Roundup: Bangladeshis pay tribute to their martyred language heroes

Bangladesh observed International Mother Language Day on Sunday, paying tribute to their language movement martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this day in 1952 to promote Bangla as a state language of the then East Pakistan.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the language martyrs by laying wreaths at the altar of the Central Shaheed Minar, a solemn and iconic monument in the city, one minute after zero hour Saturday marking the language martyrs' day, February 21, which is now also being observed across the world as International Mother Language Day.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared on Nov. 17, 1999 February 21 as International Mother Language Day. Since then the date has been observed throughout the world every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952 when a number of people, including varsity students, were killed in a police firing in Dhaka during a Bengali language movement protests.

Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar, Safiur and other brave sons of now Bangladesh sacrificed their lives on that day in 1952 as they marched in the streets calling for the use of Bangla as the official language of the then East Pakistan.

Tens of thousands of people from all strata of society, barefooted and wearing black badges, thronged to the Central Shaheed Minar to lay wreaths and bouquets of flowers to show their deep respect to the sons of Bangladesh.

Women wore black and white sharees in their own traditional style while men wore Panjabi and Payjama, long white tunic-like shirt worn over close-fitting or baggy white pants as they gathered at the central monument here to pay tribute to the country's martyred language heroes.

The whole area surrounding the Shaheed Minar has been decorated with festoons and banners. Walls and roads have been painted with Bangla alphabets.

Like in previous years, the walls on the Dhaka University campus in front of the Shaheed Minar have been inscribed with quotations from Bangla literature befitting the occasion, and poets were heard reciting poems as they sat on street islands.

Members of civic organizations also joined the commemorations by placing fresh flower wreaths at the monument. The wreaths were shaped like the Bangladesh national flag.

A very sad and touching song, Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano (My Brothers Blood Spattered), was to be played repeatedly in electronic media and cultural gatherings throughout the month as part of the commemoration activities.

Bangladesh people, not just in the capital city but also elsewhere in the country, which became independent in 1971, also placed floral wreaths at thousands of monuments across the country.

A four-layer security was in place in and around the Central Shaheed Minar to avoid any unwanted situation. A total of 8,000 law enforcers in uniforms and 1,000 in plainclothes were deployed when CCTV cameras were installed in places.

The day is a public holiday. The national flag was hoisted at half-mast in all educational institutions and government, semi-government and autonomous offices in respect for the language martyrs. Endit