The Language Movement Revisited

The implications of the language movement were multifaceted and far-reaching in the social, cultural and political life of Pakistan and later on in Bangladesh from 1971 onwards. The language movement began in 1948 (though the origin of the issue could be traced further back in time as many historians did) and came to a closure with the event of February 21, 1952, when Bangalee youths laid their life for the demand of Bangla to be one of the state languages of Pakistan. Though the language movement had begun in some form in late 1947 and early 1948, the movement of 1952, despite the continuation of the same demand, was different in its vastness, significance and the involvement of people.

While the movement of February-March 1948 was limited to a small section of people, the movement of 1952 – first the protest after Pakistan's Prime Minister Nazimuddin's declaration on January 26, 1952, that only Urdu will be the state language of Pakistan, and then the police firing of February 21 leading to the martyrdom of Salam, Barkat, Rafiq Jabbar, and Shafiur – readily involved people of all walks of life in the language movement. The news of youths being killed on the streets of Dhaka (Dacca then) spread like wildfire across the length and breadth of the East Bengal province; not even the distant backwater regions remained untouched, despite the limited mobility back then in terms of communication. Even students of primary schools, both boys and girls, took to the streets to support the movement. A few weeks after February 21, Dhirendranath Dutta, whose name is inseparable from this episode of our history, said on the floor of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, "I have gotten the opportunity to mix with children in the districts. The children who can barely speak are uttering the slogan: 'Bangla shall be the state language.'" Such was the extent of the reach of the movement in 1952. 

Badruddin Umar, the foremost chronicler and historian of the language movement, identified that, in addition to the shock and rage against the killing of students in Dhaka, the corruption, authoritarianism and mismanagement of the Muslim League government and the dismal economic situation were also responsible for the rallying of such a vast number of people behind the language movement. The way people came out in support and solidarity with the movement shook the very foundation of the already unpopular Muslim League government in East Bengal. For a time, it seemed the government might be toppled at any moment.

On another plane, wide-reach was also manifested in the use of force and coercion by the state machinery. In no time, the government came down on the protesting masses with all the might at its disposal. The way the nervous, shaky government responded to the emergent situation is a textbook example of how any government infested with corruption and with an authoritarian bent responds to mass movements and protests. A smear campaign was launched against intellectuals who aired their support for the movement and condemned the police brutalities. Disinformation and rumours were being willingly spread against the movement and its organisers.

The government conjured up imaginary enemies hailing from other communities and countries as an attempt to show that all these were the handiworks of the enemies of Pakistan. Moreover, the government and intellectuals patronised by the state also found "election stunt" and "red hand" in the movement.

Schools, colleges, and university dormitories were barricaded and cordoned off by the police and military, and students and teachers were arrested and thrown into jail to languish there for months. In the few days following February 21, the police and military opened fire on the protesters on multiple occasions – many were killed, hundreds wounded. A protester named Asmat Ali, aged only 14, received a bullet injury on February 22, 1952, in Nawabpur Road and was subsequently arrested and put behind the bar. This poor child was dragged eleven times to the court before he could be bailed out after over a year of his incarceration.    

How did the language movement and the demand for Bangla to be a state language reverberate in the official circle, especially in the provincial and central legislatures and constitutional assembly? In the then official parlance and mainstream media, the language movement had been dubbed as "language controversy", "language riot", or "language disturbances" from the very beginning. There was a consistent endeavour to depict the language movement as the dancing of irrational, emotional and erratic Bangalee youths to the tune of manipulative enemies of the state. Even after the event of February 21, this notion did not disappear; instead, it was reinforced.

From the very early days of Pakistan's founding, its ruling elite tried to establish the notion of "Muslim self-rule and Islamic ideology" as the raison d'être of its existence, as it had also been the war cry of Muslim League politics in the pre-1947 days.

Moreover, the Muslim League organisation wanted to rule the newfound state in the same way the party itself had been ruled in the 1940s under the single leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In the process of forming the nation and shaping the constitution based on the representation of the people of Pakistan, whenever the question of Bangla as a state language (spoken by the majority of the country) appeared in the scene, it undermined the overarching concern of safeguarding the so-called Muslim interests. Therefore, we see, repeatedly, the government either wanted to sweep the language question under the carpet or endeavoured to dissuade the Bangalees from their demand.

Even after the unprecedented movements of 1952, when a Muslim League member of the Constituent Assembly moved a resolution to make Bangla one of the state languages of Pakistan, the government again put a hold on the decision for a later, more appropriate day. But the event of February 21, 1952, was of such significance that it was impossible to ignore the demand for Bangla to be a state language after that. Ultimately, in 1954, Bangla was added to the Basic Principal Committee Report as a state language of Pakistan alongside Urdu and finally was enshrined in the 1956 constitution of Pakistan as a state language.

Mohammad Afzalur Rahman is currently pursuing his PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University.