A commemorative postage stamp on the International Mother Language Day, 21 February, 2021 :

Issued by Bangladesh

Issued on Feb 21, 2021

Issued for : To commemorate this event, Bangladesh Post has issued 1 (one) Commemorative Postage Stamp of tk. 10/-, a First Day Cover of tk. 10/- (Ten), a Data Card of tk. 5/- (Five) and a Special Canceller.

Designer : Mr. Sanjiv Kanti Das

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

No. of Stamp : 01 (One) Piece

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination of Stamp : Tk. 10/- (Ten)

Size of Stamp : 32 mm x 48 mm

Perforation of Stamps : 12.5

Qnt of Stamps : 50,000 (Fifty Thousand) pcs

Process of Printing : Offset

Printer : The Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd., Gazipur-1703

About : 

• The Language Movement is a glorious chapter in the history of Bangalee (Bengali) nation. East Pakistan Muslim Student League formed under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on January 4, 1948. The role of this organization is Specially Memorable in the history of the Language Movement. Among the demands of the Students League, the demand for state language was one of the important points. When Dhirendra Nath Datta’s Proposal in the Pakistan constituent Assembly Session on 23 February, 1948 for recognition of Bengali (Bangla) language as a language of Assembly with Urdu and English was repudiated, the agitated student community brought up strike on February 26, 1948 in Dhaka under the order of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and other student leaders. The students of Dhaka University and other educational institutions actively participated in the general strike of March 11, 1948 realizing the right of state language Bengali (Bangla) called under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with other leaders: Shamsul Haque, Oli Ahad, Mohammad Toaha, Abul Kashem, Romesh Das Gupta and Ajit Guha and others.
• In fact the demand for establishing Bengali (Bangla) language as one of the state languages of Pakistan got momentum on March 21, 1948 when Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan made inane declaration at the public meeting held at the then Race Course Maidan (now Suhrawardy Uddan) that Urdu and Urdu alone would be the state language of Pakistan. This declaration of Mr. Jinnah did not go unchallenged and an instant response of “no” came from few students of Dhaka University.
• The Urdu-Bengali (Bangla) controversy was reignited when Jinnah’s successor governor-general Khawaja Nazimuddin staunchly defended the “Urdu-only” policy in a speech on 27 January, 1952. On 31 January, 1952 the Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtro Bhasha Kormi Porishod (All Party Central Language Action Committee) was formed in a meeting at Dhaka chaired by Maulana Bhashani. The Action Committee called for an all out protest on 21 February, including strikes and rallies.
• In an attempt to prevent the demonstration, the government imposed section 144 in Dhaka by banning any gathering there. The students of Dhaka University and other political activists defied the law and organized a protest movement on 21 February, 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Sofiur Rahman, Abul Barkat and Abdul Jabbar were killed in this incident. The killing provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the Central Government relented and granted official status to the Bengali (Bangla) Language in 1956.
• Shaheed Minar is the name of the eternal monument built in memory of the Language Martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Language Movement on 21 February 1952. Shaheed Minar stands as a universal symbol of linguistic struggle of the Bengali (Bangalee) people of Bangladesh. In 1999, UNESCO declared “21^st February” as International Mother Language Day, in tribute to the Language Martyrs, Language Movement and Ethno-Linguistic right of people around the world. In its resolution the UNESCO said – “21^st February” be proclaimed International Mother Language Day throughout the world to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this very day in 1952. Since then 21 February is observed as International Mother Language Day around the world.
• Narrator:
  Shafiee Billah Jabber
  Son of Martyred Intellectual Abdul Jabbar of Bangladesh Liberation War and
  Author of the Trust: Shaheed Buddhijibi (Martyred Intellectuals) Memorial Trust, Bangladesh.
  Editor and Publisher: The Daily Asian Express and Fortnightly City of Joy.
  

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