Historical Background of

Bangladesh
Language Movement & Bengali
Nationalism

Dept. of Development Studies

Daffodil International University
 Objectives of this Class

 Be acquainted with the historical development

towards an independent Bangladesh.
 To know the historical language movement of
Bangladesh.
 Be familiar with the phases of the language
movement.
 To understand the significance of the 1952
language movement,
 Understand the six-point movement's main goal
and its consequences.
 The Bangla Language Movement
The Bangla Language Movement is a unique event in the history of
the political movement of Bangladesh. About 56 percent of
Pakistanis spoke Bengali as their first language.

On the other hand, Urdu was the mother tongue of only 6% of

Pakistan's population.Although 56 percent of the people of
Pakistan were Bengalis, the West Pakistanis didn’t want Bengali
to become the state language.

But, Bengalis wanted to make their language the state language

along with Urdu and had no objections against that language.
Various Stages of Language
Movement
 The First Stage of the Language
Movement
Formation of Tamaddun Majlish: On September 15,
1947, Tamaddun Majlish published a booklet on the
Language Movement entitled "Pakistaner Rastrabhasha
Bangla Na Urdu." The authors of this booklet were Prof.
Abul Kashem, Dr. Qazi Motahar Hossain and Abul Mansur
Ahmed. In October 1947, Tamaddun Majlish formed
Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad to give the Language
Movement an organizational structure.
Education Conference in Karachi: A conference on
education was held in Karachi in December 1947. It was
organized by the Pakistani government and took place in
the city. At this conference, the decision was taken to
make Urdu the state language of Pakistan.
Formation of Sangram Parishad: In January 1948, the
Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad was reconstituted with
the view of making Bengali a state language. The
Sangram Parishad raised the following demands:
Bengali shall be the medium of instruction and the
language of East Bengal's offices and courts.
There will be two state languages in Pakistan: Bengali
 The First Stage of the Language
Movement
Demand by Dhirendra Nath Dutta: In February 1948, when the first
Assembly of Pakistan started to record its proceedings in Urdu side by side
with English, Dhirendra Nath Dutta of Comilla, a member of the Assembly,
protested against it and demanded that Bengali be accorded official
recognition as one of the languages of the Constituent Assembly.

All-Party Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad and Protest on 11 March

1948: On March 2, 1948, the All-Party Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad
was formed. The Sangram Parishad called a general strike on March 11,
1948 to resist the conspiracy of the government on the language issue.
On that day, many students were injured and many leaders, including
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Shamsul Huq, and Oli Ahad, were arrested. It was
decided that March 11th would be declared ‘Bengali Language Demand
Day".
In such a situation, the Chief Minister, Khwaja Nazimuddin, met the
Sangram Parishad on March 15 and signed an agreement with them. By
this agreement, he agreed to release the arrested students, to investigate
police excesses, and to move a bill in the Assembly to make Bengali a
 The First Stage of the Language
Movement
Announcement of Muhammad Ali Jinnah: On
March 21, 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah visited
Dhaka and addressed a public meeting at what
was then called the Race Course Maidan. In that
meeting, he declared, "Urdu and only Urdu shall be
the state language of Pakistan." When he repeated
these words at the Dhaka University Convocation
Ceremony held on March 24th at the Curzon Hall,
the students protested vehemently by shouting Mohammad Ali Zinnah
'No, No'. On that day, Rastrabhasha Parishad on 21 March 1948
submitted a memorandum to Muhammad Ali
Jinnah.
8

Proposed of the introduction of Arabic script:

In 1948, it was proposed that the Arabic script or
Urdu letters be used for writing Bengali. Dr.
Shahidullah be appointed for the purpose of
introducing the Arabic script. But he rejected the
proposal. In April 1949, the students of the Bengali Protest of the students
 The Last Stage of the Language
Movement
Formation of Purbo Bangla Bhasha Committee: On March 9, 1949, the
Government of East Bengal formed the Purbo Bangla Bhasha Committee for
reforming the Bengali language. Maulana Akram Khan was the President of this
Committee.

Announcement of Liaquat Ali Khan: In September 1950, Prime Minister

Liaquat Ali Khan declared in the Constituent Assembly that only Urdu would be
the state language of Pakistan. But in the face of strong protest from the
people of East Bengal, the Constituent Assembly postponed the discussion.

Announcement of Khawaja Nazimuddin: On January 26, 1952, at a public

meeting in Dhaka, Khwaja Nazimuddin declared that Urdu would be the only
state language of Pakistan. This declaration created strong resentment, and as
a mark of protest, a call for hartal throughout the province was given.

Meeting of All-Party Rashtrabhasha Sangram Committee: The

Committee decided to call a strike on February 4 and to observe February 21
as the State Language Day and to observe hartal in the country. February 21
had been chosen as the State Language Day since the East Pakistan Provincial
 Final Stage
144 Section: On February 20, the government of
Nurul Amin, being scared of the student movement,
imposed section 144 at 3 p.m. and banned the
processions and the meetings.

21 February: On February 21, the students of Dhaka

University, in an organized way, defied section 144
and, leading a procession from the university
campus, proceeded towards the Provincial Assembly
which was in session, chanting the slogan
"Rashtrabhasha. Bangla Chai". In a tense situation,
the students assembled on the campus. The police
used tear gas to disperse the students. And clashes
occurred between the police and the students.

At one stage, the police opened fire. A number

of people and students, including Jabbar, Rafiq,
Barkat, and Salam, were martyred, and many
students and people were injured.
 Major Events after 21 February st

On 22 February: "Gayebana Janaza" held

for Ekushey martyrs. Then a big rally came
out on the street as a mark of protest. The
police opened fire on this rally too. As a
result, Safiur Rahman was killed. On the
same day, in a meeting of the students held
at the Dhaka Medical College hostel, it was
decided to build a Shaheed Minar.
Accordingly, the Students erected a 12-feet
high Shaheed Minar in front of DMC.

On 23 February: On February 23, the

father of Shaheed Safiur Rahman formally
inaugurated the Shaheed Minar. But on the
evening of February 24, police demolished
this Shaheed Minar. In memory of that,
another Shaheed Minar was built later on the
 Significance and Achievements
The Language Movement of 1952 was the first organized expression of the
consciousness of the exploited and deprived masses of Bangladesh. This
consciousness, born out of the Language Movement, inspired all the subsequent
movements and helped to achieve political, cultural, and economic freedom,
leading to independence.
This movement laid a major foundation for our liberation war.
When the Pakistan constitution was written in 1956, it said that "Urdu and
Bengali" would be the official languages of the country.
UNESCO recognized February 21st as International Mother Language Day in
1999.
This movement
International acted
Status as Bangla
of the an inspirational for the
Language (Sierra Leone)
following movements:
 Landslide victory in the provincial election in 1954
(In the East Bengal Legislative Assembly the United
Front got 236 out of 309 seats)
 Constitutional Movement in 1956
 Education Movement in 1962
 Six-points Movement in 1966
 Mass-uprising in 1969
 Great victory in 1971
 Significance: Bangla as State
language
Finally, the government of Nurul
Amin adopted a resolution in the
Provincial Assembly to the effect
that a proposal would be raised at
the Constituent Assembly
containing the demand to accord
Bengali the status of one of the
state languages of Pakistan. In the
face of continuous student and
people's movements, the Pakistan
government was compelled to give
Bengali the status of one of the
state languages.

Finally, Bengali was given the status

of one of the state languages in the
Constitution of Pakistan in 1956.
 Significance: Creation of Bengali
Nationalism
 Bengali nationalism is rooted in the expression of pride in the history and
cultural heritage of Bengal. After the defeat in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the
people of Bengal lost their independence, which was continued until
independent Bangladesh. In this journey, the language movement awakened
the Bangalees to their rights and freedom. The language movement has directly
and indirectly affected all our political, social, and cultural activities.
 The Language Movement catalyzed the assertion of Bengali national identity in
East Bengal and later East Pakistan and became a forerunner to Bengali
nationalist movements, including the 6-Point Movement and subsequently the
Bangladesh Liberation War.
 The Language Movement had a major cultural impact on Bengali society. It has
inspired the development and celebration of the Bengali language, literature,
and culture.
 21 February, celebrated as Language Movement Day or Martyrs' Day. A month-
long event called the Ekushey Book Fair is held every year to commemorate the
movement.
 Ekushey Padak, one of the highest civilian awards in Bangladesh, is awarded
annually in memory of the sacrifices of the movement.

 Finally, the language movement motivates Bengali people to join the autonomy
 Chapter Related Questions

 What is the significance of the language movement in

the political history of Bangladesh?

 "Write down the discriminations of West Pakistan

against the people of East Wing.“

 What were the causes of the independence war in

Bangladesh?

Thank you all!