Mother Language Day—a historic perspective

Bangla is the mother tongue of the Bengalis, the state language of Bangladesh. With a heritage spanning more than a millennium, its progress bears the imprints of many struggles and sacrifices. In getting recognition as the state language when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan (1947-71), supreme sacrifices had to be made with loss of many lives. It is beyond any doubt that the language movement was the precursor to Bangladesh's independence struggle. The sacrifice of Bengali youths to establish the honour and prestige of the Bangla language was unprecedented in world history. UNESCO's declaration of 21st February -- the language martyrs' day of Bangladesh -- as the International Mother Language Day was a fitting tribute to the language movement by the global community.
The struggle of the Bengalis dates back to earlier days, since the colonisation of Bengal by foreign invaders. The struggle took a concrete shape after the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two separate entities - India and Pakistan-in 1947. The leaders of Pakistan were concentrated in the western wing and they were bent on establishing Urdu as the state language disregarding Bangla which was spoken by the majority of the country's population. This led to the spontaneous resistance by the Bengali intelligentsia leading to the language movement and ultimately to a secular movement for a separate statehood based on Bengali culture, heritage, tradition and language.  
HIGHLIGHTS OF VARIOUS PHASES OF LANGUAGE MOVEMENT:     At the provincial education conference held at Rangpur in 1911, eminent educationist Syed Nawab Ali first called for according recognition to Bangla at the national level considering its all-pervasive importance.
During a conference at Bishwabharati, Shantiniketan, in 1918, Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah demanded Bangla as the common language of India. At a meeting of 'Bangiya Shahitya Parishad' (Bengal Literary Council) in 1937, Moulana Akram Khan made a call for introducing Bangla as the state language of India.
     At a literary conference held at the SM Hall of Dhaka University in 1943, a resolution was passed calling for establishment of Bangla as the official language of the region. On  July 29, 1947, Vice Chancellor of Aligarh University Dr. Ziauddin Ahmad proposed that Urdu should be made the state language of Pakistan. This was vehemently opposed by Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah who placed argument in favour of making Bangla the state language.
THE PAKISTANI ERA: Tamuddun Majlis first took up the language controversy in their programme in September, 1947, and invited debate on the issue by publishing a booklet on the subject.
In November, 1947, the central government of Pakistan started using Urdu as the state language. The items which carried wordings only in Urdu and English included Postcards, Money-order forms and Railway tickets. In the same month, the central government issued a circular on syllabus for civil service examinations that did not include Bangla. Protesting this, the Dhaka-based intellectuals submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of East Bengal calling for declaration of Bangla as the state language.
From the month of December 1947, the language issue received increased prominence on the Dhaka University campus and rallies and meetings were held. Prominent among the campaigners were Moulana Akram Khan, Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah, Principal Abul Kashem, Muneer Chowdhury, Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, Kalyan Das Gupta, AKM Ahsan and S. Ahmed. Toward the end of December, 1947, a 'State Language Action Council' was formed through the initiative of 'Tamuddun Majlis' with Professor Nurul Haque Bhuiyan as its chairman. Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU), the teachers of Dhaka University and later the Chhatra League (after its formation) took active part in the deliberations.
On February 25, 1948, Late Dhirendranath Dutta, a Bangali member of the Legislative Assembly of Pakistan, demanded that Bangla should be made an official language of the Legislature. But this was rejected outright by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan on the ground that Pakistan was a Muslim country and so Urdu had to be its state language. He received support from the Chief Minister of East Bengal Khwaja Nazimuddin.
These pronouncements in Parliament evoked immediate response from the student community and the people in general of East Bengal. A general strike was observed by Tamuddun Majlis and Chhatra League on March 11, when violent demonstrations took place. Even the government employees took to the streets. In the face of these violent protests, the Chief Minister was forced to reach an accord with the student community on the basis of which the arrested leaders were released.
Trouble erupted again when the Governor General of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah arrived in Dhaka on March 20, 1948. He declared at a public rally on March 21 that Urdu and only Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan. He repeated this pronouncement during the convocation ceremony of Dhaka University on March 25. This provoked immediate protest from the attending students who shouted "No, No." The leaders of 'State Language Action Council' met Jinnah and tried to convince him that it was not mere provincialism that prompted them to protest.
On April 02, 1948, the Provincial Assembly of East Bengal adopted a resolution calling for establishing Bangla as the state language.
The years 1949 to 1951 saw renewed efforts by the Pakistani rulers to impose Urdu as the state language in the face of resistance from the general public and the student community of East Bengal demanding equal treatment for Bangla. The situation again boiled up on January 27, 1952, when Governor General Khwaja Nazimuddin announced at a public rally in Dhaka that Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan.
Immediately after the announcement, protests followed in the Dhaka University Campus and the students brought out processions. On January 31, an "All Party Action Council" was formed comprising intellectuals, political leaders and the students. Simultaneously, a meeting of the 'All Party Action Council' was held at Dhaka Bar Library under the chairmanship of Awami Muslim League Chief Moulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani.
EKUSHEY AND BEYOND: The movement for Bangla grew stronger in the month of February, 1952. On February 13, publication of The Pakistan Observer was banned as it supported the language movement; its Editor Abdus Salam was arrested and sent to jail. In protest against the repressive measures of the government, a general strike was called for February 21. Sensing trouble, the authorities declared section-144 on the night of February 21 banning processions and gatherings. On the morning of the 21st, some of the veterans of the movement expressed their reservations about breaking the law. But the student community decided otherwise. After a meeting on the campus at 10 a.m. which was presided over by Gaziul Haque, they started bringing out processions one after another violating section 144. The police at first resorted to mass arrests and then to firing. Four valiant sons of the soil--Rafiq, Barkat, Jabbar and later Salam succumbed to police brutality -- possibly the first language martyrs of the world. The day came to be revered with the solemn dignity of 'Amar Ekushey'.  
The day was memorable on two counts. First, it forced the Pakistani regime to accept the reality of Bangla as the language of the majority people which had to be accorded due recognition at the state level. Second, it had a far-reaching impact on the future socio-political developments in the province. The secular Bengali traditions started to take deeper roots in the society.
The political developments were even more significant. The Muslim League was rejected outright by the people and in its place a coalition of secular political forces the 'United Front' came to power winning the provincial election in 1954. That was the beginning. The sixties saw Bengali nationalism gaining stronger roots in every sphere of the socio-political life of the people spearheaded by none other than Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who eventually led the Bengali nation in its journey to freedom in 1971.
FROM NATIONAL TO INTERNATIONAL: The founder President of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the first person to speak in Bangla in a global forum while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September, 1974. Treading his footsteps, his illustrious daughter and present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina again addressed the UN General Assembly in Bangla on September 20, 1999. A few days later, the UNESCO accorded recognition to the Language Martyrs' Day of Bangladesh as the International Mother Language Day. It was a historic and glorious achievement for both Bangladesh and the Bangla language.
The UNESCO said in its resolution that the recognition was given bearing in mind that all moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues would not only encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but will also help develop fuller awareness about linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
In the new millennium, the 21st of February has assumed a new dimension and significance, as around 190 countries of the world observe it as the International Mother Language Day. The spirit of a secular, language-based Bengali nationalism that emanated from the happenings of  February 21, 1952, has now assumed a universal shape and global dimension.
Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed is a former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly.
hahmed1960@gmail.com