The nation paid homage to the Language Movement martyrs at the Central Shaheed Minar at midnight and throughout Saturday as Bangladesh observed Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day with solemnity.
People from all walks of life — including students, professionals, public and private sector employees, and representatives of social, cultural and political organizations — placed wreaths at the memorial, commemorating those who laid down their lives during the 1952 Language Movement.
Dressed largely in the traditional black-and-white attire of Ekushey February, mourners stood in long queues and walked barefoot to the Shaheed Minar to pay their respects.
Seventy-four years after the shootings that claimed the lives of young protesters, the memory of their sacrifice remains central to the nation’s identity.
As the clock struck midnight, President Mohammed Shahabuddin laid a wreath at the Central Shaheed Minar in honor of those who gave their lives for Bangla.
At 12:08am, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman followed, marking his first visit to the memorial since assuming office. He stood in silent tribute, joined a prayer for the martyrs, and later returned with cabinet colleagues and family members to offer flowers again.
After the president, prime minister and other dignitaries paid their respects, the Shaheed Minar was opened to the public.
Leaders and activists of political parties, social and cultural organizations, and citizens from across the country streamed in to lay wreaths.
The chiefs of the three-armed forces also paid homage. Opposition Leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman led an 11-party alliance to the memorial.
In a notable first, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami formally paid its respects at the Central Shaheed Minar this year.
The observance saw brief tension when leaders and activists of the Jatiya Party arrived with banners but were blocked by members of a rival political party’s local unit, preventing them from reaching the memorial.
Flags flew at half-staff nationwide. Dawn processions moved through neighborhoods, black badges were worn, and wreaths were placed at the martyrs’ graves at Azimpur.
The Bangla Academy hosted lectures and poetry readings in the morning, while Chhayanaut and the Liberation War Museum organized cultural programs. Radio, television and newspapers carried special coverage marking the day.
The origins of the Language Movement trace back to late 1947, when opposition to Pakistan’s language policy began to surface in Dhaka.
Protests intensified over the following years and culminated on February 21, 1952, when students and young activists defied a government ban and took to the streets demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language.
Police opened fire, killing Salam, Jabbar, Shafiq, Barkat and Rafiq. A makeshift monument erected overnight in their memory was demolished by authorities within days.
In 1956, Bangla was recognized as a state language in Pakistan’s constitution. After independence, Bangladesh enacted legislation in 1987 declaring Bangla the official language of government and public life.
The international recognition of the day began with an initiative by expatriate Bangladeshis.
In 1998, Rafiqul Islam and Abdus Salam, two Bangladeshis living in Vancouver, wrote to then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan requesting that February 21 be recognized globally as a day dedicated to mother languages.
After mobilizing international support and working through UNESCO, their proposal was adopted on November 17, 1999, with 188 countries backing the declaration.
February 21 was first observed globally as International Mother Language Day in 2000.
A decade later, the United Nations General Assembly made the observance permanent through a unanimous resolution.
