Language Movement in East Bengal

E30577

The Language Movement in East Bengal was a mid-20th-century political and cultural struggle, centered in what is now Bangladesh, to establish Bengali as a recognized state language against attempts to impose Urdu.


Statements (63)
Predicate Object
instanceOf cultural movement
language movement
political movement
social movement
alsoKnownAs Bangla Bhasha Andolon
Bengali Language Movement
Language Movement of 1952
broaderContext debates over national identity in Pakistan
post-partition politics of Pakistan
cause attempt to impose Urdu as sole state language of Pakistan
marginalization of Bengali-speaking majority in Pakistan
center Dhaka
commemoratedOn 21 February
country Pakistan
culturalImpact promotion of Bengali literature and arts in East Bengal
endDate 1956
goal recognition of Bengali as a state language of Pakistan
right to use Bengali in education and administration
use of Bengali as a medium in higher education in East Bengal
use of Bengali in the armed forces of Pakistan
use of Bengali on currency and stamps of Pakistan
historicalPeriod mid-20th century
influenced Bangladesh Liberation War
rise of Bengali nationalism
keyEvent defiance of Section 144 (ban on public gatherings) in Dhaka in February 1952
police firing on protesters on 21 February 1952 in Dhaka
student demonstrations against Urdu-only policy
keySite Dhaka Medical College
Dhaka University
Dhaka University Arts Faculty premises
Dhaka University campus area around the present Shaheed Minar
legacy International Mother Language Day
location East Bengal
East Pakistan
present-day Bangladesh
mainLanguage Bengali
memorial Shaheed Minar in Dhaka
notableMartyr Barkat
Jabbar
Rafiq
Salam
Shafiur Rahman
opponent Government of Pakistan
Muslim League leadership of Pakistan
opposedLanguagePolicyFor Urdu
participant general Bengali-speaking population of East Bengal
students of Dhaka Medical College
students of Dhaka University
students of other educational institutions in East Bengal
teachers and intellectuals of East Bengal
peakEventDate 1952-02-21
politicalImpact delegitimization of central Pakistani authority in East Bengal
recognizedBy UNESCO
relatedTo Bengali nationalism
history of Bangladesh
language rights movements worldwide
result adoption of Bengali as one of the state languages in the 1956 Constitution of Pakistan
recognition of Bengali as a state language of Pakistan
strengthening of Bengali national consciousness
significantYear 1948
1952
startDate 1947
UNESCODecision proclamation of 21 February as International Mother Language Day in 1999

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Language Movement in East Bengal ("Bangla Bhasha Andolon")
alsoKnownAs
Bengal
associatedWithMovement
Bengali literature ("Bengali Language Movement in East Pakistan")
languageMovementConnection

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