Bangladeshis in US observe Ekushey
Immediately after the zero hour on Tuesday, the entire Bangladeshi American people began paying tributes to the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement with several organisations and community leaders placing wreaths at more than a hundred Shaheed Minars across the United States.
At the colourfully decorated memorials, thousands of people gathered to observe International Mother Language Day. Different political parties, their front organisations, and socio-cultural organisations placed wreaths at the Shaheed Minars, honouring the language heroes.
Throughout the night, tens of thousands of people continued to wait in long queues and walked past the decorated altar of the Shaheed Minars, offering flowers.
The crowds, including elderly people, women and children, many wearing black ribbons, got bigger substantially at the daybreak. The streams of people seemed unending even after mid-day and amid heated sunshine.
On this day in 1952, Salam, Barkat, Rafique, Jabbar and some unknown brave hearts laid down their lives for recognition of Bangla as the state language.
The government of the then Pakistan finally granted Bangla the status of state language in 1956. But the protest sparked on February 21, 1952 progressed into a long-drawn struggle that eventually led to the birth of independent Bangladesh in 1971.
In 2000, the Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) declared February 21 (Ekushey February) as International Mother Language Day.
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