Language Movement in Rangpur

This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the 1952 Language Movement. Drawing on research based on various published books, this 21-part series tells the story of the historic struggle for our mother tongue.

The flames of the Language Movement spread across Rangpur since 1948.

According to "Bhasha Andolon Kosh-Volume 1" by M Abdul Aleem, the movement in the district had its roots at Carmichael College.

On March 11, 1948, following a central programme, students in Rangpur organised a strike, held a rally, boycotted classes, and marched in a procession.

Students from district-level schools also joined the procession and gathered at the Rangpur Public Library grounds for a meeting.

On March 24, when Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared Urdu as the state language, students from Carmichael College staged protests similar to those in Dhaka.

The college principal Debendra Prasad Ghosh played a crucial role in the movement in support of the students' demands for Bangla to be the official language. However, under pressure from the administration, he voluntarily resigned from his position and moved to India.

Syed Shahabuddin, a non-Bangalee, then became the new principal. From the very start, he took a tough stance against the movement.

Student leader Nurul Islam was even expelled from the college for his involvement in the protests.

According to Ahmad Rafiq's "Bhasha Andolon Teknaf Theke Tentulia", in 1951, under the leadership of Mili Chowdhury, a student procession marched to the Rangpur District Court to demand that Bangla be the state language.

At one point, Mili stepped out of the procession, went up to the court bench, took a pen from the district judge, and asked, "Why are you writing in English?" She then immediately broke the pen and returned to the procession.

At that time, Rangpur's intelligence officers suggested the district judge file a case. He, however, chose to advise the police against using harsh measures on the students. He recommended waiting for the situation to calm down.

Among those conspiring to undermine the Language Movement in Rangpur were leaders of the pro-Pakistan Muslim League -- Masur Rahman Jadu Mia, Bodiruddin, and Mohammad Waris. They organised a public meeting, but when East Pakistan Chief Minister Nurul Amin and Muslim League leader Shah Aziz attempted to speak, they were forced to leave due to protests from the crowd.

Protests also erupted on the streets of Rangpur during the 1952 Language Movement. At the beginning of February, an all-party struggle committee was formed with Abul Hossain as the convener. Other members included Monikrishna Sena, Jitendranath Dutta, Shankar Basu, Shibend Mukhopadhyay, Darajuddin Mondal, and Moyeruddin, among others.

As soon as the news of police shooting and killing students on February 21 reached Rangpur, students and the public organised a protest march.

Slogans such as "We want justice for student killings; we want Bangla as the state language" were chanted.

In his book "Bhasha Andolon Teknaf Theke Tentulia", Ahmad Rafiq writes that at this time, three students were injured in East Pakistan Rifles baton charge and police arrested several student leaders and a professor from Carmichael College.

The language movement spread beyond the city to the remote areas of Rangpur as well. Members of the local Communist Party and its affiliate organisations played a key role in spreading the movement across the district. 

On March 8, in an effort to assist protesting students, police arrested Jamir Uddin, a teacher of the Bangla department, and Golam Azam, a professor of the political science department of Police College.

At the same time, police issued a warrant for the arrest of Kalim Uddin Mondal from the philosophy department. However, he was able to evade arrest as he was at his village at the time.