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Witness History: The Bengali language movement

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The Bengali language movement

13/12/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Bengali language movement

How a march in defence of Bengali galvanised demands for an independent Bangladesh.

In February 1952 thousands marched in Dhaka in defence of the Bengali language. Eight protesters were shot dead by police in what became known as Language Movement Day.

In February 1952 thousands of people marched in Dhaka in defence of the Bengali language. Eight of the protesters were shot dead by police. It became known as Bangladesh's Language Movement Day. We hear from Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, one of the demonstrators, whose song about the protests became the anthem of the movement.

(Photo: Student demonstrators gather by Dhaka University, February 1952. Courtesy of Prof Rafiqul Islam and Liberation War Museum).

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