The elections in Bangladesh are over. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), headed by Zia scion Tariq Rahman, fondly called Tariq Zia, is set to take over as Prime Minister after an 18-month gap during which Mohammed Yunus served as the country’s chief advisor. Tariq is the son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, and Ziaur Rahman, a military officer turned President.
Tariq Rahman Legacy
East Pakistan was liberated from Pakistan on December 16, 1971, becoming Bangladesh, though the country celebrates March 27, 1971, as Independence Day. Although Mujibur Rahman was arrested and jailed, his declaration relayed via radio by Major Ziaur Rahman (a claim still contested) rallied Bengalis to fight for freedom, leading to independence after a bloody nine-month conflict.
Mukti Yodha Motiur Rahman Rintu writes in his book Amar Phasi Chai that on March 26, 1971, Major Zia declared from Kalurghat Radio in Chittagong: "I am Major Zia, President of People's Republic of Bangladesh. I declare independence of Bangladesh." Hours later, he announced again: "I am Major Zia. I declare independence of Bangladesh on behalf of our great leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman."
Major Zia's mutiny against Pakistan's East Bengal Regiment established him as a freedom fighter equal to, if not more prominent than, Mujibur Rahman and his colleagues. This rivalry marks the beginning of Bangladesh's troubled political history.
Today, after Tariq Rahman won the Bangladesh elections with a majority against Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, son-in-law of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, congratulated Rahman in Bangla.
It was Bhutto who sought to oust Mujib despite the Awami League winning 167 seats out of 300 in the 1970 elections, pushing to nullify those results, and consequently leading to the war of liberation of Bangladesh.
Language was a prime issue, but Bengali culture and identity were also prime driving forces.
Politics of Language and Culture
In 2016, I posted an image from Schengen, where the EU declaration was signed. It showed a spinning wheel with the word "peace" written in many languages. I was happy to see Hindi among them.
My friend from Dhaka saw the image and called immediately, asking, "Didn't you see the Bengali script?" I said sadly no. His next question: "Urdu?" I said no. He sighed. "Well, we don't want to demean Urdu, but Bengali is equal to other languages." I understood the deep sentiment as a Bengali. I could relate to the pain and anxiety.
To understand this, we must return to 1947, when Sir Cyril Radcliffe carved out the Dominion of Pakistan, and how Urdu-speaking domination gave rise to Bengali nationalism. Urdu and Bengali were separated by 4,000 kilometers, with India in between.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah, supremo of the newly formed Pakistan, visited its Eastern Wing called ‘East Pakistan’ on March 18, 1948. It was the first and last time the Governor-General visited Dacca (as it was then called). Still smoking and coughing blood, Jinnah was in tremendous health distress as his lungs failed.
On March 21, as the sun set, Jinnah stood before the people at the packed Race Course maidan, his hard breathing audible. "Urdu would be Pakistan's only national language," his feeble voice declared. After sudden silence came a barrage from the crowd: "No, no, no..."
Days later, on March 24, 1948, at Dhaka University, Jinnah reiterated that regional areas may have their own languages, but Pakistan's national language would remain Urdu. Again, a barrage of negation followed. Among the students, Abdul Matin was notably emotional and proactive in challenging Pakistan’s ‘Quaid-e-Azam’. Thus, the language movement was seeded.
Months before in Dacca, another Bengali, Dhirendranath Dutta, proclaimed at the Constituent Assembly: "The national language should be the language spoken by the majority of the people. I think Bangla should be the lingua franca of our country." Liaquat Ali understood his point, but West Pakistan’s politics saw it as Bengali hegemony threatening their control.
Though there was no immediate effect, seeds were sown when students rebuffed Jinnah during his only visit to Dhaka. This fueled what became known as the Language Movement.
As years passed, none of the provincial heads or prime ministers from East Pakistan—all Bengali—could assert linguistic equality. Neither Mohammed Ali Bogra nor Nurul Amin could convince the West Pakistan power structure.
By the 1950s, agitation intensified. Student protests demanded Bengali as the national or primary language. Eminent scholar Asjadul Kibria has cited the movement's looming storm destined to erupt as revolution.
In his book Bhasha Andoloner Golpo, a chapter titled "Batashe Ekushey Ghran" (The Air Filled with the Smell of Twenty-First February) describes how students from Chittagong to Dhaka prepared to stand against West Pakistan's decision.
Over dinner in Dhaka, Asjadul told me about the media's role; dailies like Ittafaq, Insaf, and Naye Bellal supported the movement. Interestingly, Insaf, which leaned toward West Pakistan, also supported it. English dailies like The Morning News and The Pakistan Observer were critical, though The Dawn from Lahore, initially critical, supported the movement after February 21.
The Bloody February 21
The East Pakistan budget was scheduled for the assembly. Dhaka city was under Section 144 of CrPC. Gatherings of more than four people or any agitation would result in arrest without warrant. Police were thick around Dhaka University and the assembly. Even the Paltan Maidan and Ramana Racecourse areas had a heavy police presence. The administration knew fire was brewing.
Language movement leaders like Abdul Matin, Ghulam Maula, and Ali Ahmad met in the university canteen, planning how to break Section 144.
That fateful Thursday, students rallied in small groups of ten from where Dhaka Medical College stands today, then the Arts faculty. Around noon, with spring breeze and soaring heat, chanting students mobilised. Habibur Rahman, Shelly, Azmal Hossain, and Safia Khatoon led students toward the police picket.
An uncontrollable crowd forced police to fire tear gas. Students hurled stones; many broke through, marching toward the assembly. Police used canes and beat students mercilessly, regardless of gender, but retreated without arrests.
Protests spread within two kilometers of the university. Even a cabinet minister, MNA Hossain Ali, was gheraoed. His car was stoned until police rescued him. By 3 PM, .303 rifles were drawn. Rafiquddin Ahmad's skull shattered, showing grey matter; the bullet tore it apart. Rafiq became the first martyr of the Language Movement. Today's Shahid Minar in Dhaka is a memorial for those who fell while establishing Bengali as their language.
There was no Awami League or Jamaat. It was just a student movement asserting their freedom against West Pakistan-dominated politics 4,000 kilometers away. The movement succeeded. By 1956, the Pakistani government recognized Bengali as an official state language.
The Muslim League amended the Constitution to make Bengali a state language for official use. Today, all script in Bangladesh is Bengali, and people remain sentimental about their language.
On a recent trip, a Dhaka driver who took me around messaged me comfortably in Bengali script. When I asked about Urdu, he smiled: "A few words like 'pani' (water) and 'izzat' (honour) are used, but not much. We have no problem with Pakistan as long as they accord 'izzat' to our language and identity. Religion-wise, we are brothers."
With 8,000 regional languages, UNESCO in 1999 recognised this day as International Mother Language Day, giving special status to "Ekushe February." "Amar bhaier rokte ranga ekushe February...ami ki bhulte pari..." (My brother's blood has wrapped this 21st February—can I forget it?) wrote Abdul Gaffar Choudhury in 1952.
“My thirteen-year-old son has received this poem,” the driver said. He told me about the Language Movement and its poems and songs, which he and his Bangladeshi friends discuss. With language, Bengalis remain fiercely independent. This was demonstrated in 1971 and again in August 2024, when freedom to them meant nothing less than absolute.
The present challenge remains between ‘Joy Bangla’ & ‘Naray Taqbeer’.
Hopes Revive
Today, Shahid Minar, where students fell that February day, is an iconic structure and rallying point against political atrocities, including Sheikh Hasina's repression. All protests start at Shahid Minar near the Medical College in Dhaka, an emblem of identity and protest.
Almost 55 years since that day, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party returned with a majority. Tariq, who was nineteen when his father was assassinated, now takes over.
His UK exile hasn't eroded his Bengali. In all election speeches, he spoke only Bengali, apologising to foreign diplomats and journalists that he would stick to Bangla.
As Tariq Rahman wins and prepares to lead the country, he would remember the significance of language in Bangladesh's politics, a movement his own family helped shape. His father, Major Ziaur Rahman’s contribution, the blood spilled at Shahid Minar, and the sacrifices of February 21 are reminders that Bangladesh was born not just from a struggle for territory, but for the right to speak, write, and think in one's mother tongue. Tariq honours that legacy.
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