Bangabandhu The Architect

• Language movement started

  1948
• Language movement

  1952
• Bangabandhu's role in the 1952 language movement


  • He was in jail but provided necessary guidance to the leaders
• The language movement is considered the first step towards independent Bangladesh
• The journey towards independent Bangladesh began with the language movement
• Independent Bangladesh did not happen overnight, not just with one movement
• Since the language movement, there have been continuous political and cultural movements
• At that time, politics was very eventful, but there was a lack of unity, courage, sacrifice among the senior leaders on the one hand, and various disturbances and conveniences among them on the other hand, resulting in the unsuccessful outcome of the dauntless movement of the student-youth movement
• Even among the common people, there was a crisis regarding their national identity
• Just after breaking away from India, the region split into three parts, forming a Muslim-majority Pakistan, with East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and West Pakistan, and a Hindu-majority India between the parts of Pakistan
• As a consequence of this religion-based partition, many people had to leave their ancestral land
• At that time, Bangabandhu expressed his disappointment with the contemporary political leadership
• Even after the formation of the United Front government through the historic elections of 1954, the Pakistani conspiracy did not stop and within a few days, the Pakistani government overthrew the elected United Front government of the province through conspiracy
• In the context of the failure of the leaders to prevent it and take appropriate political action against it, Bangabandhu wrote in his autobiography with great anger"From this day, the days of sorrow for the Bengalis began. Incompetent leadership, policyless leaders, and selfish politicians collaborating with each other have never come together for the sake of the country. Instead, the destruction of the country and the people has always been greater than serving the country. (The Unfinished Memoirs,, p. 273)"
• Military rule began


  1958
• Military rule withdrawn


  1962
• After the withdrawal of military rule, student movements started
• During that time, various political leaders and parties had various conflicts with Pakistan
• The conflicts with Pakistan did not bring about any results
• Bangabandhu


  President of the Awami League
• Bangabandhu declared the Six-Point Movement including the demand for autonomy


  1966
• From 1966 onwards, Bangabandhu emerged as the central figure in all movements and struggles in Bengal
• Considering Bangabandhu the opponent, the Pakistani government consistently kept him in custody
• The 2-day long literary and cultural conference in East Pakistan (then Pakistan) was organized twice on December 31, 1948, and January 1,

  1949 in Curzon Hall, Dhaka. Although the initiative was taken by Habibullah Bahar, the Health Minister of the East Pakistan government, many intellectuals, including language scholar Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah opposed any kind of religious division in Bengali language and literature.
• Dr. Shahidullah


  The main convener of the conference, and the chairman of the main session
• Dr. Shahidullah: '"If we write Bengali in Arabic script, we will be deprived of the vast reservoir of Bengali literature."'
• Dr. Shahidullah: '"If Urdu or Hindi is accepted in the courts and schools of East Pakistan instead of the Bengali language, it will only be a kind of political subjugation."'
• Conferences held

  1. Pakistan Cultural Conference in Chittagong, March 1951

  2. East Pakistan Cultural Conference in Comilla, August 1952

  3. East Pakistan Literary Conference in Dhaka, April 1954

  4. Cultural Conference in Kagmari, Tangail, 1957 (under the leadership of Awami League President Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani)
• These conferences and the celebration of Rabindra birth centenary organized across the country including Dhaka and Chittagong, ignoring the military rule in 1961, got a huge response among the educated people and students and youth of the whole province
• In Chittagong and Comilla conferences, veteran researcher and punthi (book of verses of a kind) collector Abdul Karim Sahityabisharod (a title given to Abdul Karim, meaning the literary expert) expressed the non-sectarian humanitarian tradition of Bengali and the liberal humanitarian trend of literature and culture in the speech of the chief guest
• Abdul Karim: 'You should develop the culture of all people. ... Today you are rich in the wealth of four hundred years of culture.'
• Later, the essayist Badruddin Umar, referring to the speech of this late scholar, wrote, 'It will not be an exaggeration at all to call the sppech of Abdul Karim the declaration of the cultural movement which developed in East Bengal for twenty years after the Chittagong Cultural Conference.'
• Chayanot


  A cultural organization that played a significant role in a movement
• Attempts to establish Chayanot


  1. After the centenary celebration of Rabindranath

  2. Initiated various programs round the year

  3. Including discussions on Rabindra Sangeet and standard Bengali songs and their practices in 1963
• Chayanot


  • Journalist Wahidul Haque and Dr. Sanjida Khatun played pivotal roles in shaping the organization and guiding its activities
• Chayanot initiated the celebration of the Bengali New Year's Day


  1. In the early morning

  2. Starting the tradition of Pohela Boishakh in Ramna's Botomul (under the banyan tree of Ramna)
• New Year celebrations had been taking place in many districts earlier, but this marked the beginning of a national-level celebration with a common vision
• Following this, the Institute of Fine Arts (now the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka) started the colorful Mangal Shobhajatra (Well-being procession)
• In recent times, the Mangal Shobhajatra has received recognition from UNESCO as a world heritage
• The progressive writers, artists, and students of Dhaka University formed the "Sanskriti Sangsad" (Cultural Council)


  1950s