Language Movement
Nation pays tribute to Language Movement, as world observes Mother Language Day
The nation is paying deep respects to the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement, marking 'Amar Ekushey', the Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day.
The great Language Movement, a significant event in the nation’s history, was aimed at establishing the right of the mother tongue as well as protecting self-entity, and culture and heritage.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tribute to the martyrs of the Language Movement marking ‘Amar Ekushey’ -- the International Mother Language Day and Shaheed Dibosh.
On behalf of the President Abdul Hamid, his Military Secretary Major General SM Salahuddin Islam paid the homage by placing a wreath at the Central Shaheed Minar at one minute past midnight.
On behalf of the Prime Minister, her Military Secretary Major General Naquib Ahmed Chowdhury paid the homage by placing a wreath at the Central Shahid Minar in Dhaka at one minute past midnight.
Walking barefoot to the Central Shaheed Minar with wreaths and flowers singing 'Amar bhaiyer rakte rangano Ekushey February', people from all walks of life are paying rich tributes to the heroes of the Language Movement who laid down their lives for achieving the recognition of Bangla as the state language of erstwhile Pakistan.
On February 21, 1952, students and the common people in Dhaka took to the streets in protest against the then Pakistani government's denial of Bangla as the national language and imposition of Urdu as the only official language of Pakistan.
Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil were killed in police firings on this day in 1952 when students came out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus breaching section 144 to press home their demand for the recognition of Bangla as a state language of then Pakistan.
Being a source of ceaseless inspiration, ‘Amar Ekushey’ inspired and encouraged the nation to a great extent to achieve the right to self-determination and struggle for freedom and the Liberation War.
Nagad, TBS unveil joint publication to pay tribute to 19 language heroes
To commemorate 70 years of the Language Movement, Nagad and The Business Standard (TBS) unveiled a special publication Sunday to pay tribute to 19 language heroes of 1952 from Chattogram.
The cover of the publication "Chattogram in Language Movement" was revealed in the capital Sunday ahead of Shaheed Dibash (Martyrs' Day) and International Mother Language Day Monday.
Chattogram in Language Movement features untold tales of 19 veteran language heroes from the region, who actively participated in the Language Movement to achieve the recognition of Bangla as the state language of then Pakistan.
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The heroes are Shaheed Saber, Maulana Ahmedur Rahman Azmee, AKM Emdadul Islam, Krishna Gopal Sen, Abdus Salam, AKM Rafique Ullah Chowdhury, Abdullah Al Harun, Kobial Ramesh Shil, MA Aziz, Abul Kalam Azad, Chemon Ara, Mohammad Solaiman, Binod Behari, Prothiba Mutsuddi, Shawkat Osman, Mahbub Ul Alam Chowdhury, Zahur Ahmad Chowdhury, Prof Abdul Fazal and Sayadul Haque.
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhoury Nowfel was present at the event as the chief guest. Nasiruddin Yousuff Bacchu, freedom fighter and Ekushey Padak winning thespian, and Barrister Biplab Barua, special assistant to the prime minister, were present as special guests.
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Tanvir A Mishuk, managing director of Nagad, also attended the event.
The joint publication will be circulated across the country along with TBS' daily newspaper Monday.
Nation to pay heartfelt tributes to language martyrs Monday
As the air fills with the sadness of the song "Amar Bhaiyer Rakte Rangano Ekushey February," the nation will pay deep respects to the martyrs of the Language Movement Monday, marking "Amar Ekushey," Shaheed Dibash (Martyrs' Day) and International Mother Language Day.
Seventy years ago, the Language Movement was aimed at establishing the right of the mother tongue as well as protecting self-identity, culture and heritage.
It inspired the nation to a great extent to achieve the right to self-determination and struggle for freedom and the Liberation War.
With wreaths and flowers, people from all walks of life will pay tributes to the heroes of the Language Movement of 1952, who laid down their lives for achieving the recognition of Bangla as the state language of then Pakistan, at the Central Shaheed Minar.
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My alphabet earned with blood, says Joy paying tribute to language martyrs
Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the historic language movement, Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy has paid tribute to the language movement heroes who sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue on February 21, 1952.
In a Facebook post from his verified account, he wrote, "21st means not bowing down. A heartfelt tribute to all the martyrs of February, the month of language."
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The post accompanied a picture of Shaheed Minar, the national monument commemorating the supreme sacrifice of the language heroes, with a text on it saying, "My alphabet earned with blood".
Powerful poems stronger tools to motivate people: PM
Recalling the significant contributions of cultural activities to every national struggle since the Language Movement, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said powerful poems are stronger tools to motivate people as those reach their hearts.
“Many untold words are expressed through poems. It shows the paths in many struggles,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing Bangabandhu National Recitation Festival 2020-22 and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib National Recitation Medal 2020-22 Conferring Ceremony.
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She inaugurated the festival, joining the programme held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy here virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
Hasina said a poem can motivate people much more than what the words of a politician can do. “It reaches the hearts of people through poems, songs, dramas and cultural practices in a greater way.”
She said the nation witnessed the first blow to its culture and language soon after the emergence of Pakistan and so the struggle for making Bangla as a state language started in 1948.
Mentioning the leading role of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the Language Movement, she said the great leader, who was then a law student of Dhaka University, protested the attacks on Bangla, formed Chhatra League and Bhasa Songram Parishad taking student leaders and Tamaddun Majlish, and called for the movement.
She said Bangabandhu with many others was jailed during the 11th March strike in 1948.
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Citing the verses ---“The struggle this time is a struggle for emancipation, the struggle this time is a struggle for independence”—of Bangabandhu’s 7th March Speech, she said the historic speech is a timeless poem (Omor Kabita).
“Attacks had come down time and again, but Bengali did not sit idle rather protested every time,” said Sheikh Hasina.
She said the language of protest had come out through poems when no political activity could be done after the August 15, 1975 assassination. People were motivated, she said.
Looking back at Zahir Raihan, the legend
Thursday marks the 86th birth anniversary of the legendary filmmaker and freedom fighter Zahir Raihan, best remembered for capturing the 1971 Liberation War on celluloid.
Born as Mohammad Zahirullah on August 19, 1935, in Majupur village of the then Feni mahakuma in Noakhali district, Raihan initially studied at Calcutta Alia Madrasah in India, where his father was a professor.
After the Partition of India in 1947, his family moved back to his ancestral village in Feni. Three years later, he successfully completed matriculation from Amirabad High School. And that year only, he started working as a journalist for Juger Alo.
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Although he joined medical college after completing his intermediate examination from Dhaka College in 1953, Raihan eventually dropped out. However, he later obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Bangla from Dhaka University in 1958.
After Juger Alo, he had worked with many other newspapers, namely Khapchhara, Jantrik, and Cinema. He also served as the editor of Probaho in 1956. His first collection of short stories ‘Suryagrahan’ was published in 1955. He was also one of the publishers of English Weekly Express.
Raihan went back to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and joined Pramatesh Burua Memorial Photography School in 1952 to learn photography. His career in the film industry began with the film ‘Jago Huye Savera’ in 1957, where he worked as an assistant director.
As the assistant director, he had also worked with director Salahuddin in the film ‘Je Nodi Morupothay’ and Ehtesham in ‘Ei Desh Tomar Amar’. His first directorial venture ‘Kokhono Asheni’ was released in 1961.
After that, Raihan successfully launched two of his revolutionary attempts as a director in 1964 by making the movie ‘Sangam’, Pakistan’s first-ever coloured film, and ‘Bahana’, Pakistan’s first cinemascope Urdu film.
He was gradually becoming more and more successful during that time as a director with back-to-back hits such as ‘Sonar Kajol’ (1962, jointly directed with Kolim Sharafi), ‘Kancher Deyal’ (1963), ‘Behula’ (1966), ‘Anowara’ (1966) and ‘Agun Niye Khela’ (1967).
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Through his movies, he had launched several prominent artistes, most notably Nayak Raj Razzak and Babita, and worked frequently with prominent actor-directors Amzad Hossain and Khan Ataur Rahman.
As the nation's political situation was getting chaotic more than ever during the time, Raihan was continuously feeling the zeal to break every shackle imposed by then Pakistani rulers. He actively participated in the 1952 Language Movement and 1969’s Mass Uprising.
At that time, Raihan felt the urgency of making a film based on both of these remarkable movements, and thus made his legendary film ‘Jeebon Theke Neya’ in 1970, considered an example of ‘National Cinema’, using discrete local traditions to build a representation of the Bangladeshi national identity. The classic is considered a milestone in Bangladeshi cinema.
During the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, Raihan began creating English documentary films on the subject, including ‘Let There Be Light’, which he could not finish because of the break out of the war. After the historic 25th March of 1971, he went to Calcutta and made his acclaimed documentary ‘Stop Genocide’, highlighting the massacre orchestrated by the Pakistani Army.
There he also showed his film ‘Jeebon Theke Neya’, which was highly acclaimed by legendary filmmakers, including Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and Tapan Sinha. Despite his financial hardships at the time, he donated all the proceeds from the Calcutta event to the Freedom Fighters Trust.
In his short-spanned career as a writer, Raihan was successful in narrating some of the most prolific and true-to-life stories ever published in Bangladeshi literature, through his books -- Shesh Bikeler Meye, Arek Phalgun, Trishna, Borof Gola Nodi and most notably, Hajar Bochhor Dhore.
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Raihan had been married twice, to Sumita Devi in 1961 and Shuchonda in 1968, both popular film actresses. With Sumita, he had two sons named Bipul Raihan and Anol Raihan. With Shuchonda, he also had two sons named Opu Raihan and Topu Raihan.
On January 30, 1972, Raihan went missing while attempting to locate his brother, Shahidullah Kaiser, a well-known writer who was abducted and killed by the Pakistani Army and its local collaborators. Raihan is believed to have been killed by armed Bihari collaborators and the Pakistani Army hiding who had opened fire on them while they were travelling towards Mirpur in Dhaka.
For his excellence in filmmaking as a valiant patriot, Raihan was posthumously awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award (1972), Ekushey Padak (1977), Independence Day Award (1992) and Bangladesh National Film Awards (2005).
Language movement veteran Abul Hossain no more
Language Movement veteran Abul Hossain died on Wednesday afternoon. He was 87.
Abul Hossain was brought to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) at 4 pm, where doctor declared him dead, RMCH Director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani said.
Dr Bellal Uddin of RMCH quoting Abul Hossain’s family members said Abul Hossain was suffering from breathing complications and chest pain along with old age complications.
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He took the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on February 9, the doctor said.
Abul Hossain left behind two sons, one daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
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Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and Rajshahi MP Fazle Hossain Badsha expressed deep shock at the death of Abul Hossain.
They prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and conveyed their profound sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Language Movement hero Yusuf Kalu passes away
Language Movement veteran and journalist Yusuf Kalu passed away at a hospital in Barishal on Monday due to old age complications. He was 91.
Yusuf Kalu, also a freedom fighter, breathed his last at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital around 5:45 PM, said his son Md Shohagh.
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Born on January 17, 1931 at Miabari in Razapur Kanudaskathi of Jhalakati district, Yusuf was the youngest son of his father Obaidul Karim (Raza Mia) and mother (Fatema Khatun).
He was a student of Barishal BM College. Until the death, he was active in works related to the history of Language Movement and Liberation War.
Yusuf became involved in the Language Movement in 1948 when he was a student of class VIII.
After passing Matriculation, he got admitted to IA at the Commerce Department of BM College and involved in Chhattra Union.
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He was also a member of the 25-member ‘Language Movement Council’.
In 1952, Yusuf joined the Chhatra League and later got involved with Awami League politics.
He started journalism in 1962 and joined ‘Daily Azad’ and ‘Daily Paigam’. Yusuf was also a general secretary of Barishal Press Club in 1962 to 1973.
Yusuf, a freedom fighter, received training at Hasnabad, Hingalgarh, Taki Headquarters on May 14, 1971.
After returning to the country, he fought with the Pakistan Army under Sector - 9 in Kaliganj and Satkhira bordering area.
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His house was looted during the Liberation War.
Senior Awami League leader Abul Hasanat Abdullah, MP in Barishal and Barishal City Corporation (BCC) Mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah expressed deep shock at the demise of the Language Movement hero Yusuf Kalu.
High Court wants to know about steps taken to secure Shaheed Minar
The High Court (HC) on Sunday inquired about the steps taken to implement the court’s more than 10-year old directive to ensure the sanctity of the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital.
Will deliver benefits of independence to all doors: PM Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said the struggle for freedom had started through the Language Movement while it completed its journey with the attainment of independence when the nation won its victory.