Bengali language movement information

The Bengali language movement (Bengali: বাংলা ভাষা আন্দোলন, romanized: Bangla Bhasha Andolôn) was a political movement in former East Bengal (renamed East Pakistan in 1952) advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government affairs, the continuation of its use as a medium of education, its use in media, currency and stamps, and to maintain its writing in the Bengali script.

When the Dominion of Pakistan was formed after the separation of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 when the British left, it was composed of various ethnic and linguistic groups, with the geographically non-contiguous East Bengal province having a mainly ethnic Bengali population. In 1948, the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained as part of Islamization of East Pakistan or East Bengal that Urdu will be the sole federal language, alternately Bengali writing in the Perso-Arabic script^[1]^[2]^[3] or Roman script (Romanisation of Bengali)^[3] or Arabic as the state language of the whole of Pakistan was also proposed,^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[3] sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on 21 February 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the central government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956.

The Language Movement catalysed 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 and the Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987. In Bangladesh, 21 February (Ekushey February) is observed as Language Movement Day, a national holiday. The Shaheed Minar monument was constructed near Dhaka Medical College in memory of the movement and its victims. On 17 September 1999, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day,^[8] in tribute to the Language Movement and the ethnolinguistic rights of people around the world.

^ Nag, Sajal (30 December 2022). Nation and Its Modes of Oppressions in South Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-81044-8. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ Maloney, Clarence (1978). Language and Civilization Change in South Asia. Brill Archive. pp. 145, 146. ISBN 978-90-04-05741-8. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c হোসেন, সেলিনা; বিশ্বাস, সুকুমার; চৌধুরী, শফিকুর রহমান, eds. (21 February 1986). 1513. একুশের স্মারকগ্রন্থ' ৮৬ - সম্পাদনায় (in Bengali). Bangladesh: Bangla Academy. pp. 52–73. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ প্রিনস, এরশাদুল আলম (20 February 2022). "বাংলা হরফের ওপর শয়তানি আছর". banglanews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ Brown, Michael Edward; Ganguly, Sumit (2003). Fighting Words: Language Policy and Ethnic Relations in Asia. MIT Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-262-52333-2. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ Zein, Subhan; Coady, Maria R. (22 September 2021). Early Language Learning Policy in the 21st Century: An International Perspective. Springer Nature. p. 136. ISBN 978-3-030-76251-3. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ Chaube, Shibani Kinkar (26 October 2016). The Idea of Nation and Its Future in India. Taylor & Francis. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-315-41432-4. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^ Glassie, Henry and Mahmud, Feroz.2008.Living Traditions. Cultural Survey of Bangladesh Series-II. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Dhaka. International Mother Language Day

[1] Nag, Sajal (30 December 2022). Nation and Its Modes of Oppressions in South Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-81044-8. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[2] Maloney, Clarence (1978). Language and Civilization Change in South Asia. Brill Archive. pp. 145, 146. ISBN 978-90-04-05741-8. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[ES-3] হোসেন, সেলিনা; বিশ্বাস, সুকুমার; চৌধুরী, শফিকুর রহমান, eds. (21 February 1986). 1513. একুশের স্মারকগ্রন্থ' ৮৬ - সম্পাদনায় (in Bengali). Bangladesh: Bangla Academy. pp. 52–73. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[বা-4] প্রিনস, এরশাদুল আলম (20 February 2022). "বাংলা হরফের ওপর শয়তানি আছর". banglanews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 3 January 2017.

[5] Brown, Michael Edward; Ganguly, Sumit (2003). Fighting Words: Language Policy and Ethnic Relations in Asia. MIT Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-262-52333-2. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[6] Zein, Subhan; Coady, Maria R. (22 September 2021). Early Language Learning Policy in the 21st Century: An International Perspective. Springer Nature. p. 136. ISBN 978-3-030-76251-3. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[7] Chaube, Shibani Kinkar (26 October 2016). The Idea of Nation and Its Future in India. Taylor & Francis. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-315-41432-4. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

[8] Glassie, Henry and Mahmud, Feroz.2008.Living Traditions. Cultural Survey of Bangladesh Series-II. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Dhaka. International Mother Language Day

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Etymology Timeline Traditional Urheimat
Ancient Neolithic, c. 7600 – c. 3300 BCE Bronze Age, c. 3300 – c. 1200 BCE Iron Age, c. 1200 – c. 200 BCE Janapada, c. 1200 – c. 600 BCE Northern Black Polished Ware, c. 700 – c. 200 BCE Pundra Kingdom, c. 700 – c. 200 BCE Bengal in Mahabharata, c. 400 – c. 325 BCE Gangaridai Kingdom, c. 350 – c. 325 BCE Mauryan Empire, c. 325 – c. 185 BCE Samatata Kingdom, c. 232 BCE – c. 800 AD Shunga-Kushan Period, c. 185 BCE – c. 75 AD Southwestern Silk Road, c. 114 BCE – c. 1450 AD Indo-Roman trade relations, c. 30 BCE – c. 600 AD
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