'Victory was not success of any individual'

Language movement veterans Gaziul Haque and Abdul Matin at a discussion on Amar Ekushey organised by the Spectra Group in the city yeseteday. PHOTO: STAR

This was observed at a discussion on Amar Ekushey organised by the Spectra Group in the city yesterday.

"Though we have to learn other languages too, we must perceive the world in our mother language. We have achieved the right to it at the cost of supreme sacrifice," said Abdul Matin, a language movement veteran.

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"We have established Bangla as the state language on the basis of Bangalee nationalism, which paved the way for subsequent struggle for political freedom," he said reminiscing the history of language movement of 1952.

"A series of attacks on our cultural identity by the Pakistani rulers during the 50s turned the movement for language into a mass upsurge, eventually forcing them to recognise Bangla as state language," he said.

Gaziul Haque, another veteran of the language movement, said his generation has struggled to achieve the right to mother language and to uphold the national glory, and called on the young generation to carry on with the efforts to fulfil nation's aspirations.

"Human beings can never be defeated, we must go forward along the glorious path of victory," he said.

Gaziul Haque made an appeal to uphold and learn from the achievements of national heroes.

Shahadat Chowdhury, editor of the weekly Shaptahik 2000, said the glorious history of national victory is the pride of the nation.

In the then context of Pakistan, having an aspiration for Bangalee nationhood required people of this land to have enormous courage and vigour, he said.

Going back into the history, he said that at the time of the birth of Pakistan, its leaders maintained that Urdu, as a cultural language of Muslims, should have been the official language of the newly born state.

But noted personalities like Abul Mansur Ahmad and Kazi Motahar Hossain refuted the argument, saying that Bangla spoken by more than 50 percent of the population should be the state language instead of Urdu spoken by only 16 percent, Shahadat said.

Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, said the nation has many great achievements, but at the same time, there are colossal failures too in giving true forms to the national aspirations.

"We must realise the fact that assertion of one's personality depends on up to what extent one has mastery over his or her mother language. Otherwise, we will run the risk of jeopardising our very existence as a nation," he said.