Language Movement
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The Language Movement (Bengali: ভাষা আন্দোলন Bhasha Andolon) was a cultural and political movement in the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1952.
After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, the West Pakistani rulers, who dominated the Government, intended to make Urdu (spoken mostly in West Pakistan) the national language of the whole Pakistan. The Bengali population, which was an ethnic majority in erstwhile Pakistan, was not in agreement with this and started a movement to provide equal status for their own language, Bangla. The matter worsened in February, 1952 when Khawaja Nazimuddin, governor of East Pakistan, reiterated the government position on the national language.
Police declared Section 144 which banned any sort of meeting. Defying this, the students of Dhaka University and other political activists started a procession in February 21, 1952. Near the current Dhaka Medical College Hospital, police fired on the protesters and numerous protestors, including Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abul Barkat, and Abdul Jabbar, were killed.
The movement spread to the whole of East Pakistan and the whole province came to a standstill. Afterwards, the Government of Pakistan relented and gave equal status to Bangla.
This movement is thought to have sown the seeds for the independence movement which resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh<ref>https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bg.html</ref> in 1971.<ref name="rahman">Rahman, T. 1997. Language and Ethnicity in Pakistan, Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 9. (Sep., 1997), pp. 833-839.</ref><ref name="oldenburg">Oldenburg, P. 1985. "A Place Insufficiently Imagined": Language, Belief, and the Pakistan Crisis of 1971, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 44, No. 4., pp. 711-733.</ref>
To commemorate this movement, Shaheed Minar, a solemn and symbolic sculpture, was erected in the place of the massacre. The day is remembered as the Language Movement Day in Bangladesh and is a national holiday.
In 1999, February 21 was declared the International Mother Language Day<ref>http://www.pmo.gov.bd/21february/index.htm</ref> by the United Nations.
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[edit] Initiation of the Language Movement
The question of whether or not to make Bangla the state language of Pakistan arose before the partition of india in 1947. The first institutional proposal to make Bangla the state language of East Pakistan came from "Gono Azadi League" (later Civil Liberties League) in July 1947<ref name=Umar>Umar, Bodruddin.Purbo Banglar Bhasha-Andolon O Totkalin Rajniti, 1st Part,1979</ref>. They urged to take steps in this regard in their manifesto. Intellectual and public opinion which explores all sorts of possibilities of Bangla in Pakistan was published widely in the newspapers of that time. Amongst them the article published on June 22 in the daily "Ittehad" by Abdul Huq<ref>Huq, Abdul.Bhasha Andoloner Adiporbo, 1st Edition, 1976.</ref>was the first. The article of Dr.M.Shohidullah published on July 29 was also significant. However topics of the most of this articles has reached only as far as making Bangla the state language of East Pakistan<ref name=Bashir>Al Helal, Bashir.Bhasha Andoloner Itihash.Agami Prokashoni, 2003. ISBN 984-401-523-5</ref>. At the meeting of "Purbo Pakistan Gonotantrik Jubo League" (East Pakistan Youth Democratic League) held on September 6 and 7, 1947 also demanded the same<ref name=Umar/>.
To make Bangla the state language of whole Pakistan, a newly born political institution Tamaddun Majlish published a book named "Pakistaner Rashtrobhasha-Bangla Na Urdu" (Pakistans State Language-Bangla or Urdu). They suggested to make both Bangla and Urdu state language in their book. They also organized a meeting on November 12 at the Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall<ref>"The Azad, November 13,1947")</ref>. Prior to that a meeting was also organized by the East Bengal Literature Society on November 5.
But the situation changed dramatically in December when a proposal was granted at the education summit of Karachi ended on December 5. The granted proposal included Urdu as the state language, media of different provinces and a compulsory subject at primary level<ref>The Azad,December,1948</ref>. A protest came immediately when students of different educational institutions gathered at the Dhaka University premises on December 6. The meeting clearly demanded Bangla as one of the state language of Pakistan Dominion and to set it as East Pakistan's official language and the medium of education. However this was the first ever meeting for language in the University premises<ref name=Umar/>. At the end of December student leaders inaugurated the first "Rashtrabhasha Shangram Porishod" (State Language Committee of Action) to help the movement to reach its goal<ref name=Sri>"Ekusher Shongkolon'80 Smriticharon, pp 102-03"</ref>.
[edit] Denial from West Pakistan
As the language movement gathered more momentum at East Bengal, the West Pakistan based central government continued to ignore the demand of Bangla. Following the proposal that was granted at the Education Summit, Pakistan Public Service Commission lifted out Bangla from their subject list. It was also moved away from the currencies and stamps where Bangla was used even in the British colonial period. As a result Tamaddun Majlish organized a meeting with the ministers of the Constituent Assembly from the East Bengal Habibullah Bahar and Nurul Amin in order to note this on the Assembly. They also met with the chief minister of East Bengal Khawaja Nazimuddin for the cause. But the fact was raised by a member of East Bengal named Dhirendranath Datta.
Dhirendranath Datta moved an amendment to speak in Bangla at the Constituent Assembly. In his speech he regarded Bangla as the "lingua franca" and also wanted as a state language. He also protested against removing Bangla from stamps and bills. Some other members also supported his motion. But prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan mentioned his motion as an attempt to create a rift between the people of Pakistan. He considered Urdu as the language of a hundred millions of Muslims and said the state language can only be Urdu. After much debate, the amendment was mentioned negative in voting.<ref>"Bangladesher Shadhinota JUddho:Dolilpotro, pp.54-65</ref>.For the mandate of the League Perliamentary Party, no Bengali muslim member was able to cast their vote to support the amendment of Datta<ref name=Bashir pp.308/>.Tamaddun Majlish called a meeting to protest the decision of the Assembly and to thank Dhirendranath Datta from where they declared a strike on March 11. On March 10 a meeting was organized to fix the activities that would take place on March 11. At dawn of March 11 students from different Halls of Dhaka University came out according to their pre planned decision. Along with Dhaka University the rest of the educational institutions also observed full strike.In the morning a group of students went to Ramna Post Office and were arrested. Some other students accompanied by political leaders also continued picketing in front of the Secreteriat building and some of them also arrested there. In the afternoon a meeting was observed to protest the police tortures and arrestings. Finishing the meeting the students joined in a rally and moved towards Khawaja Nazimuddin's House. But the rally was obstracted in front of the High Court. The rally then changed its direction and moved towards the Secretariat building. There police attacked them and some of the students and leaders including Sher-E-Bangla A.K.Fazlul Huq were injured<ref name=Bashir pp.263-265/>.The strike was widely obseerved across the country. Students and common people from different Zillas like Bogra, Rajshahi, Jessore, Khulna, Noakhali and other places also joined the strike. The strike continued till March 15.
The founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah came to Dhaka (then Dacca) on March 19, 1948. On March 21, he received a civic reception at the Racecource Ground (now called the Suhrawardy Udyan) from where he later made a speech. In his speech he complained that the language movement is introduced to create rift among the Muslims. Though he pointed out that the government language of East Bengal would be decided by the inhabitants of the province, he clearly declared, Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan and no other language. He also warned that there is a fifth column within the people and they will be shown no mercy<ref>The Azad,February 24,1948</ref>. While Jinnah was making his speech, a part of the crowd containing students and common people became annoyed with Jinnah's comments on the language movement and provocative quotes to the movement workers made them disgraced when he said that the Urdu shall be the only state language<ref name=Umar/>. He also made a similar speech when he went to Curzon Hall of the University of Dhaka on March 24. He quoted this movement as the way to spread provincialism and complained that some people are trying to take advantage by doing this. When he recited his possition about Urdu as a state language a loud no, no cry came from the students. The same day, Jinnah called a meeting with state language Committee of Action in which Jinnah denied the contract that was signed with Kwaja Nazimuddin telling that as a forceful and one sided one. The meeting was highly tense and much debate took place. The students handed over a memorandum to him demanding Bangla as the state language<ref name=Bashir/>. Jinnah left Dhaka on March 28, and a repeat of his position was expressed in his speech at the radio that evening.
After the departure of Jinnah, a meeting of Tamaddun Majlish and Chatra League was held where the convener from the Tamaddun Majlish Shamsul Alam handed over his responsibilities to Mohammad Toaha.<ref name=Umar/>. Later Tamaddun Majlish gave a statement where they blamed the Communists for ruining the movement and later they gradually drifted out away from the movement.
[edit] 1952:Reinfluence in the Language Movement
The nucleus of the influence that restarted the movement can be found in the speech that Khawaja Nazimuddin made on January 27, 1952<ref name=Bashir/>. Khawaja Nazimuddin now the prime minister of Pakistan came to Dhaka on February 25 and made a long speech on Polton Maidan on February 27. He mainly reiterated what Jinnah had said about the state language topic and said, Pakistan's state language will be Urdu. He also added that no nation can be strong with more than one state language. His speech was broadcast live on Radio.
To stand against Nazimuddin's position, The State Language Committee of Action called a students' strike and a meeting on January 30. On that day students and leaders met at the Amtala of the University. In the meeting it was decided to call a strike meeting and rally on February 4. Later they took a rally towards Burdwan House(now Bangla Academy)<ref>Ekusher Shonkolon'80:Smriticharon.pp.79</ref>
On 31 March 1952, Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrobhasha KormiPorishod (All-Party Central Language Action Committee) was formed in a meeting at the Bar Library Hall of Dhaka University which was chaired by Moulana Bhasani<ref>The Azad,February 1,1952</ref>. The central government's proposal of writing the Bangla language in Arabic script was deeply opposed in the meeting. In this meeting, the "Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrabhasha Koarmiporishod" was formed, including about 40 members. The meeting supported the strike called at the meeting on January 30 at Dhaka University premises. The committee also called a complete workplan on February 21, including Hartal, meeting and rally<ref name=Bashir/>.
According to the decision taken on January 30,students of Dhaka University and all the educational institutions from Dhaka gathered at the Dhaka University premises on February 4. The students warned the government to stop the steps taken to write Bangla in Arabic script, while their main demand was to make Bangla the state Language. At the end of the meeting the students came out for a huge rally<ref>The Azad, February 4, 1952</ref>.
[edit] The Incident on February 21
From 9 p.m. students from different educational institution started to gather at the Dhaka University premises to express their protest against section 144, and to make the active members of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly aware of the position of the common people about the language policy.
Police carrying arms made a cordon around the meeting place. The Vice Chancellor and the Deans of different departments were also present. At quarter past eleven, students gathered at the gate and came out in the street to break the section. Police tried to warn away the students by firing tire shells at the gate and in the University premises.
After that some students ran into the Dhaka Medical College and rest stayed at the D.U. premises cordoned by the police, diplaying sheer agitation to the police actions. The Vice principal then asked police to stop firing tire shells and the students to leave the University area. But when the students started to leave the campus, police arrested them again, on the grounds that they are violating the section. Many of these arrested students were taken to Tejgaon and later freed. This made the students more frustrated and they again started their action and accompanied by some girl students who came from the P.M. office.
At two p.m. as the members of the Legislative Assembly came to join the Assembly, students blocked their way and asked them to present their demand at the Assembly.
But suddenly the whole situation changed when a group of students decided to go to the Legislative Assembly to express their agitation and demands. As the student intended to move suddenly, police ran to the hostel and opened fire around and inside of it at around 3p.m.<ref>name=Bashir pp.</ref> .Just moments after the firing, a number of students were seen lying on the Verandah. Abdul Jabbar and Rafiq Uddin Ahmed were killed at the spot.<ref>Itihash,Kobir Uddin Ahmed.pp.225-26</ref>Abul Barkat injured at that time had died later at 8p.m. At the firing the doctors and nurses of the D. M. C. were forced to leave the previously injured students, and concentrate on the students injured by bullets.
As the news of the killing spread, the people erupted and decided to come to the place where incident took place. So they closed all the shops, offices and transport and soon the movement became a people’s one, from what was only by the students earlier. The Radio artists also commemorates an artist strike and the station ran only by the recorded programs<ref>The Azad,February 22,1952</ref>
On that day at the Legislative Assembly, members from the opposition party moved this subject at the assembly. They asked Prime Minister Nurul Amin to visit the hospital to see the wounded students, and also asked for a call off at the assembly. This motion was also supported by some of the treasury bench members as well. But Nurul Amin was persistent for calling the day off and also refused to go the hospital.
[edit] The incident on February 22
On February 22 the whole country burst with agitation and procession. People spontaneously denied Section 144 and mourned conjointly on that day<ref name=Bashir/>. At about 11a.m. nearly 30 thousand gathered in a rally and moved towards Curzon Hall. There police tried to move away them and at one point fired onto them. Four people were recorded killed. Officers and clerks from all the institution boycotted the office and came together with the students to join the joined the procession. The officials from Secretariat visited to Dhaka Medical College Hostel where they were accompanied by the people of different parts of the city. Later they organized a Janaja and brought out the massive rally. At about 11a.m. nearly 30 thousand gathered in a rally and crossed Curzon Hall to reach High Court. Their police attacked and fired onto them.
Rallies and Janaja also held across the city. In the afternoon another huge rally came out which was also attacked by the police. In the Dhaka Medical College Hostel students continued milking until police came out and took it away from them. Agitated people also flamed the 'Jubilee press' from where morning news were published<ref>The Azad. February 23,1952</ref>.
Several incident of police attack and killing was found. When a massive rally was going through the Nawabpur Road police fired at it in which Sofiur Rahman fell into and later died. A nine year old boy named 'Ohidullah' was also found killed at the same road. It was also heard that police removed number of dead bodies. According to Azad 4 and Shoinik 8 people were killed.
[edit] The Final Stage(1953-56)
[edit] 1953
Kendrio Shorbodolio Kormoporishod decided to commemorate February 21 as the ‘Shaheed Dibash’ or the martyrs ‘Martyrs Day. Acting general secretary of Awami League Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also earged to commemorate the day.<ref>Shaptahik Ittefaq, February 8, 1953</ref> On February 18, the students made a contract with the officials that they would not create any anarchy if the government do not apply any adversity. However the first anniversary of the language movement was widely observed across the country. Most of the offices, banks and educational institutions were closed. People from different places and cities came to the ‘Probhat Feri’. Thousands of people wearing black badges came to the university premises and left with a huge rally. Volunteers also were in alert so that any violence could not take place. A massive meeting also held at Armanitola with nearly one lack people. In the meeting a point was moved. Along with the language demand, releasing of Bhasani and other state prisoners were also demanded. Railway stuffs also went for a strike with the supervision of the students. Students of different halls of the university kept fast to pay homage to the martyrs.<ref>Shaptahik Ittefaq, 1953</ref> On the other hand Pakistan’s finance minister Fazlur Rahman said that whoever wants to make Bangla an state language is to be considered as an enemy of the state. As a result people became frustrated and shown him black badge. March 11, the day when violence occurred on 1948 was also observed in 1948. As a part of the commemoration badges written ‘Rashtrabhasha Bangla Chai’ was distributed to the people. Language Action Committee also called upon a meeting to celebrate the day. A lot of cultural activities were also held to enhance the movement. A number of magazines were published. The main influential song of the language movement Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano was written as a poem in a leaflet in that year.
[edit] 1954
The year 1954 is marked for revolutionary change in politics of East Bengal and in the way in language movement. The election was about to take place and Muslim League tried to resist Joint Front from taking any advantage from the movement<ref name=Bashir. pp.600-03/> As a result they arrested a number of people before language movement day.
On the other hand, a meeting of Muslim League Parliamentary Committee was held on Karachi to break the dead lock of the language policy. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Ali and decision was to give equal status of Bangla along with Urdu as the state language<ref>Weekly Ittefaq, April 21, 1954</ref>. As a result of this decision six more language of different region of West Pakistan were also appealed for the same status by the correspondents of those areas<ref>The Azad, April 21, 1954</ref>.
However Abdul Haq (known as Babae Urdu) opposed the decision and retained his position on the policy. A massive rally was held against the decision was held on Karachi on April 22 under his leadership. A lot of hostility also took place along with the office of a Sindhi daily “Al Wahid” burnt<ref>The Azad, April 22, 1954</ref>. On the other hand, another meeting also held on April 27 supported Bangla and asked for all the other language for the equal status. They also criticized the mentality of some Urdu speakers who reacted angrily after the decision. But as a result of the agitated rally the decision hanged until April 26 and finally stopped without reaching any conclusion.
[edit] 1955
After the take over of government power by Joint Front, the work to build Bangla Academy started. But when they were succeeded by martial law, the new regime ad versed any kind of programmed on February 21, 1955. On February 19 government again called Section 144 and banned any kinds of public ceremony. But students and common people refused to oblige and broke out on the night of 21st. Different halls of Dhaka University flown the flags of black color for mourning<ref>Ekusher Shonkolon, 1956</ref>. Police attacked the campus and arrested numerous students and common people who were joined by them. Later they were taken to jail where they came across with the arrested language movement activists who were arrested over the years. Arrested students refused to give bond for bail and government had to step down. Later they were freed and releasing of activists also stared. The Joint front government were handed the power once again in the process.
[edit] 1956
In 1956, February 21 was observed in a government friendly atmosphere for the first time.
On the day the foundation stone of Shaheed Minar was founded. The session of Pakistan Constituent Assembly was also stopped for five minutes to express gratitude to the martyrs of the Language Movement. This day was thoroughly observed across the country and the institutions were closed spontaneously. A massive rally leaded by Moulana Bhasani followed the huge meeting that took place on Armanitola<ref>name=Bashir. pp.610-13</ref><ref>Weekly Notun Khobor, February 26,1956</ref>.
[edit] The End Result
After nearly ten years of starting of the language movement it 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:
214.(1) 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. On March 1, 1962 Ayub Khan in his “The Consititution of the republic of Pakistan” also mentioned
The National Language of Pakistan are Bengali and Urdu
After the independence of Bangladesh the constitution was written and published on November 4, 1972 according to which the state language was Bangla. A 3rd para of which:
প্রজাতন্ত্রের রাষ্ট্রভাষা বাংলা
Translation: The state language of the republic of Bangla
[edit] The influence of movement in media
Language movement created a huge impact of the art and culture of erstwhile East Bengal and later in independent Bangladesh.Some of the works of media are:
- Songs
- Amar Bhayer Rokte Rangano-by Abdul Gaffar Choudhury
- Ora Amar Mukher Kotha-by Abdul Latif
- Ekushey February-by Suman
- Poems
- Kadte Ashini Fashir Dabi Niye Ashechi-by Mahbub Ul Alam Choudhury
- Films
- Jibon Theke Neya-by Zahir Raihan
- Literature and memoire
- Aarek Falgun-by Zahir Raihan
- Theatrical Drama
- Kobor-by Munier Chowdhury
- Sculptures and monuments
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] See also
</center>bn:ভাষা আন্দোলন
