DHAKA, Feb 22, 2021 (BSS) – Prime Minister and Awami League (AL) President Sheikh
Hasina today said the Bangalee nation had achieved everything including social, financial, cultural and political rights through the Language Movement.
“Language Movement was not only the movement to establish the rights of language,
rather it was a movement to achieve everything as the Bangalee nation,” she said.
She said this while presiding over a discussion marking the Shaheed Dibas and
International Mother Language Day organized by the AL at its central office at
Bangabandhu Avenue, joining virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital.
The Prime Minister mentioned that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman delivered a speech on February 20 midnight in 1971 after placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar.
She quoted Bangabandhu as saying, “The 1952 movement was not only limited to the
Language Movement. This movement was for establishing the social, economical, cultural and political rights.”
The premier added that Bangabandhu had established a province as a complete state and gave Bangladesh a status of developed country only in three and a half years but he along with most of his family members were assassinated on August 15, 1975.
She continued: “We want to advance Bangladesh towards the development following the path of the Father of the Nation. We have already reached the stage to get the
recognition as a developed country.”
The Prime Minister said that they have been working to make every life beautiful as well as meaningful with building a “Sonar Bangla” free from hunger and poverty.
She went on saying, “We have been working keeping in mind that the people of
Bangladesh can be more rich in terms of education and culture.”
The Prime Minister said that her government has been working to provide houses to
every homeless and landless people alongside giving power connection to every home by December 16 this year marking celebration of the Mujib Borsho and the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister and AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader, MP, gave the welcome address while AL Publicity and Publication Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, MP, conducted the discussion at the Bangabandhu Avenue and Ganabhaban
respectively.
AL Presidium Members, Begum Matia Chowdhury, Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanak and
Abdur Rahman, Joint General Secretary and Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, MP, Religious Affairs Secretary Advocate Sirajul Mostofa, Women Affairs Secretary Meher Afroz Chumki, Education and Human Resources Development Secretary Samsunnahar Chapa, Cultural Affairs Secretary Asim Kumar Ukil, MP, Dhaka South City AL President Abu Ahmed Mannafi and Dhaka North City AL President Sheikh Bazlur Rahman, participated in the discussion.
Sheikh Hasina called upon all to take the COVID-19 vaccine and maintain
health safety guidelines, wearing facemasks and washing hands, to remain
protected from the virus as the effectiveness of the vaccine is still under
research.
“We are vaccinating the people. But everyone has to follow the health
guidelines properly to remain protected as how much the COVID-19
vaccine is effective is at the stage of research,” she said.
The Prime Minister said that her government has been able to collect the
COVID-19 vaccine due to effective measures taken in advance, adding that
many countries are yet to collect the vaccine.
Sheikh Hasina, also President of the AL urged its party leaders and
activists to read the already published seven volumes of the Pakistani
intelligence branch reports against the Father of the Nation to know the
real facts about the Language Movement.
The Prime Minister said that Bangla was established as the state language
in the constitution formulated by the Awami League government in 1956.
“The AL did everything relating to establishing the Central Shaheed Minar
and announcing February 21 as the Shaheed Dibas in 1956,” she
continued.
As Banglaee is the only nation which shed bloods for establishing the
rights of their mother tongue, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh has a
responsibility to preserve all mother tongues across the globe.
In this connection, she said that her government has established the
International Mother Language Institute and a Language Museum in the
institute to pursue the responsibility.