Language is the bridge

It was a different day at Benapole no-man's land as thousands of emotion-filled people from Bangladesh and India, carrying banners, festoons and placards, gathered there to mark Language Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day yesterday.

Away on Hili border under Hakimpur upazila of Dinajpur, nationals of Bangladesh and India jointly observed the day at zero point.

Border Guard Bangladesh and Border Security Force of India greeted each other with flowers at Benapole, where a makeshift Shaheed Minar was erected to pay homage to the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement, reports our Benapole correspondent.

Distinguished guests from India and Bangladesh placed flowers at the temporary Shaheed Minar on no man's land at 9:00am.

People of both countries donated blood at the function.

“I have come here to respond to the call of the mother tongue. I'm overwhelmed to see the friendly people of both countries observing the day together. The Language Movement led to the independence of Bangladesh,” said West Bengal Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick.

The people of this soil had set a rare example of sacrificing their lives for their mother tongue, Indian poet Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay said.

He hoped that such a gathering would bring the people of the two neighbouring countries closer.

The nation will remember the heroes of the soil who sacrificed their lives to establish Bangla as the state language, said Pijush Kanti Bhattacharya, presidium member of Awami League.

Artistes from Bangladesh and India rendered songs at the function.

Our Dinajpur Correspondent reports: Nationals of Bangladesh and India jointly observed International Language Day at zero point of Hili border under Hakimpur upazila of the district yesterday.

Hakimpur unit of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad Command and Teor Ujjiban Society of Dakkhin Dinajpur of West Bengal in India jointly organised the programme. A temporary Shaheed Minar was also built there to mark the day.

Minister of Primary and Mass Education Ministry Mostafizur Rahman attended the programme as the chief guest.

A 10-member team from India, led by Suraj Das, secretary of Teor Ujjiban Society, came to Bangladesh territory at around 10:00am yesterday. Upazila Muktijoddha Sangsad Commander Liakat Ali, and Jamil Hossain Chalanta, mayor of Hakimpur municipality, gave them a warm reception. Later, they jointly placed flowers at the makeshift Shaheed Minar after hoisting the Bangladesh national flag.

“February 21 is a proud achievement of Bangladesh because it is being celebrated across the globe every year as International Mother Language Day,” Minister Mostafizur Rahman said.

Suraj Das in his speech urged the people of the two neighbouring countries to observe the day with due respect.

Liakat, who chaired the meeting, said such programmes marking the day should be arranged every year so that a large number of people of India and Bangladesh can attend.

The programme ended with a vibrant cultural show performed by the artistes of Bangladesh and India.

Cross-border trade through the Hili Land port remained closed yesterday.