Today is February 21. Great ‘Martyr’s Day’ and ‘International Mother Language Day’. A day to pay homage and love to the language martyrs with flowers blooming in the spring in hand. There is no shortage of heart-wrenching love even though the day is not as formal as it used to be. The nation is paying homage to the great martyrs of Ekushey today by laying wreaths at the altar of the central Shaheed Minar in the capital Dhaka and holding various discussion meetings at various places. Everyone is gathering at the Shaheed Minar chanting ‘Ekushey February painted in my brother’s blood / Can I forget ...’. However, due to Corona, everything is happening in a short range this time. Ekushey February, which is now International Mother Language Day, shines in the minds of Bengalis with unique glory. The path of the immortal Ekushey Bengali - the vibration of life, salutations, blessings, Rafiq, Jabbar, Safiur, Awal, the source of eternal inspiration not to bow one's head painted in the blood of Ahiullah. So today millions of Bengalis will remember with all their emotions. On this day in 1952, freedom came along the path of enlightenment that was unveiled in the sharp stream of martyrs. At a public meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of East Bengal, Nurul Amin, at Paltan Maidan on 26 January 1952, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, declared, "Urdu will be the only state language of Pakistan." The students and people of East Bengal protested against the snatching of their mother tongue Bengali. Section 144 was violated on 21 February in protest. Student protests, police opened fire on the procession of students. The highway is flooded with blood. Rafiq, Salam, Barkat, Jabbar, Safiur and many others were martyred. Then the language movement spread all over the country. This unique event of Bengali self-sacrifice for the mother tongue has also been recognized internationally. In 1999, UNESCO declared 21st February as International Mother Language Day. Today the day is being celebrated all over the world with Bengalis.
