<i>Unsung language heroes</i>
Unsung Language Movement heroes: Clockwise, late Nasirul Islam Abu Mia, Khan Ziaul Huq, Aminul Islam Chandu Mia, late Ali Ahmed, late Abdus Salam and late AKM Hamiduzzaman Ehiya. Photo: STAR
Several glorious sons of the soil, who contributed to spreading the spirit of February 1952 Language Movement among people in the then sub-divisional town Magura, are yet to get any recognition from the state. Many of them faced captivity and torture during the Language Movement in 1952, said two of the veterans who are still alive. "No political or socio-cultural organisations here hold any programme to pay tribute to the Language Movement soldiers in the area. Most of them have already passed away unsung and un-honoured," Khan Ziaul Huq, a leading Language Movement veteran in the area and educationist, told The Daily Star. Initiative to make them known is needed to inspire our new generation to make sacrifice during any national crisis, he said. Another veteran, Aminul Islam Chandu Mian, said, "The government should take rapid and effective step so that language heroes can get state honour at least posthumously." After students in capital Dhaka took the leading role in Language Movement, its wave rapidly touched the then sub-divisional town Magura as well as many other parts of the country. At the very beginning of the Language Movement in the town, local student leaders along with general students of the then Islamic College (now Government Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy College) embarked on the movement to establish 'Bangla' as a state-language. Afterwards, they also started campaigns to spread the movement in remote areas of the then sub-division. Student leaders Nasirul Islam Abu Mian, Khan Ziaul Huq, Abdul Jalil Khan, Aminul Islam Chandu Mian and Azim Dewan led the movement. On February 21, 1952, police picked up Khan Ziaul Huq, Chandu Mian and several other persons when they brought out a procession from Nomani Maidan area and moved towards Chourangi Square in the town, said Ziaul Huq and Chandu Mian. A student leader from the then Iqbal Hall of Dhaka university, Mirza Shawkat Hossain came to Magura and held meetings at different educational institutions and played a key role to mobilise general students' support in favour of the language movement. AK Hamiduzzaman Ehiya, another student leader of Raicharan High School with cooperation of the then headmaster of Sreepur High School Abdur Rahim Joarder started organising the students of different institutions in the then Sreepur thana. At that time Abdus Salam, Abdur Rashed, Ali Ahmed and Jitendranath Ghosh, among others, cooperated with Ehiya, said the Language Movement veterans. Under the leadership of Nasirul Islam Abu Mian, different programmes including rally were held at Magura on February 21 of 1952. On that day students of Raicharan High School placed floral wreath on a bamboo-made Shaheed Minar prepared by themselves.
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