Who is the first martyr of Language Movement? Mother Tongue or Mother Language is the only asset that you own from your birth. That’s the language in which you can speak fluently and proudly. If anyone takes away your mother tongue from you then can you think of the consequence? You will suffocate from not speaking your language. But do you know that people were martyred for their mother language? It is celebrated each year on the twenty-first of February to commemorate those martyrs.
History
After the partition of India in 1947, the eastern part of Pakistan declared Urdu as their official language. The Central Education Minister Fazlur Rahman’s extensive preparations made the Pakistan Public Service Commission eradicate Bengali from any list of subjects. Under the leadership of Abul Kashem a rally of students from Dhaka protested against this and thus formed the Bengali Islamic Cultural Organization. On twenty-first February of 1952, the protest broke out in defiance of section 144 of the penal code. Due to the protest on the seventh may of 1954 Bengali was appointed as the official second language of Pakistan.
Independence and Commemoration
Due to the actions of Ayub Khan reinstating Urdu as the Official Language led to the actions and ignited the Bangladeshi Liberation War. To commemorate the movement, A monumental structure of Shaheed Minar was built and still today the people visit the Shaheed Minar to pay tribute to the unsung heroes. It is celebrated as a national holiday in Bangladesh and to a lesser extent on Martyr’s Day. UNESCO declared this date as the International Mother Language Day. The day is celebrated by reciting poems and singing songs while singing the national anthem of Bangladesh. The day is remarkable to show that if you try to take away the mother tongue then you’ll face heavy opposition and even people can give their lives for it. Mother tongue day will be remembered forever in the memory of the martyrs.