We mean the language movement in Bangladesh after the British rule in Pakistan in 1948 and the movement to establish the status of the Bengali language through the self-sacrifice of twenty- two immortal language martyrs. February 21 is a landmark day for the world language movement. Bengalis of East Bengal were inspired by the success of that movement. The discriminatory treatment of Pakistan has fueled the independence movement. We got the freedom of Bangladesh as a result of many movements, struggles and above all the indescribable hardships of the great liberation war and sea-like sacrifices and infinite bravery.
Much later, towards the end of the 20th century, Mother Language Lovers of the World was formed in Vancouver, Canada, under the leadership of Bangladeshi Canadian expatriates Rafiqul Islam and Abdus Salam. With the initiative and tireless efforts of this organization and the overall cooperation of the Government of Bangladesh, the day has been recognized as International Mother Language Day in the World Assembly today. The pledge announced by the United Nations today is to establish every language in the world in a place of dignity and not to let even one of the existing 7,000 languages be lost. Meanwhile, many languages, along with their culture, archeology and history, have been erased from the face of the earth due to hegemony and lack of awareness among the masses.
Therefore, we have to understand, despite having a golden history and success of the language movement, only the Bengalis of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) are not the only ethnic groups who have struggled and sacrificed their lives for the language. Half a millennium ago, the Spanish imperialist power in South America called Maya, Aztec, and Inca developed at that time. The nations of civilization were destroyed by genocide. They destroyed all the books of ten thousand local libraries. Today, only three books of the original Maya language are preserved (in Mexico City, Madrid and Dresden). Couldn't save the libraries and gradually destroyed their culture and ethnicity.
The Bengalis of Manbhum, a part of the Santal Pargana of the Bengal Presidency, have made a significant contribution to the preservation of the status of the language of the Bengali-speaking people. At the cost of many years of struggle, blood and life, they have established their demands. After that, the movement to protect the dignity of Bengali language started in Cachar, Assam. The first woman martyr Kamala Bhattacharya who gave her life for the Bengali language has lost her life in this movement.
In 1961, the Bengali people of Assam's Barak Valley joined the movement to uphold the status of their mother tongue. Although the majority of Barak's people speak Bengali, it was decided in 1961 to make Ahamia the sole state language of Assam. The Bengalis of Barak flourished. Bengali language got the status of one of the official languages of Barak Valley.
The Manbhum language movement has a long history. Manbhum district of Santal Parganas was Bengali dominated but belonged to Bihar for a long time. After India's independence, the Bengali speakers were under pressure due to the strictness of Hindi usage there. They jumped into the movement to uphold the dignity of the mother tongue. With the success of this movement which lasted for eight years from 1948, Purulia district was formed on November 1, 1956 with the Bengali speaking region of Manbhum. Purulia was taken from Bihar and merged with West Bengal. The door of using their mother tongue Bengali was opened before them.
Now back to the history of May 19. Assam's Barak Valley has been home to Bengali speaking communities since ancient times. At one time, most of the Dimasa people in this area belonged to the Cachar kingdom. Dimasa patronized royalty and Bengali language. Over time, when the British partitioned India, Sylhet, a part of Assam province, became part of East Pakistan. Cachar district is formed with part of Sylhet and Dimasa hilly and plain areas. This district has now been divided into four new districts namely Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj and North Cachar Hill District (Dima Hasao).
Since the partition of the country in 1947, the residents of Cachar district of Barak Valley have been subjected to discrimination. Assam is for the Ahamias and the Bengalis are outsiders there. That trend still exists. A class of politicians also floated in the tide of nationalism. The Bangalee Kheda Movement was also formed at one time. Even though those movements and violence were suppressed by the government, such problems kept cropping up from time to time.
After India's independence, members of the Assam State Legislative Assembly could speak in Bengali, Hindi or English. The first blow came on language. The Bengali people of Assam protested and resisted the declaration of Ahamiya as the only state language, the attempt to introduce it as a medium of education and the right to speak in Bengali in the Legislative Assembly. Assam State Government did not go for any acceptable solution. They adopted the policy of Ahmadiyya nationalism giving preference to narrow minded leaders. Bengalis also started organizing.
It can be assumed that the leaders of the movement were inspired by the success of the Dhaka language movement and Manbhum language movement. At the end of 1960, the Assam Legislative Assembly passed the Language Bill. The final nail has been hammered into the coffin. The Bengalis were blown away. The continuous movement continued. Satyagraha, non-cooperation, hartal, rail stop, Sankalpa Divas, Barak Valley became turbulent in the non-violent movement of Itakara. At one stage of this movement, on May 19, 1961, Satyagrahis, who had been agitating since dawn, gathered at the railway station of Barak, the center of Silchar. Thousands of student youth mobs occupied the railway station premises and railway lines. Unable to remove them, the government resorted to brutal repression. Police forces resorted to indiscriminate firing to disperse the crowd. A total of 11 students including the world's first female language martyr Kamala Bhattacharya were killed. They are known as eleventh language martyrs.
Their sacrifice was not in vain. In the Barak Valley, Bengali language gets the status of the second state language. Shaheed Minar with portraits of martyrs was installed in front of Silchar railway station. Along the way, Shahid Minar of the same shape later spread in the entire Barak Valley. Silchar railway station has been renamed as Janata Bhasha Shaheed Railway Station. However, it has not yet received full government recognition.
The self-sacrifice of activists including eleventh martyrs to protect the dignity of Bengali language has entered the pages of history. But do Bengalis of all areas have the right idea about this language movement? The answer is 'no'. It is our duty to take the initiative to tell the stories of their sacrifices so that the future generations will be inspired by their fighting spirit and learn to fight against all injustices. The eleventh language of the Barak valley remains a martyr. May the rights and dignity of all mother tongues including Bengali be upheld.
Many who participated in that movement are still alive. Many of those who led are alive. At the same time, it is not difficult to find witnesses. However, they will no longer be among us naturally within the next century. Now is the perfect time to record their interview. Adequate research needs to be done on the movement, its martyrs and martyrs' families. Heroes need to be honored appropriately. We still have a long way to go to uphold the status of Bengali language and Bengali speaking people globally. We need more heroes. A hero does not grow in the soil where the hero is not respected.
Author: Essayist and Traveler