Editor's Pick

Observing Ekushey in its real spirit

20 February 2010, 18:00 PM
EDITORIAL
Syed Fattahul Alim
This will be the 58th occasion on which Bengalees everywhere will observe February 21 as the immortal Language Martyrs' Day. The movement that the students of Dhaka University and other educational institutions launched, in defiance of the draconian laws imposed by the then-Pakistani rulers to press home their demands to establish the status of Bengali as the state language, have all found their due place in the pages of history. We are all proud that the day has, by now, earned global recognition as the International Mother Language Day. The fact that the significance of immortal Ekushey, or February 21, has crossed geographical bounds speaks volumes for the glorious sacrifice of the language martyrs. So, there is no point in trying to further consecrate their sacrifice with complimentary phrases, an effort many make often in their writings and speeches. On the other hand, it is more important that our future generations and we further hold aloft the cause for which they laid down their lives. Much water has flowed down the Padma since the language martyrs drenched Dhaka streets with their blood. Meanwhile, we won our independence as a sovereign nation, the struggle for which was not a singular event separated from the past. In fact, the language movement had sown the first seeds of the national independence struggle, for only through winning political independence from foreign domination can a people honourably establish their mother tongue. In other words, the struggle that started with the language movement completed its mission by achieving national independence. Yet, have we ever understood the underlying significance of the continuity of this struggle? People, especially of the working class, most often look vacantly before a camera when faced with questions like "Do you know what is Ekushey (21st) February" or "Why are all these arrangements on this particular day for?" The questioners, who represent the educated middle class, often forget that this event's history, though so obvious to them, is not the working people's cup of tea. Sometimes, some among the enlightened sections of society get upset with the common people's ignorance or their lack of historical sense. But how does one really know history? It is through education. Working class members, who are not enlightened and empowered, are hardly aware of their own past, let alone that of the whole nation. Their memories are bound by their own lives and their struggle for mere physical sustenance, day in day out. It is an irony that no struggle by any section of the people ever succeeds unless it draws strength from the mass people. This is also true of the historic language movement, which would never have seen the light of success if the common people were not behind it with rock solid unity. One may recall here that most students who marched with the protest rally of February 21, 1952 came from different corners of rural Bangladesh. Their blood made their cause close to their fellow people's hearts across the country. Sadly though, the harsh struggle for everyday existence and the penury they have been through has forced them to forget the history their own children once wrote in the letters of blood. This is undeniably something very unfortunate for a people known worldwide for their historic struggle, like the language movement. It is at this point we have to face the old question afresh. Have we really been showing true respect to the language martyrs through our observance of Ekushey every year with much fanfare and publication ceremonies of new books in Bangla? What is the meaning of observing the day with all solemnity by the urban middle class, if the larger mass of the working people, most of whom are unable to read and write and deprived of the knowledge to revisit their own glorious past, watch it all with an indifferent look? Have we in the cosy urban ambience, who also control the politics, ever given serious thought on why and how we failed to bring the mainstream of society in the observance of Ekushey? On the face of it, the question boils down to this: "We have been unable to convey the message of Ekushey February among the greater mass, because the light of education is yet to reach every home." It is only after completing this task that we will be able to fulfil the mission the language martyrs have left unfinished. There is no gainsaying the fact that successive governments have been trying, in their own way, to increase the number of educated people in society. In spite of their efforts, it cannot be said that they have been able to make much progress, for ignorance goes hand in hand with poverty. With the population increasing along a geometric curve, the attending poverty, which begets ignorance, is also growing in direct proportion. This is again another uneven race that the nation is bogged down in. How are we to fight this most crucial struggle, which was also implied in the struggle that the language martyrs waged fifty-eight years ago? To show real respect to the language martyrs, it is therefore not enough that we remember them every February 21 through our songs, books, special supplements in the literature pages of newspapers, and placing floral wreaths at the base of the Shaheed Minar (Language Martyrs' Memorial). The best way to honour them is to succeed in completing the unfinished economic revolution so that the toiling masses are freed from the bondage of poverty and the curse of ignorance. It is this revolution that will ultimately remove the veil of ignorance denying them access to their own history.
Syed Fattahul Alim is a senior journalist.

Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

Click to comment
FIFA live scorecard banner
FIFA logo
Group H
Kickoff in 5h 11m
Upcoming
Spain
Spain
VS
Upcoming
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

Related News