THE 21ST FEBRUARY

The 21st February is a red letter day in our history. This day has historical importance in the history of Bangladesh. The Language Movement of 1952 paves the way to our Liberation War. Many historians think that the Language Movement was the starting point of the Liberation War . On 21st February 1952, during the time of Pakistani ruling, some valiant sons of our country laid down their lives for our mother tongue, Bangla. Since then, the day has been observed as our Shaheed Day commemorating the sacrifice of the language martyrs. But since 2000, this day has been recognized by the UNO as the International Mother Language Day. And so the importance of the 21st February has become greater. However, 21st February is now observed all over the world as a memorable day. In our country it is observed as a national mourning day. The National Flag is hoisted half mast to mark the day. On this day people of all classes walking up early in the morning bring out a procession called Probhat Ferry. Everybody in the procession walk bare footed and sing the sad song, "Amar bhaeer rakte rungano...... Amiki Bholite Pari.." They put on black badges on their breast or shoulder and go in procession to the Shaheed Minar. They express their respect to the martyrs by offering flowers and wreath at the foot of the Shaheed Minar. They also arrange meetings and seminars to mark the day. Our newspapers bring out special features of the day. The TV and radio put up special program highlighting the significance of the day. In fact the significance of the day in our national life is very great.