Bengali “Language Movement” for Dummies

[idune]

ইয়ে এক চমৎকারি নয়া মা' কি ভাষা হ্যায়
সূত্র, নিউ এইজ

 

[Saiful Islam]

One thing i like to add, Bollywood movies are popular across Subcontinent upto Afghanistan also. Why?
Its because these are in Hindi/Urdu. That means if Bengalis cant speak Urdu, they at-least understand it. Majority of Bangladesh populaces is muslim. I also assume that they read Quran, which is in Arabic. The alphabets of Arabic and Urdu / Farsi are 99% same. If someone can read Arabic, he can easily read Urdu/Persian with ease.
That is an advantage of Urdu, which is not available with Bangla.
We in Pakistan cant read/Write or understand Bangla, but go to any ethnic group of Pakistan (Baloch, Punjabi, Sindhi, Hazara, Brohi, Kashmiri, Sindhi) they can read understand urdu. There is no super logic behind that, its just because Quran unite us on this through its Arabic alphabetic system.

I would like to see more comments on these from @idune @khair_ctg @Al-zakir @asad71

Most Bangladeshis can speak Urdu, many of our waaz mehfils are delivered in Urdu to the Bengali populace and nothing new. Many Bengalis also pick up Urdu for the sake of ease, to get in and around better in western countries where some areas may have a Pak and BD demographic. Urdu is like a middle language for us, in my place the although their mother tongue is Mirpuri speak Urdu with the Bangalis and Afghans as its mutually intelligible.

 

[extra terrestrial]

Nothing but a political blunder by the ruling elites!!!!

BTW Golam Azam was one of the major conveners of the language movement.

 

[Saiful Islam]

Nothing but a political blunder by the ruling elites!!!!

BTW Golam Azam was one of the major conveners of the language movement.

Do the masses know this and if so why was he imprisoned for life?

 

[extra terrestrial]

Do the masses know this and if so why was he imprisoned for life?

Well it's like open secret, his contributions are not included in the text books though.

His imprisonment was related to his actions in 1971.

 

[Gandh brandi]

I agree with most of the points. But the OP's too biased to be taken seriously. The issue was not with language, but sharing of power. Why was Pakistan ruled by generals and election was prevented most of its history? Because if democracy were to be ratified then inevitably the power would have gone to E. Pakistan. But the W. Pakistani aristocracy couldn't stand that could they? And why wouldn't Bangalis read Tagore and others? The religious tension wasn't prevalent during their time. I don't know why pro-Pakistani BD members' loathing about the loss of Urdu. Has the Latin script of Turkish, Malaya languages, Slavic script of Chechen, Mongol and all the former USSR breakaways' languages made them any less muslim?

 

[khair_ctg]

And how long ago was that? Apart from those slum-dwelling Biharis, name me any group of Bangladeshis that speak Urdu now? Let alone willing?

here are some facts that are good for you:

- Biharis are not the only group of Mohajirs of Bangladesh; there are UP, Gujarati/Memoni, and other types of Mohajir Bangladeshis

- Loki you are seriously allergic to the idea that Urdu has traditionally been a language of Bengalis. you are constantly in denial of these facts that ethnic Bengali Muslims can be native Urdu speakers and educated Bengali-speaking Muslims traditionally have used Urdu as second language. i want to know where you caught this allergy from.

- many Urdu speaking ethnic Bengali Muslims gradually relegated Urdu (their mother tongue) to a second language, or have even completely stopped major practice since the Bengali nationalist extremism started. you here unfortunately are part of that extremism. many Urdu speaking ethnic Bengali Muslims also migrated to Pakistan and India. and as one should understand, it was not by choice. (this is serious and i want you to reflect on it)

- this is the kind of extreme Bengali nationalism (which in reality has nothing Bengali about it) poisoned us and killing us.

Loki try to have a little respect for yourself. you have a fantastic perception of the country you consider yourself part of

And where did I say that Urdu should be discarded? Did I discriminate against Urdu?

I agree with most of the points. But the OP's too biased to be taken seriously. The issue was not with language, but sharing of power. Why was Pakistan ruled by generals and election was prevented most of its history? Because if democracy were to be ratified then inevitably the power would have gone to E. Pakistan. But the W. Pakistani aristocracy couldn't stand that could they? And why wouldn't Bangalis read Tagore and others? The religious tension wasn't prevalent during their time. I don't know why pro-Pakistani BD members' loathing about the loss of Urdu. Has the Latin script of Turkish, Malaya languages, Slavic script of Chechen, Mongol and all the former USSR breakaways' languages made them any less muslim?

you are right about the highlighted part. since 1947 until today, the Pakistan framework is the only framework that represents the Bangladeshi people, and their history and their aspirations. so there ideally should not be a single person in Bangladesh who is not pro-Pakistan. and also because a Bangladeshi person not being pro-Pakistan necessarily means they are extreme Hindu nationalists allergic to anything with a hint of Muslim.

anyways, does hating your own language based on lies make you more Bengali?

Why was Pakistan ruled by generals and election was prevented most of its history?

so let's play the ethnic card.

United Pakistan was dominated by a particular military 'strongman' until 1958. and what started after 1958 was also his own doing. who was this Bengali person? it seems it is the West Pakistanis who should have been complaining. of course they would if they were invaded and turned into a freak show by India.

Nothing but a political blunder by the ruling elites!!!!

BTW Golam Azam was one of the major conveners of the language movement.

but no mistake from the leftist agitators?

care to explain what the blunder was, besides not locking up those little "language movement" monsters for good?

 

[extra terrestrial]

but no mistake from the leftist agitators?

care to explain what the blunder was, besides not locking up those little "language movement" monsters for good?

So you think Golam Azam was a leftist?

Shooting at the students was the blunder. In a democratic country, you can stage any peaceful demonstration.

 

[khair_ctg]

So you think Golam Azam was a leftist?

Shooting at the students was the blunder. In a democratic country, you can stage any peaceful demonstration.

**some Bengali politicians, including Ghulam Azam and others were in favour of Bengali as another national language, besides Urdu, based on Bengalis being the largest ethnic group of Pakistanis. JeI later withdraw participation in the movement sensing larger agenda of leftists (but still favoured Bengali national language)

Myth 7: 21st February marks a day when brave but ordinary students expressed their love for mother tongue

Reality: 21st February marks a day when certain political activists or political cadres expressed their hate for a mother tongue and a literary language of Bengal and Bengalis, i.e. Urdu.

The 21st February agitation was a political operation that was aimed at arousing hatred for a Muslim heritage of Bengalis. This was done by certain radical quarters who aroused anti-West Pakistan and anti-Bengali-Muslim sentiments at the same time. They hoped to take advantage of the high illiteracy of Bengali Muslims, to distance Bengali Muslims from their roots and to destroy any Muslim identity in Bengal. they hoped to distance the Urdu-speaking Bengalis from the non-Urdu-speaking ones, to distance Bengalis from non-Bengalis.

The 21st February agitation led to mass hatred and violence on a language and people. The UN International Mother Language day which is on the same day still does not acknowledge the mass crimes committed, and a culture of intolerance and ignorance developed around the Bengali “Language Movement” on which the date of the UN day is based on. Ironically, the intolerance and ignorance is towards other languages of Bangladeshis.