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Kolkata marks ‘Language Movement Day’ with recitation, processions

A number of programmes were held on Wednesday in different parts of West Bengal celebrated as Language Movement Day, commemorating…

Kolkata marks ‘Language Movement Day’ with recitation, processions

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Photo: Facebook)

A number of programmes were held on Wednesday in different parts of West Bengal celebrated as Language Movement Day, commemorating the beginning of a movement to protect Bengali language in erstwhile East Pakistan.

The day is termed simply as ‘Ekush-e’ (21st) in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, which share the same linguistic and cultural heritage. Recognised as the ‘International Mother Language Day’ by the United Nations, the day was marked by morning processions, recitations, singing of songs of Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam and others.

At Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan, students from Bangladesh were joined by other pupils in processions in the campus followed by a cultural programme. The Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh here organised a morning procession, offering flowers to the pictures of martyrs for the cause and also a cultural programme.

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West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee paid her respects to the martyrs who laid down their lives demanding recognition of Bengali as official language instead of Urdu when they joined a protest at Dhaka University on this day in 1952. “My highest respect to the language martyrs of Ekushe February. “ We must respect and love all languages,” Miss Banerjee said in a message.

The chief minister, who is on a visit to South Dinajpur district bordering Bangladesh, announced setting up of university at Gangarampur while addressing a public meeting there to mark the day. “Today is Bhasa Divas. To commemorate the day I am announcing the setting up of an university here, which is so close to the Bangladesh border,” she said. Recitations, seminars on different aspects of the language and singing of songs written by poets from both sides of the border were the highlights of the functions held in various schools, colleges and universities.

Meanwhile, in the Assembly the occasion of paying tribute to the martyrs of 21 February, the International Mother Language Day could not hold back the members of the Opposition and Treasury benches from criticising and carping on Wednesday. As Speaker, Biman Banerjee mentioned the occasion, leader of the Opposition, Abdul Mannan called for recognition of any stir for the recognition of a language.

Trinamul Congress government has given recognition to six languages in the state in the past seven years, state parliamentary affairs minister, Partha Chatterjee said. If 10 per cent people of an area speak a language, it is given recognition, he said but pointed out that on Wednesday’s occasion is unique as the martyrdom of the youth across the border have given it a different significance altogether.

The House stood for a minute to pay respect to the martyrs of 21 February. Tanmay Bhattacharya of CPI-M and Ramendranath Biswas of Trinamul Congress read out poems they had written in the memory of the men whose passing away make 21 February stand out among other dates.

The St. Xavier’s College Alumni Association too on Wednesday celebrated “international Mother Language Day with much fanfare. A torch rally was organised to commemorate the occasion. The rally was flagged off by Vice Chancellor, Dhaka University in front of Matyrs’ column on the University campus.

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