Language Movement in Tangail

The upsurge of the Language Movement reached Tangail in 1948, with the people and students launching a protest on February 23 over the Pakistan government's stance against the demand for Bangla as a state language.

Muslim League leader Shamsul Haque went to Tangail from Dhaka in the first week of March to organise the movement. Following his meeting with local leaders on March 8, a Sangram Committee was formed with Nurul Huda as the convener.

As part of the central programme, the local Sangram Committee decided to observe a strike in Tangail on March 11. In a failed bid to quell the movement, police arrested several student leaders and political activists during a publicity campaign for the strike. Among them were Ali Akbar Khoka, Upen Malakar and Syed Abdul Matin.

According to the book Bhasha Andolon Teknaf Theke Tetulia by Ahmed Rafiq, a spontaneous strike was observed in Tangail on March 11. On that day, students marched around the city, demanding Bangla as a state language. Slogans chanted by the protesters included : "Rashtrobhasha Bangla Chai" (We want Bangla as a state language) and "Amader Dabi Mante Hobe/Dabi Na Manle Godi Chhar" (Accept our demand/Otherwise leave the chair). At one stage, the police baton-charged the protesters and arrested Upen Malakar, Shamsur Rahman Khan and some others.

The students of Tangail also played a crucial role in the Language Movement of 1952. They took to the streets when the government on January 27, 1952, declared that Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan. A Sarbodolyo Rashtrobhasha Sangram Parishad (All-Party State Language Movement Council) was formed with Nurul Huda as the convener.

Ahead of the main protest programme of the movement slated for February 21, Dhaka University student Sophia Khan came to Tangail and met with student leaders Badiuzzaman Khan, Narayan Biswas and others. The organisers of the protests also held secret meetings. They included Abdus Salam Khan, Fazlur Rahman Kaiser, Shamsur Rahman Khan Shajahan, Mirza Tofazzal Hossain Mukul, Jyotsna, Jharna, Saleha and others. To cover the expenses of the movement, two-paisa coupons were printed and voluntary donations were collected from the public.

Tangail was rocked by slogans as students from all schools and colleges in the city took to the streets on February 21, according to the book Bhasha Andolon Kosh Part 1 by M Abdul Alim.

Among them were students from Bindubasini Boys' High School and Bindubasini Girls' School. When students from Karatia Saadat College reached the city, the morale of all the other protesting students increased. They marched around the city under the leadership of Nurul Huda, a student leader of Saadat College. Later, a protest rally presided over by Abdus Salam Khan was held at the Karatia High School ground.

On the same day, the students of Kumudini College in Mirzapur also organised a rally presided over by Kohinoor Yusuf Shahi, a third-year student of the college. They adopted a resolution for Bangla as a state language and against writing Bangla in Arabic script.

When the news of the killing of protesters by police in Dhaka reached Tangail in the evening, students and the public took to the streets. The next day, on February 22, a protest rally was held at the then Police Parade Maidan (now Municipal Park). The protesters held a prayer session for the Language Movement martyrs.

The movement also spread to the rural parts of Tangail.