<i>Dazzling days of Language Movement in Nilphamari</i>
Khairat Hossain and Shafiar Rahman
The then East Pakistan sub divisional town Nilphamari joined the Language Movement of 1952 on 4 February. On that day, Muslim Chhatra League had centrally called a strike in all educational institutions of the eastern province demanding Bangla as a state language of Pakistan. During the strike, Urdu speaking sub divisional officer (SDO) Monwar Hossain misbehaved with Model High School headmaster Asiruddin Ahmed and Girls' High School headmaster Abu Nazem Mohammad Ali as they 'failed' to keep the students away from participating in the agitation. In protest against the verbal abuse by the SDO, students and teachers of all educational institutions in the town called a fresh strike for next three consecutive days on 8, 9 and 10 February. The protesters demanded Bangla as state language and removal of the SDO for his misbehaviour. On 21 February, in line with the central programme, allout strike was observed in all the educational institutions of the town. A big rally was held on the premises of Muslim Hostel of Nilphamari High School. The entire scenario changed after the news of killing Rafiq, Salam, Barkat, Jabbar, Shafiq and others on 21 February in police firing in Dhaka reached Nilphamari at night. Thousands of people burst into protest on 22 February. Defying warning by the SDO, the town was abuzz with processions and meetings. The agitation flared further when the then government arrested Khairat Hossain, the Nilphamari opposition member of East Pakistan provincial assembly, in Dhaka, on 22 February. The Pakistani government was angered by Khairat Hossain, as he along with renowned political personality Moulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish, had walked out of the provincial assembly protesting the killing of 21 February. Khairat Hossain used to give directions to the local Language Movement leaders in Nilphamari from Dhaka. To suppress the uprising, police arrested convener of local unit Awami Muslim League Advocate Dabiruddin Ahamed and teacher Abu Nazem Mohammad Ali on 26 February. Agitated people besieged the local police station. As the situation deteriorated, the police authorities appealed to the two arrestees to calm down the protesters. Later at a joint meeting of Awami Muslim League and Muslim Chhatra League, a decision was taken to observe strike in the town on 28 February. Police, in an anti-agitation move, arrested local Muslim Chhatra League general secretary Shafiar Rahman and Jubo League convenor Shamsul Haque on 27 February. This triggered further protests. Khairat Hossain was released from Dhaka Central Jail after being imprisoned for about two years. Dabiruddin Ahamed and Abu Nazem Mohammad Ali were released after six months from Rangpur jail. Muslim Chhatra League leader Shafiar Rahman and Jubo League leader Shamsul Haque were released from Dhaka Central Jail after about one month. All the five leading Language Movement veterans of Nilphamari suffered immense mental torture in jail. However Bangla was finally declared as a state language. Four of the five leading language movement veterans in Nilphamari have passed away. Contacted, lone surviving veteran Shafiar Rahman, the youngest of them said, “Four of us have left but Allah has kept me alive to narrate the role of the district in the Language Movement to the new generation.”
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