By Mainul Islam Khan
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Bangladesh has paid tribute Saturday to those who died fighting for the Bangla language more then 60 years ago on International Mother Language Day.
The country’s president, Abdul Hamid, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the deceased before what is known as the capital’s language movement monument Shaheed Minar placing floral circlets and silence for a minute.
Indian state West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, also joined as she is on a three-day official trip to Bangladesh.
In 1952, students’ protests to uphold and recognize Bangla as the official language of then-East Pakistan were met by police who shot and killed numerous demonstrators.
The Pakistani government had wanted to impose Urdu as the only national and official language of the country.
The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh and the national flag flies half-mast all over the country.
International Mother Language Day, which UNESCO introduced in 1999, is observed worldwide each year on Feb. 21.
