Glorious Ekushe

Nidhu Bhusan Das : Sixty years from now, on 21 February 1952 they laid down their lives demanding the prestige due to their mother tongue Bangla. They were Rafiq , Jabbar , Barkat , Salam et al. The Pakistan Police pumped bullets into them. Why? They rented the air of Dhaka with the slogan ‘We demand state language status for Bangla.’ Bangalis were the largest speech community in Pakistan. Yet Pakistan Government was arrogant enough to award the status to Urdu, the language of only twelve per cent of Pakistanis. Hence was the protest of the Bangalis of East Pakistan, known earlier as East Bengal. Bangladesh as usual began the month-long celebrations of the martyrdom on 1 February. The emotion and respect the Bangladeshis demonstrate thoughtout the month of February in remembrance of the martyrdom is, perhaps, unparalleled. The Day subsequently inspired in East Pakistan movements for justice and emancipation from exploitation and for cultural freedom. The people of East Pakistan struggled relentlessly for nineteen years more for freedom, and emerged victorious on 16 December 1971 when they breathed the air of free Bangladesh which they achieved after a nine-month war against the occupation army of Pakistan. On that day, under General Niazi 93 thousand strong Pakistan Army surrendered to the joint command of Indian Army and the Freedom Fighters of Bangladesh in Dhaka. However, Bangladesh could not shake off the heritage of Pakistan. On 15 August 1975, some disgruntled elements in the Army killed the founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his family members, and usurped power installing the murdered leader’s long time colleague Khandakar Mustaq Ahmed as President of the People’s Republic. De facto army rule continued as coups and counter coups followed in the country. The fundamental principles of the constitution of 1972 were jettisoned to give it an Islamic character. The collaborators of Pakistan Army who committed genocide, rape, arson and plunder during the nine- month occupation got entrenched in power politics and spread the message of fundamentalism of the hue of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Bangladesh today is plagued, inter alia, with the problem of the presence of Islamic extremist organizations like JMB. This, obviously, goes against the spirit of cultural nationalism promoted through the sacrifice of 21 February and subsequent growth of Bangali Nationalism which culminated into the Liberation War and creation of Bangladesh. Religious fundamentalism is an anachronism today when Human Rights find top priority in a civilized society. Bangladesh may, in course of time, atone for the regressive steps of military-fundamentalist dispensation which have pulled back the country, despite her having potentialities for development. She has rich alluvial soil for agriculture, strength of manpower and a strategic geo-political position in South Asia.