Remembering language martyrs

In the world's history, no other nation has had to struggle so much, shed so much blood, to be able to establish their right to speak their mother tongue

Ekushey February is not only a day to remember the sacrifices of the martyrs of the language movement by offering wreaths at Shaheed Minars as many people do. We rather need to understand why our heroic sons had sacrificed their lives. Their supreme sacrifice for the cause of their mother tongue had planted the seeds of freedom in the hearts of the Bengali, leading to our glorious Liberation War and a free country.
In the world's history, no other nation has had to struggle so much, shed so much blood, to be able to hang onto their right to speak their mother tongue. Language is an important aspect of culture as it communicates and preserves heritage, ideas, and identity.
From the early days of Pakistan, there arose significant problems for the Bengalis. Although the majority of Pakistan's inhabitants lived in the eastern province, representation and funding was not fairly distributed. Culturally too, there were rifts. Apart from a common religion, Islam, those in the west and east had nothing in common. Their language and cultural heritage were distinct- the majority in East Pakistan spoke Bangla, mother tongue of roughly 55 per cent of Pakistanis, at the time.  
On this day in 1952, the brave sons of our land laid down their lives to protect the dignity of our mother tongue. As a result of their sacrifice, Bangla was recognized as the second official language of Pakistan on 29 February, 1956, and the constitution of Pakistan was reworded to "The state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali."
After 19 years of that incident Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.
To mark the language movement, a symbolic sculpture, Shaheed Minar (Martyrs' Monument), was erected in the place of the massacre. On 21 February, the area in front of the sculpture is covered in flowers, left as a commemoration of those who gave their lives in defense of our language and culture. According to a unanimous decision of the UNESCO in 1999, this day is now the International Mother Language Day. This declaration has turned a national celebration into an international event. The day left a great influence on the whole nation as well as the whole world. In fact, language movement influenced the entire nation.  The sacrifices of all the martyrs for championing the cause of their mother tongue received international recognition. We will always remain proud of our language martyrs.

 

Remembering language martyrs

In the worlds history, no other nation has had to struggle so much, shed so much blood, to be able to establish their right to speak their mother tongue

Ekushey February is not only a day to remember the sacrifices of the martyrs of the language movement by offering wreaths at Shaheed Minars as many people do. We rather need to understand why our heroic sons had sacrificed their lives. Their supreme sacrifice for the cause of their mother tongue had planted the seeds of freedom in the hearts of the Bengali, leading to our glorious Liberation War and a free country. In the worlds history, no other nation has had to struggle so much, shed so much blood, to be able to hang onto their right to speak their mother tongue. Language is an important aspect of culture as it communicates and preserves heritage, ideas, and identity. From the early days of Pakistan, there arose significant problems for the Bengalis. Although the majority of Pakistans inhabitants lived in the eastern province, representation and funding was not fairly distributed. Culturally too, there were rifts. Apart from a common religion, Islam, those in the west and east had nothing in common. Their language and cultural heritage were distinct- the majority in East Pakistan spoke Bangla, mother tongue of roughly 55 per cent of Pakistanis, at the time. On this day in 1952, the brave sons of our land laid down their lives to protect the dignity of our mother tongue. As a result of their sacrifice, Bangla was recognized as the second official language of Pakistan on 29 February, 1956, and the constitution of Pakistan was reworded to The state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali. After 19 years of that incident Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. To mark the language movement, a symbolic sculpture, Shaheed Minar (Martyrs Monument), was erected in the place of the massacre. On 21 February, the area in front of the sculpture is covered in flowers, left as a commemoration of those who gave their lives in defense of our language and culture. According to a unanimous decision of the UNESCO in 1999, this day is now the International Mother Language Day. This declaration has turned a national celebration into an international event. The day left a great influence on the whole nation as well as the whole world. In fact, language movement influenced the entire nation. The sacrifices of all the martyrs for championing the cause of their mother tongue received international recognition. We will always remain proud of our language martyrs.