Bangladesh News

The Central Shaheed Miner was flooded with flowers as thousands barefooted, wearing black ribbons and holding bouquets close to their bosoms thronged there to pay homage to the brave sons of the soil who laid down their lives in 1952 for mother tongue Bangla.

At 12:01am, President Iajuddin Ahmed led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar. Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed followed him.

They stood there in solemn silence for a minute paying their respect to the language movement heroes.

With daybreak people kept flooding in leaving hardly any space for free movement at the Central Shaheed Minar, symbol of the spirit of not bowing down to repression.

The road from Shahbagh intersection to Doyel Chattar turned into a river of people humming the song: “Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February.” The roads from Nilkhet, Palashi and Chankharpool to the Shaheed Minar seemed like a human sea.

While different organisations placed bouquets and wreaths, many went there with a single rose or a tuberose, toddlers holding their mothers’ hands or riding on their fathers’ shoulders.

Freedom fighters, language movement veterans, physically challenged people, youths, day labourers, workers, homeless people, academicians, intellectuals, politicians and foreigners walked in queues.

Imbued with the spirit of patriotism, people from all walks of life demanded restoration of democracy, trial of war criminals and establishment of a corruption-free society.

On February 21, 1952, Salam, Barkat, Shafiur, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil sacrificed their lives to establish Bangla as one of the state languages of the then Pakistan.

The day has since been observed as the Language Martyrs Day. Unesco declared it International Mother Language Day in November 1999.

People outside the capital and Bangladesh missions abroad also paid homage to the martyrs placing flowers after midnight at Shaheed Minars.

The Central Shaheed Minar and its surrounding areas received a facelift on the occasion. Streets and their central reservations were decorated with festoons inscribed with Bangla letters and the national flag.

Poetry recitation started long before people started paying homage to the martyrs and continued till 2:00am. After a four-hour break, it continued for five more hours.

The chief adviser led the council of advisers and his special assistants to place wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar.

The speaker and deputy speaker of parliament, Dhaka city mayor, foreign diplomats, representatives of international organisations in Dhaka, Dhaka University vice-chancellor and teachers, leaders and workers of various political parties and socio-cultural organisations as well as thousands of people placed wreaths later.

The lone entrance to the Shaheed Minar was then opened for general people around 12:30am.

State-run Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar, and private TV channels aired special programmes. BTV telecast the wreath laying ceremony live from the Shaheed Minar. Newspapers published supplements highlighting the significance of the day.

After paying their tribute at the Shaheed Minar, many thronged the ongoing month-long Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy.

It was a public holiday and the national flag alongside black flags flew at half-mast on government, autonomous and private buildings.

Bangladesh Embassy in Kathmandu in association with Dabur Nepal, a private organisation, organised a week-long painting exhibition at the embassy marking the day.

Bangladesh High Commission in Male organised a poetry reading programme and a discussion at Chancery Building yesterday.

Meanwhile, expatriate Bangladeshis in the US paid homage to language martyrs across the country, reports News World.