An Ekushey Anthology : 1952-2022

Seventy years ago, on 21 February 1952, police fired on a procession, killing at least five persons, including a young boy. A sixth person was killed the next day. These young men – along with numerous other young men and women – had been protesting the imposition of Urdu as the state language of Pakistan. They were demanding that Bangla, spoken by the majority of the people in Pakistan, should also be made a state language: Rashtra bhasha bangla chai. Commemorated as Shaheed Dibosh, Ekushey February was the catalyst for Bengali nationalism, a growing awareness of the differences between the two wings of Pakistan. Since 2000, with UNESCO acknowledging its importance, the day is celebrated as International Mother Language Day. Ekushey February has inspired numerous poems, stories, novels, plays, movies. A few of the writings inspired by 21 February have been included in translation in An Ekushey Anthology: 1952-2022. While the early pieces focus on the martyrs who sacrificed their lives, the later pieces celebrate the expansion of the day to include all mother languages. This volume includes translations into English as well as original writings in English to suggest the varying responses to the day, the different emotions inspired by Ekushey February or Shaheed Dibosh. Ekushey February is not just a memorialization of the language martyrs but, as International Mother Language Day, a worldwide celebration of the diversity of human languages and the need to preserve endangered languages. Among the writers included are Anisuzzaman, Jahanara Arzoo, Alauddin Al Azad, Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, Asad Chowdhury, Mahbub Ul Alam Chowdhury, Saleha Chowdhury, Bimal Guha, Daud Haider, Moni Haider, Dilwar Hasan, Mojaffor Hossain, Selina Hossain, Mohammad Nurul Huda, Obaidul Huq, Ali Imam, Nuzhat Amin Mannan, Shaukat Osman, Afroza Parveen, Jharna Das Purkayastha, Hasan Hafizur Rahman, Jharna Rahman, Zahir Raihan, Neeman Sobhan. Taka 500.00