Bengali language movement

The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) 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 alphabet.

Quotes

• When the fear of Hindu domination was removed after 1947, the Bengali educated proto-elite opposed Urdu more openly and forcefully. As the rulers of East Bengal were the ashraf and the Muslim League leadership in West Pakistan also considered Urdu a symbol of national integration, the Bengali language movement was suppressed, and on February 21, 1952, some activists were killed by the police in Dhaka. This date became a symbol of resistance against the Punjabi-dominated West Pakistani ruling elite. Bengali nationalism arose in response to perceived West Pakistani domination and internal colonialism and, in 1971, led to the birth of Bangladesh.
  • Tariq Rahman, Language and Ethnicity in Pakistan, Asian Survey, Vol. 37, page 836