Written by Shahana Akter Munia
Source: Oxford learners Communicative English
There are many important and remarkable events, years and dates in the history of Bangladesh. The 21st February is one of those. It is a very significant moment for the Bangladeshis. In 1948 the rulers of Pakistan declared the language “Urdu” to be only state language, but the people of East Pakistan didn’t agree with this declaration. Cause their mother tongue was Bengali. They raised their voice and protested against the declaration. So the movement for making Bengali as a state language spread all over the country. All the people of Bangladesh particularly the students’ communities were firmly determined to carry on the struggle until the Pak Government yielded to their demand. The students declared the 21st February in 1952 as the “Language Day”. The situation became tensed. The government imposed section 144 and banned all meetings and processions. But the students defied the order and brought out processions. The Pak Armi shot at the processing indiscriminately. As a result, many brave sons of Bengal like Rafiq, Shafiq, Salam, Barkat and Jabbar died. But the Bengalese did not step back. Rather movement was forced to recognize Bengali as one of the two state languages. This is why; the 21st February is a “Red Letter Day” in our national history. It is certainly a glorious achievement that the immortal 21st February of the Bengalese is now being observed world wide as the “International Mother Language Day”. We have got a supreme respect from all over the world for our mother tongue. So we are very much proud because of this immortal language.
