A Brief History of the Bangla Language Movement
Mohammad Bari
A Brief History of the Bangla Language Movement
1st Wave:
September 15, 1947: Tamuddun Majlis (Cultural Society,
an organization by scholars, writers and journalists
oriented towards Islamic ideology) in a booklet titled
“State Language of Pakistan – Bengali or Urdu?”
demands Bengali as one of the state language of Pakistan.
“The Secretary of the Majlis, at that time a Professor
of Physics in Dhaka University, [Abul Kashem] was the
first person to convene a literary meeting to discuss the
State Language issue in the Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, a
student residence of Dhaka University. Supporters and
sympathizers soon afterwards formed a political party –
the Khilafate-Rabbani Party with Abul Hasim as the
Chairman.” – Talukder Maniruzzaman
November 1947: In Karachi, the representatives of East
Bengal attending the Pakistan Educational Conference,
called by the Minister of Education Fazlur Rahman, a
Bengali, oppose Urdu as the only national language.
February 23, 1948: Direndra Nath Dutta, a Bengali
opposition member, moves a resolution in the first session
of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly for recognizing Bengali
as a state language along with Urdu and English.
The resolution "... was opposed by Liakat Ali, the Prime
Minister of Pakistan and other non-Bengali members in the
Assembly. Regrettably, this was opposed by Khawaja
Nazimuddin - hailing from the eastern wing - and a few
other Bengali collaborators of the West Pakistanis in the
Assembly. Later, D. N. Dutta came up with a few
amendments to the original resolution, and everytime these
were opposed by the west Pakistanis and their Bengali
stooges. The West Pakistanis were uncompromising to
such a genuine demand of the majority Bengalis." - Rafiqul
Islam
"The demand for Bengali as one of the state language
gathered the spontaneous support of the Bengali Civil
Servants, academics, students, and various groups of
middle class. Several members of the Provincial
Assembly, including some ministers, were reportedly
active in supporting the movement. By the end of
February 1948, the controversy had spilled over on the
streets. The East Pakistan Student League, founded in
the first week of January by Mujibur Rahman, was in
the forefront of the agitation." - Hasan Zaheer
March 1st wk. 1948: A Committee of Action of the
students of Dhaka University, representing all shades
of opinion - leftists, rightists, and centrists - is set up
with the objective of achieving national status of Bengali.
March 11, 1948: Students demonstrating for Bangla as
state language is baton-charged and a large number of
students are arrested in Dhaka.
" The situation grew worse in the days that followed.
The Quaid-i-Azam was due to visit Dhaka from 19
March. The provincial government became nervous
and Nazimuddin under pressure of widespread agitation,
the impending visit of the Governor-General, ..., sought
the help of Muhammad Ali Bogra to enter into
negotiations with the Committee of Action. An agreement
was signed by Nazimuddin with the Committee which,
inter alia, provided that (1) the Provincial Assembly shall
adopt a resolution for making Bengali the official language
of East Pakistan and the medium of instruction at all stages
of education; and (2) the Assembly by another resolution
would recommend to the central government that Bengali
should be made one of the state languages." - Hasan
Zaheer
March 21, 1948: Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of
Pakistan and its first Governor-General, while on a visit
to East Bengal, declares in Dhaka University convocation
that while the language of the province can be Bengali,
the "State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and
no other language. Any one who tries to mislead you is
really an enemy of Pakistan."
"The remark evoked an angry protest from the Bengali
youth who took it as an affront: their language Bangla
(Bengali) was, after all, spoken by fifty-four percent of
the population of Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, then
a university student, was among those who raised the
protest slogan and was placed under detention. The
Dacca University campus became the focal point for
student meetings in support of the Bangla language."
-Siddiq Salik
Jinnah meets the student representatives of Committee
of Action to persuade them of the necessity of having
one national language, but the students are not convinced.
"The discussion of Jinnah with the student representatives
could not bear any fruit but blurred the difference between
the student group led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his
associates and the student group led by Shah Azizur Rahman.
The National leadership resorted to repressive policies in
order to crush the Bengali language and put its supporters
behind bars." - Md. Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan
2nd Wave:
January 26, 1952: The Basic Principles Committee of the
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan announces its
recommendation that Urdu should be the only state
language.
In a public meting at Paltan Maidan, Dhaka, Prime
Minister Nazimuddin declares that Urdu alone will be
the state language of Pakistan.
Both the developments spark off the second wave of
language agitation in East Bengal.
January 28, 1952: The students of Dhaka University
in a protest meeting call the Prime Minister and the
Provincial Ministers as stooges of West Pakistan.
January 30, 1952: In a secret meeting called by the
Awami League, which is attended by a number of
communist front as well as other organizations, it is
agreed that the language agitation can not be
successfully carried by the students alone. To
mobilize full political and student support, it is decided
that the leadership of the movement should be assumed
by the Awami League under Bhashani.
January 31, 1952: Bhashani presides over an all-party
convention in Dhaka. The convention is attended by
prominent leaders like Abul Hashim and Hamidul Haq
Choudhury. A broad-based All-Party Committee of
Action (APCA) is constituted with Kazi Golam
Mahboob as Convener and Maulana Bhashani as
Chairman, and with two representatives from the
Awami League, Students League, Youth League,
Khilafate-Rabbani Party, and the Dhaka University
State Language Committee of Action.
February 3, 1952: Committee of Action holds a protest
meeting in Dhaka against the move 'to dominate the
majority province of East Bengal linguistically and
culturally'. The provincial chief of Awami League,
Maulana Bhashani addresses the meeting. On the
suggestion of Abul Hashim it decides to hold a general
strike on 21 February, when the East Bengal Assembly
is due to meet for its budget session.
February 20, 1952: At 6 p.m. an order under Section
144 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibiting
processions and meetings in Dhaka City is promulgated.
This order generated tension and resentment among the
students.
February 21, 1952: A general strike is observed.
Noon: A meeting is held in the campus of Dhaka University.
Students decide to defy the official ban imposed by Nurul
Amin's administration and processions are taken out to stage
a demonstration in front of the Provincial Assembly. Police
starts lobbing tear gas shells to the students. Students retaliate
by batting bricks. The ensuing riot spreads to the nearby
campuses of the Medical and Engineering colleges.
4 p.m.: The police opens fire in front of the Medical College
hostel. Five persons - Mohammad Salauddin, Abdul Jabbar,
Abul Barkat, Rafiquddin Ahmed and Abdus Salam - are killed,
the first three are students of Dhaka University.
"The news of the killing spread like wildfire throughout the
city and people rushed in thousands towards the Medical
College premises." - Talukder Maniruzzaman
Inside the assembly, six opposition members press for the
adjournment of the House and demand an inquiry into the
incidents. But Chief Minister Nurul Amin urges the House
to proceed with the planned agenda for the day. At this
point all the opposition members of the Assembly walk
out in protest.
February 22, 1952: Thousands of men and women throng
the university, Medical College and Engineering College
areas to offer prayers for the victims of the police firing.
After prayers when they go for a procession, the police
opens fire.
The police also fire on angry mob who burned the offices
of a pro-government newspaper. Four persons are killed.
As the situation deteriorates, the government calls in the
military to bring things under control.
Bowing to the pressure, the Chief Minister Nurul Amin
moves a motion recommending to the Constituent
Assembly that Bengali should be one of the state language
of Pakistan. The motion is passed unanimously.
"For the first time a number of Muslim members voted
in favour of the amendments moved by the opposition,
which so far had consisted of the Hindu Congress
members only. The split in the Muslim League became
formalized when some members demanded a separate
bloc from the Speaker; the Awami (Muslim) League
had attained the status of an opposition parliamentary
party." - Hasan Zaheer
February 23, 1952: A complete general strike is
spontaneously observed, despite the resolution by the
Provincial Assembly. The government again responds
with repressive measures.
APCA decides to observe a general strike on February
25 to protest the government's actions.
The students of Medical College erect overnight a
Shahid Minar (Martyr's Memorial) at the place where
Barkat was shot to commemorate the supreme sacrifices
of the students and general population. Shahid Minar later
became the rallying symbol for the Bengalis.
February 24, 1952: The government gives full authority
to the police and military to bring the situation in Dhaka
back to normal within 48 hours.
"During these 48 hours the police arrested almost all the
student and political leaders associated with the language
movement." - Talukder Muniruzzaman
February 25, 1952: The Dhaka University is closed sine die.
"In the face of these repressive measures, the movement
lost its momentum in Dhaka. But it spread widely
throughout the districts ... In addition to demands for
recognition of Bengali as one of state languages of
Pakistan, students now began to call for the resignation
of the 'bloody' Nurul Amin cabinet ... Nurul Amin claimed
that the government "had saved the province from disaster
and chaos" by its repressive measures. The students,
however, argued that they had already "written the success
story of the movement on the streets with their blood."
In retrospect, whatever the merits of government and
student actions, it is clear that the movement did sow the
seeds of a secular-linguistic Bengali nationalism in east
Bengal. Its immediate impact was to prepare the ground
for the complete routing of the Muslim League in the 1954
elections by a United Front of opposition political parties,
on a nationalistic planck of cultural, political and economic
autonomy for East Bengal." - Talukder Maniruzzaman
"The Language Movement added a new dimension to
politics in Pakistan. It left deep impression on the minds
of the younger generation of Bengalis and imbued them
with the spirit of Bengali nationalism. The passion of
Bengali nationalism which was aroused by the Language
Movement shall kindle in the hearts of the Bengalis
forever ... Perhaps very few people realised then that
with the bloodshed in 1952 the new-born state of Pakistan
had in fact started to bleed to death." - Rafiqul Islam
Results:
May 7, 1954: The Pakistan government recognizes
Bangla as a state language.
Feb 26, 1956: The Constituent Assembly passes the
first Constitution of Pakistan recognizing Bangla as a
State Language.
March 23, 1956: The first Constitution of Pakistan
comes into effect.
March 26, 1971: Bangladesh become an independent nation.
Sources:
1. Hasan Zaheer, “The Separation of East Pakistan -
The Rise and Realization of Bengali Muslim Nationalism”,
Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1994
2. Talukder Maniruzzaman, “The Bangladesh Revolution
and its Aftermath”, Bangladesh Books International Ltd.,
Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1980
3. Siddiq Salik, “Witness to Surrender”, Oxford University
Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 1977
4. Rafiqul Islam, “A Tale of Millions”, Ananna, Dhaka,
Bangladesh, 3rd edition, 1986
5. Md. Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan, “Emergence of Bangladesh
and Role of Awami League", Vikas Publishing House,
Delhi, India, 1982
Mohammad Bari
1998, All rights reserved.
Cyber_Bangladesh
Thanks for the article Mr. Mohammad Bari.
We need some more of these to keep all of us in check these days.
Cyber_Bangladesh
http://www.cyberbangladesh.org
HRUSA1
>Subject: A Brief History of the Bangla Language Movement
>From: Mohammad Bari <mb...@fastlane.net>
>Date: Sun, Mar 22, 1998 10:55 EST
>Message-id: <35153488...@fastlane.net>
view. I fully respect the sensitivity of my Bengalis brothers. However, I feel
that languages are a means of communication and should strike only limited
national passions . Urdu is widely spoken in the subcontinent , Middle East,
Afghanistan etc and is the lingua franca ( In India they cal lit Hindi). This
language too is just a tool for communication.
Bengalee , Urdu, Hindi and other dialects are regional languages in spite of
all the passionate attachment with them . These languages are fast fading into
background as English has become unavoidable and practically is the only
international language and also the state language (as in case of Bangladesh,
India and Pakistan). If Pakistanis , Bangaldeshis have to create any place
among advancing and progressive nations they have to spend less time on their
regional or national languages and pay more attention to promote English.
Some time I feel that Bangali brothers are too much obsessed with language
issue. I hope they will be better off if they expand their views to be more
inclusive. Bangladesh is very small piece of land with huge talented
population. They need more spcae and opening up will make more sense than
caught up into narrow nationalism. Nationalism is vitue among poor and backward
people. The advance nation don't theach that anymore.
May be I am utterly wrong. So please don't be angry with me.
Mutahir Kazmi
Pakistan Human Rights Watch
Abhijit Mitra
Mohammad Bari <mb...@fastlane.net> writes:
>Results: May 7, 1954: The Pakistan government recognizes Bangla as a state
>language.
Pardon my ignorance, but if the demand of having Bangla as a state language
was met by the Pakistanis eventually, why the need to be fully independent?
Mohammad Bari
Cyber_Bangladesh wrote:
Thank you for appreciating the article.
Best regards,
Mohammad Bari
Mohammad Bari
Abhijit Mitra wrote:
> Mohammad Bari <mb...@fastlane.net> writes:
>
> >Results: May 7, 1954: The Pakistan government recognizes Bangla as a state
> >language.
>
> Pardon my ignorance, but if the demand of having Bangla as a state language
> was met by the Pakistanis eventually, why the need to be fully independent?
You are forgiven, :-) but why have you equated the demandfor state language to
that for independence?
To give you a very brief answer, I will quote Abul Mansur
Ahmed, who said the following while participating in the
1956 constitutional debates in the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly to oppose 'joint electorate' scheme [1]:
"Pakistan is a unique country having two wings which are
separated by a distance of more than a thousand miles ...
These two wings differ in all matters, excepting two things,
namely, that they have a common religion, barring a section
of the people in East Pakistan, and that we achieved our
independence by a common struggle ... With the exception
of these two things, all other factors, viz., the language, the
tradition, the culture, the costume, the custom, the dietary,
the calender, the standard time, practically everything is
different. There is, in fact, nothing common in the two
wings, particularly in respect to those which are the sine
qua non to form a nation."
Now, what do you think?
Regards,
Mohammad Bari
[1] "War and Secession - Pakistan, India, and the Creation
of Bangladesh" - Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose, University
of California, CA, USA, 1990, p. 15
Denis Wright
Abhijit Mitra <mi...@romulus.rutgers.edu> wrote:
> Pardon my ignorance, but if the demand of having Bangla as a state
> language was met by the Pakistanis eventually, why the need to be fully
> independent?
because the language issue was only one of several other important
issues that were not ever addressed by the west-wing dominated
government of Pakistan. The acceptance of Bangla as a state language in
the end did not make it any easier for Bangladeshis (then East
Pakistanis) to gain recognition in Pakistan and to avoid the
discrimination that guaranteed they would not get the upper hand as
Pakistanis. Thus the resentment continued right up to 1971. The language
issue was a symptom of much deeper troubles in the old Pakistan that
could not be solved simply by granting equal status to Bengali.
Denis.
--
| Dr D A Wright History Dept Uni of New England Armidale |
| NSW AUSTRALIA 2351 Ph +61 67 732479 Fax +61 67 733520 |
|____ http://www.une.edu.au/~arts/History/dwright.htm ___|
George Lombard
>The language
>issue was a symptom of much deeper troubles in the old Pakistan that
>could not be solved simply by granting equal status to Bengali.
>
Denis, of course you're right, but in today's Bangladesh there are
signs everywhere that the importance of Bangla as a symbol was very
powerful in creating Bangladesh; not only the Ekush memorials
everywhere, or the strange duality of Bangla and English in public
administration, but even the situation of the Biharis has been
successfully explained in terms of language alone (although by now
their linguistic differences must have dissipated).
Cheers from Sydney
George Lombard
SIDD1
In article <199803221643...@ladder03.news.aol.com>,
Well I respect your opinions. I think that in the veiw of your arguments
of communication, it should have been arabic. It communicates with QUran
and the rest of the muslim world. All educated muslims do and used to
learn arabic. Even the Persian-central asian, Al Beiruni wrote his
treatises in Arabic.
It is fair to all!
SAMI2
YES ARABIC WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE, NO DOUBT.
M. Harun uz Zaman
> > >language.
> >
> > was met by the Pakistanis eventually, why the need to be fully independent?
>
> that for independence?
>
> To give you a very brief answer, I will quote Abul Mansur
> Ahmed, who said the following while participating in the
> 1956 constitutional debates in the Pakistan Constituent
> Assembly to oppose 'joint electorate' scheme [1]:
>
> "Pakistan is a unique country having two wings which are
> separated by a distance of more than a thousand miles ...
> These two wings differ in all matters, excepting two things,
> namely, that they have a common religion, barring a section
> of the people in East Pakistan, and that we achieved our
> independence by a common struggle ... With the exception
> of these two things, all other factors, viz., the language, the
> tradition, the culture, the costume, the custom, the dietary,
> the calender, the standard time, practically everything is
> different. There is, in fact, nothing common in the two
> wings, particularly in respect to those which are the sine
> qua non to form a nation."
>
> Now, what do you think?
>
> Regards,
> Mohammad Bari
Mr. Bari:
I do not think that is the right explanation. The socio-cultural
factors you cited (from Abul Mansur Ahmed's speech) are neither
necessary nor sufficient to provide a rationale for independent
*political* nationhood. On the basis of those factors alone,
India should probably be divided into several countries. The
world has many countries with multiple nationalities. The world
also has nationalities that are divided into separate countries.
The real reasons that provided the impetus for an independent
Bangladesh was the imbalance in the political power structure
and the disparity in the economies of the two wings of Pakistan.
If the political/economic factors were in balance, Pakistan might
have survived as a nation, in spite of socio-cultural differences.
Finally, one must recognize the distinction between the normative
conceptualization of nationhood (examples are Abul Mansur Ahmed's
speech and Jinnah's two nation theory) that says what the
ingredients of nationhood *should* be, and the positive
experience of nationhood that tells us actually what kinds of
nations have been able to sustain themselves as sufficiently
cohesive entitities. As is true in almost every field of human
experience, the empirical evidence in this case does not quite
fit well with any simple theoretical conceptualization.
Best wishes.
M. Harun uz Zaman, Ph.D.
The Ohio State University
Man from Mars
M. Harun uz Zaman wrote in message <351875...@osu.edu>...
> The real reasons that provided the impetus for an independent
> Bangladesh was the imbalance in the political power structure
> and the disparity in the economies of the two wings of Pakistan.
> If the political/economic factors were in balance, Pakistan might
> have survived as a nation, in spite of socio-cultural differences.
Another factor that you have ignored is the role of Urdu language in the
formation of Pakistan. Urdu was not the language of any section of Pakistan but
is was the language of the leadership only, who came from UP and Bombay. They
adopted this artificial language to be a common bond for all Pakistan but it
failed miserably. Even now the West Pakistan is in the danger of further
subdivisions on the basis of languages of the people of the reagion, viz Pushto,
Punjabi and Sindhi. Urdu is not a natural language but concocted by the Muslim
intelligentsia of British India to claim a separate identity for them.
M. Harun uz Zaman
The discussion of this thread was started with the "language
factor." Someone asked, "why did you want independence even
after Bengali was recognized as a state language?" Mr. Bari
expressed his views in response to this question, and discussed
*other* factors that drove the movement for independence. And
I expressed my views on the same topic. Therefore, the question
of "ignoring" the language factor does not arise. Please read
the post preceding Mr. Bari's and mine.
Best wishes.
M. Harun uz Zaman, Ph.D.
The Ohio State University
Saleh Tanveer
M. Harun uz Zaman wrote:
> Mohammad Bari wrote:
> >
> > Abhijit Mitra wrote:
> >
> > > Mohammad Bari <mb...@fastlane.net> writes:
> > >
> > > >Results: May 7, 1954: The Pakistan government recognizes Bangla as a state
> > > >language.
> > >
> The real reasons that provided the impetus for an independent
> Bangladesh was the imbalance in the political power structure
> and the disparity in the economies of the two wings of Pakistan.
> If the political/economic factors were in balance, Pakistan might
> have survived as a nation, in spite of socio-cultural differences.
>
> Finally, one must recognize the distinction between the normative
> conceptualization of nationhood (examples are Abul Mansur Ahmed's
> speech and Jinnah's two nation theory) that says what the
> ingredients of nationhood *should* be, and the positive
> experience of nationhood that tells us actually what kinds of
> nations have been able to sustain themselves as sufficiently
> cohesive entitities. As is true in almost every field of human
> experience, the empirical evidence in this case does not quite
> fit well with any simple theoretical conceptualization.
>
> Best wishes.
>
> M. Harun uz Zaman, Ph.D.
> The Ohio State University
>
>
> >
> > [1] "War and Secession - Pakistan, India, and the Creation
> > of Bangladesh" - Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose, University
> > of California, CA, USA, 1990, p. 15
Agree with you. I might add that differences between groups of people
always exist-- it is power of the microscope with which one observes
those differences that make them seem small or big. In the end, what
binds a nation is not necessarily a common religion, language or culture, but
a sense of shared heritage. When a sufficiently disaffected and disenchanted
group, distinguished by culture, religion or language, find themselves alienated
with little hope of meeting their grievances within the existing political
structure,
usually because of the insensitivity of those in power, you will always see the
birth
of an active secessionist movement.
Abhijit Mitra
"Man from Mars" <al...@mars.net> writes:
>Urdu is not a natural language but concocted by the Muslim intelligentsia of
>British India
The same can be said for the Doordarshan brand of "Hindi." The "natural"
language which both Doordarshani Hindi and Pakistani Urdu are derived from is
what is known as "Hindustani."
mb...@lsem.com
> harunuz...@osu.edu wrote:
>
> > Mohammad Bari wrote:
> >
> > > Abhijit Mitra wrote:
> > >
> > > Mohammad Bari <mb...@fastlane.net> writes:
> > >
> > > > Results: May 7, 1954: The Pakistan government recognizes Bangla
> > > > as a state language.
> > >
Yes, I should have included 'imbalance in the political power
structure' and the 'disparity in the economies of the two wings
of Pakistan' as other significant reasons for our own independent
Bangladesh.
If you look beyond 1947, you will find HS Suhrawardy and Abul
Hashim working passionately for a akhund (united) Bengal from
the very beginning of the promise of the partition of British
India. Why so?
I strongly believe the birth of Bangladesh is the result of the
continuation of the struggle started back then and it had not
started only when the 'imbalance in the political power structure'
and the 'disparity in the economies of the two wings of Pakistan'
became apparent.
Best regards,
Mohammad Bari
> > [1] "War and Secession - Pakistan, India, and the Creation
> > of Bangladesh" - Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose, University
> > of California, CA, USA, 1990, p. 15
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
Man from Mars
Abhijit Mitra wrote in message <6fcbns$1ge$1...@romulus.rutgers.edu>...
I agree with you 100%.
It was a folly to assume that Hindi would will ever take over as official
language of India if they gave it 15 years time. It is only populist leaders
like Lalloo in Bihar and Mulayam in UP who keep harping on making Hindi as
official language even for those states while rest of the public knows it better
and send their children to English medium school at a great financial sacrifice.
It is a great bonanza for English medium schools.
Just like Haryana government has belatedly realized the folly of prohibition,
rest of the politicians should admit the mistake and let Indian form of English
take over as de jure official language as well. It will make life easier for DMK
and BJP alike.