Azad, resigned from his position in the legislature to protest the police firing.
In the afternoon, police suddenly opened fire on a procession on Nawabpur Road, resulting in the deaths of Shafiur Rahman, Sirajuddin, Abdul Awal, a child named Ahidullah, and others.
The following day, another full-scale hartal was observed. That night, the students of Medical College, under the guidance and design of Said Haider, built a monument in remembrance of the martyrs – the Shaheed Minar.
On February 26, the monument was officially inaugurated by Abul Kalam Shamsuddin. But that same day, police and military personnel destroyed it.
The Sarbodoliya Kendriya Kormi committee was the first to decide observing February 21 as Shaheed Dibosh.
In 1954, pressure from the Muslim League led the Pakistan government to grant Bangla the status of state language of East Pakistan. This recognition was later included in Pakistan's Constitution of 1956.
However, by then, much had already changed. In essence, the Language Movement marked the beginning of Pakistan's eventual downfall.
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