FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Nasirul Islam Abu Mian (late), Khan Ziaul Haque, Aminul Islam Chandu Mian and Hamiduzzaman Ehia. BELOW: Abdus Salam (late), Ali Ahmed, Mirza Shawkat and Abdul Jalil Khan (late).Photo: STAR

Language heroes in the district have remained mostly unknown and unsung.
Taking part in the Language Movement in 1952, many people in the area, especially students, faced arrest, torture and imprisonment, said local language veterans.
"But no political or socio-cultural organisations hold any programme here to remember the glorious role of the Language Movement veterans. Most of them have already passed away with heavy hearts," said language veteran Khan Ziaul Huq, also an educationist and a cultural personality in Magura.
"Our new generation should be made aware about the contribution of language heroes so that they also might be inspired to make sacrifices in time of any national crisis," he said.
Ziaul, however, expressed his satisfaction to see spontaneous gatherings of the vigorous youths who demanded capital punishment to the war criminals.
"Now I think none can prevent our youths from building a country free from anti-liberation forces."
Echoing the same sentiment, another language hero Aminul Islam Chandu Mian said, "The government should take fruitful and rapid initiative so that language heroes can get state-honour at least posthumously."
Language Movement started from the then provincial capital Dhaka but its wave rapidly touched the then sub-divisional headquarters of Magura, like many other places of the country.
Students of the then Islamic College (now Government Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy College) embarked on the movement to establish Bangla as the state-language, language veterans said. Afterwards, they took vigorous initiative to spread the movement even 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 mainly led the language movement at Magura.
On February 23, 1952 police picked up Khan Ziaul Huq, Aminul Islam Chandu Mian and some other leaders when they brought out a procession from Nomani Maidan and moved towards Chourangi Square in Magura town, said the two language veterans.
Meanwhile, Mirza Shawkat Hossain, a student leader of the then Iqbal Hall of Dhaka University, came to Magura. He held meetings at different educational institutions and played a key role to motivate and organise the general students in joining the Language Movement.
Another student leader of Raicharan High School AK Hamiduzzaman Ehia with the cooperation of the then headmaster of Sreepur High School Abdur Rahim Joarder began to organise the students of different institutions in the then Sreepur thana. At that time Abdus Salam, Abdur Rashed, Ali Ahmed and Jitendranath Ghosh, among others, assisted Ehia, language movement veterans said.