Amar Ekushey observed

The indebted nation observed Amar Ekushey and International Mother Language Day in a befitting manner across the country on Friday paying rich homage to the martyrs who had made the supreme sacrifice for their mother tongue in 1952.President Abdul Hamid led the nation in paying tributes to the language movement heroes, marking the historic day. As the clock struck one minute-past zero hours, the President placed wreaths at the altar of the Central Shaheed Minar followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After placing the wreaths, they stood there in solemn silence for a while as a mark of respect to the Language Movement martyrs who laid down their lives to protect Bangla on this day in 1952. Later, Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Awami League, along with her cabinet and party colleagues placed wreaths on behalf of the ruling party. BNP Chairperson Khaleda, along with her party’s senior leaders paid homage to the martyrs of 1952 through placing floral wreaths at the altar of the Central Shaheed Minar around 1:03 am. Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, senior leaders of the 14-party, led by AL Presidium member Mohammad Nasim, opposition leader Rowshan Ershad and foreign envoys also placed wreaths at the Shaheed Minar. Different political parties and their front bodies, various socio-cultural organisations and people from all walks of life thronged the Shaheed Minar to pay homage to the Language Movement martyrs. Walking barefoot to the Central Shaheed Minar with wreaths and flowers singing ‘Amar bhaiyer rokte rangano Ekushey February’, people paid their deep respects to the heroes of the Language Movement, who sacrificed their lives for the recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages of erstwhile Pakistan. Law enforcement agencies took an all-out security measures in and round the Central Shaheed Minar to ensure smooth observance of the Amar Ekushey. Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life also crowded Shaheed Minars and placed wreaths in the capital and elsewhere in the country singing the Ekushey anthem. The day was a public holiday. The national flag was hoisted at half-mast atop government, autonomous and private buildings. BTV, Bangladesh Betar and private TV channels aired special programmes while newspapers brought out special supplements highlighting the significance of the day. The day was also observed at different foreign missions abroad with due respect. 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 sole 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. The Pakistan government was ultimately compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on February 29 in 1956 that declared ‘the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali’. The protest sparked on February 21 in 1952 progressed into the long-drawn struggle that eventually led to the birth of independent Bangladesh in 1971. On November 17 in 1999, Unesco declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day. Since then, countries across the globe observe the day to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, and raise awareness about cultural traditions based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in separate messages greeted the nation on the occasion. – UNB, Dhaka.