DHAKA, Feb 20, 2022 (BSS) - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today
extended her sincere greetings to the people of all languages and
cultures of the world, including Bangla, marking the great Martyrs'
Day and International Mother Language Day 2022.

   "...With Bangladesh, UNESCO has been celebrating this day with due
dignity since 2000. This year's theme of the day - 'Using Technology
for Multilingual Learning: Challenges and Opportunities: Crisis and
Prospects' - which I think is very befitting; because the Awami League
government has been working for a long time to implement an equitable
and inclusive education policy through the use of digital technology,"
the premier said in her message on the eve of the day.

   She said the importance of the language movement in the history of
the Bangali's liberation struggle is immense.

   The foundation for a non-communal, democratic, language-based state
system was laid through this movement, she said, adding that on this
day in 1952, Abul Barkat, Abdul Jabbar, Abdus Salam, Rafiquddin Ahmad,
Shafiur Rahman and many others sacrificed their lives to protect the
dignity of the country's mother language Bangla.

   "I pay my deep respect to the memory of the martyrs of all
languages, including Bangla; I remember with the deep tribute all the
language movement activists, including the greatest Bangali of all
time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose
supreme sacrifices and struggles elevated the esteem of our mother,
land and people," she added.

   The glorious history of the language movement of the Bangali from
1947 to 1952 serves as a source of inspiration in people's national
life from time and again, she said.

  The Father of the Nation was repeatedly imprisoned for leading the
language movement, she said, adding that at the Education Conference
held in Karachi on 27 November 1947, Urdu was decided to be the state
language of Pakistan.

  When the news reached Dhaka, the students of Dhaka University
immediately protested in front of Khawaja Nazimuddin's residence, she
said, adding that shortly afterward, Sheikh Mujib, a law student of
Dhaka University, used his organizational experience to play a vital
role in establishing the Chhatra League in Dhaka on 4 January, 1948.

   In the first session of the Constituent Assembly on 23 February,
Dhirendra Nath Datta of Comilla moved an amendment proposal demanding
the inclusion of Bangla as the language of the Assembly, she said.

  Rejecting the proposal, Khawaja Nazimuddin declared in the
Legislative Assembly that the people of East Bengal would accept Urdu
as the state language, she added.

   But to counter the reckless decision of Nazimuddin, an all-party
Chhatra Sangram Parishad was formed on 2 March at Fazlul Haque Hall of
Dhaka University comprising Chhatra League, Tamaddun Majlish and other
parties, she said, adding that many language movement activists,
including Sheikh Mujib, were arrested in front of the Secretariat for
leading the strike on 11 March and were released on 15 March.

   The day after their release, on 16 March, the students again
besieged the provincial council building under the leadership of
Sheikh Mujib and police baton charges injured many, she continued.

   She went on saying that on 21 March, Jinnah spoke out boastfully in
favor of Urdu at the Dhaka Racecourse Ground.

  While declaring Urdu as the state language of Pakistan at the
students' convocation on 24 March at Curzon Hall, the students
immediately protested, she added.

The premier added that to transform the language movement into a
national campaign, Sheikh Mujib organized a nationwide tour plan and
participated in an extensive campaign and addressed in rallies.

   He was arrested from Faridpur on 11 September, 1948 and released on
21 January, 1949, she said, adding that he was arrested again on 19
April and released in July.

  "He was then arrested on 14 October, 1949 and released on 27
February 1952. Sheikh Mujib had been in touch with language movement
activists and Chhatra League leaders from 1 January 1950, while in
Dhaka Central Jail and had given various suggestions to add momentum
to the movement," she said.

  He sent memos to the three messengers on 3 February, 1952 to call
for a nationwide strike on 21 February and march around the Executive
Council meeting venue, she said, adding: "That announcement was made
after the students' procession on 4 February. When Sheikh Mujib
started a hunger strike at this stage, on 16 February, the jail
authorities transferred him from Dhaka to Faridpur Jail."

   Hasina said that the budget session of the East Bengal Executive
Council was scheduled for 21 February, 1952. Following the advice and
instructions of Sheikh Mujib, a general strike was called all over the
country on that day, she added.

  To handle the situation, the Muslim League government had imposed
Section 144 for one month in Dhaka city from 20 February and banned
all kinds of meetings, rallies, processions etc, she said, adding that
students gathered at Dhaka University violating Section 144, and the
police started firing bullets indiscriminately; some lost their lives
in the blink of an eye, many were injured, and many were arrested.

   She further said several members of the provincial council walked
out of the session room and the next day, on 22 February, a
spontaneous strike was observed in Dhaka.

  She said the Government helplessly called the army, imposed curfew,
and passed the Bangla language resolution in the provincial assembly.

  On 8 March, 1954, the Awami League-led United Front won the election
with the boat symbol, she said, adding that Awami League members
started pressing to make Bangla the state language.

   Meanwhile, on 30 May, the Governor of Pakistan dissolved the United
Front cabinet by issuing Section 92(a), she added.

   All the leaders, including Sheikh Mujib, were arrested, she said,
adding that in 1956, the Awami League reconstituted the cabinet, gave
Bangla the status of the state language, declared 21 February as
Martyr's Day and a public holiday.

   "That Government took the first projects to construct the Martyrs
Monument, publish literary and science books from the Bangla Academy
and invent Bangla typewriters. Unfortunately, with the military take
over on 7 October, 1958, those aspirations were no longer fulfilled,"
she continued.

  "In independent Bangladesh, the Father of the Nation directed the
use of Bangla in all official activities. He included Bangla as the
state language in the constitution. He delivered a speech at the
United Nation's 29th General Assembly in Bangla and placed our mother
language dignified in the world assembly," the premier said.

  "During the 1996-2001 term of our Government, Rafiq and Salam, two
Bangladeshi expatriates from Canada, along with some members of the
international community, formed the 'Mother Language Preservation
Committee.' They sent a proposal to the United Nations to celebrate
International Mother Language Day on 21 February," she added.

  She further said that the UN suggested sending the proposal to
UNESCO on behalf of the state.

   "We contacted the Committee for preservation of the Mother Language
and forwarded the proposal to UNESCO on 9 October, 1999 on behalf of
our Government again," she continued.

  "As a result, on 17 November, 1999, UNESCO recognized 21 February as
'International Mother Language Day.' We have established the
International Mother Language Institute. We have taken initiatives to
preserve endangered languages and protect their dignity. We have
ensured the use of the Bangla language in the ICT. In order to protect
the language and alphabet of ethnic groups from extinction, we have
introduced textbooks in their language since 2017," she said.

   This year, the government has distributed about 33,000 books in
their own language and it is continuing its efforts to get Bangla
recognized as the official language of the UN, she said.

  Hasina said Bengali nationalism was established through the extreme
self-sacrifice of the brave sons of this soil in the language
movement.

  Following the ideals of the greatest Bengali of all times, Father of
the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest hero from
the establishment of this nationalism to establishing an independent
sovereign state for the people of East Bengal, the government has made
tremendous progress in every field of the socio-economic sector during
last 13 years, she added.

  "We have made Bangladesh a role model for development in the world,"
she continued.

   "We recently received the SDG Progress Award. We celebrated the
Golden Jubilee of independence and celebrating the Mujib Year. We have
started implementing the second perspective plan to achieve
Vision-2041. We are also implementing Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100," she
said.

  The premier expressed her firm optimism over establishing the
developed, prosperous and self-esteemed 'Golden Bangladesh' as dreamed
by Father of the Nation.