Written piece
A Tale of Language
Helal Uddin Ahmed
Bangladesh
About this piece
The poem is about the 1952 Language Movement in East Pakistan that led to recognition of Bengali as the state language of Pakistan, and ultimately inspired the Bengalis to wage an Independence War resulting in the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign country.
A Tale of Language
Helal Uddin Ahmed
The characters are gone, but the poet toils on,
Turning the pages of days bygone.
When Nineteen-fifty-two arrived in Bangladesh’s history
Protesting youths hit the streets – the rulers became jittery,
The youths demanded due honour for mother-tongue Bengali
The state language should be theirs as they were the majority.
But the police fired on them quite unprovoked
Many were killed in clashes that followed
Youths like Rafiq, Salam, Barkat, Jabbar died
From that a resolve for freedom was to ignite.
Came Nineteen-seventy-one – a nation in turmoil
The craving for freedom made young hearts boil,
The youths took up arms, the occupiers were in quagmire
After nine months of war – they were forced to surrender.
A country called Bangladesh was thereby born
Pride of teeming millions who strove for freedom,
The demand for giving due honour to a mother-tongue
Ultimately got translated into a new nation for the young.
That Language Martyrs’ Day is now observed globally
As International Mother Language Day of humanity,
The love for language springs from the soul eternally
The human spirit can never be subdued heartlessly.
The characters are many and the settings so many,
The tales never end till eternity’s bend.