It has been suggested that the freedom-struggle of Bangladesh originated from the Bengali language movement. Statistically Bengalis were the majority community of Pakistan - About fifty-five percent of the total population.
The Language Controversy
The language controversy of Pakistan started even before the creation of Pakistan. Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh-University of India had suggested that Urdu should be the official language.
Simultaneously Dr. Md. Shahidullah, a noted Bengali linguist from Dhaka-University, opposed the suggestion and put forth arguments in favour of Bengali as the future state language of Pakistan.
He wrote: If Urdu or Hindi instead of Bengali is used in our law courts and universities, that would be tantamount to political slavery.
(Shahidullah 1947: 34-35)
> Bengali Language Movement: One - Three
Via Bangladesh-Blogger
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