21 February is a memorable day
21
February
21 February is a memorable
day in our national history. We observe the day every year as International
Mother Language Day. The day is a national holiday.
On this day, we pay tribute
to the martyrs who laid down their lives to establish Bangla as a state
language in undivided Pakistan in 1952. This is known as the Language Movement.
The seed of the Language
Movement was sown on 21 March 1948 when Mohammad Ali Zinnah, the then Governor
General of Pakistan, at a public meeting in Dhaka declared that Urdu would be
the only official language of Pakistan. The declaration raised a storm of
protest in the eastern part of the country. The protest continued non-stop,
gathering momentum day by day. It turned into a movement and reached its climax
in 1952. The government outlawed all sorts of public meetings and rallies to
prevent it.
The
students of Dhaka University defied the law and they brought out a peaceful
protest procession on 21 February 1952. When the procession reached near Dhaka
Medical College the police opened fire on the students, killing Salam, Rafiq,
Barkat and Jabbar. This enkindled the sparks of independent movement of
Bangladesh.
Memorable (†ggvive&j&)adj-¯§iYxq;
Syn-
unforgettable; Ant- forgettable; Observe (Ae&Rvf&)vt-cvjb
Kiv;
Syn- celebrate; Ant- ignore; Tribute (wUªwe¨EU&)n-kÖ×v;
Syn- respect, homage, honour; Ant- disrespect; Martyr (gv:Uv(i&))n-kwn`; Lay down phrase- DrmM© Kiv; Syn- sacrifice; Ant- defend; Establish (B÷¨ve&wjk&)vt-¯’vcb
Kiv; Syn-
set up,
ascertain; Ant- close
down; Undivided (AvbwWfvBwWW&)adj-Awef³;
Syn- unbroken; Ant- divided; Seed (mxW&)n-exR; Sow (†mv)vt-ecb
Kiv; Syn-
plant; Declare (wWK&‡jAv(i&))vt-†NvlYv
Kiv; Syn- announce, state; Ant- cancel; Raise (†iBR&)vt-RvMÖZ
Kiv, DVv‡bv; Syn- cause, provoke, gear up; Ant- quell, slow down; Protest (†cÖvD‡Um&U&)n-cÖwZev`; Syn- demonstration, march; Ant- support; Gather (M¨v`v(i&))vt-AR©b
Kiv; Syn- gain, get; Ant- diffuse, weaken; Momentum (gv‡gb&Uvg&)n-MwZ,
ZxeªZv; Syn- motion,
force;
Ant- brake; Climax (K¬vBg¨vK&m&)n-Pig
Ae¯’v; Syn-
peak, apex; Ant- nadir; Prevent (wcÖ‡fb&U&)vt-evav
†`qv; Syn-
stop, avert,
avoid, discourage; Ant- encourage, gear up, support; Defy (wWdvB)v-D‡c¶v
Kiv; Syn- challenge, disobey; Ant- obey; Outlaw (AvDU&‡jv)vt-
†eAvBwb Kiv; Syn- forbid, ban, prohibit; Ant- allow, legalize; Bring out (weªO& AvDU&)v-†ei Kiv; Syn- start; Ant- withdraw, disperse; Procession (cÖv‡mk&b&)n-wgwQj;
Syn- demonstration, march; Open fire (IDcvb& dvBAv(i&))v-Mywjel©Y
Kiv; Enkindle (Bb&wKb&W&j&)v-cÖ¾¡wjZ
Kiv; Syn- stimulate, encourage; Ant- extinguish, discourage; Sparks (¯•v:K&)n-ùzwj½;
Syn- fire; Independent (BbwW‡cb&Wvb&U&)adj-¯^vaxb;
Syn- self-governing, sovereign; Ant- dependent;
1. Choose the best answer from the alternatives.
(a) The martyrs laid down their
lives on 21 February to —.
(i) learn Urdu (ii) establish Bangla as a
state language
(iii) make the day a national holiday (iv) none of them
(b) Who was the Governor
General of Pakistan in 1948?
(i) Ziaur Rahman (ii) Mohammad Ali
(iii) Mohammad Ali Zinnah (iv)
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
(c) The word 'tribute' means —.
(i) gift (ii) tax (iii) honour (iv) charge
(d) The declaration of Mohammad
Ali Zinnah raised a storm of protest in —.
(i) East Pakistan (ii) West Pakistan (iii) undivided Pakistan (iv) divided Pakistan
(e) Who defied the law of the
government?
(i) the students of Dhaka Medical College (ii) common people
(iii) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (iv)
the students of Dhaka University
(f) The word 'outlaw' means —.
(i) ban (ii) legalise (iii) allow (iv) banish
(g) Where did the police open
fire?
(i) near Dhaka University (ii) near Dhaka Medical
College
(iii)
at a public meeting (iv)
none of these
Extra
Questions :
(h) 21 February is a/an-
(i) Women's Day (ii)
National Mother Language Day
(iii) International Mother Language Day (iv) Victory Day
(i) Language Movement occurred in-
(i) 1952 (ii) 1953 (iii) 1971 (iv) 1969
(j) Who declared Urdu would be the only official language of Pakistan?
(i) Mohammad Ali (ii)
Ziaur Rahman
(iii) Sheikh Muzibur Rahman
(iv)
Mohammad Ali Zinnah
(k) 'Momentum' means-
(i) in a moment (ii) at a moment (iii) speed (iv) necessary
(l) The seed of the Language Movement was sown on-
(i) 21 May 1948 (ii) 21 February 1948 (iii) 21 March 1948 (iv) 21 Augast 1948
(m) The police opened fire on the —
(i) teachers (ii) students (iii) journalists (iv) doctors
(n) 'Enkindle' means —
(i) extinguish (ii) discourage (iii) eradicate (iv) stimulate
(o) Mohammad Ali Zinnah was the ¾ .
(i) President of Pakistan (ii) President
of India
(iii) Governor General of Pakistan (iv) Prime Minister of
Pakistan
(p) The students of ¾ produced a
peaceful protest procession.
(i) Dhaka College (ii)
Dhaka University
(iii) Dhaka Medical College (iv)
National University
(q) The protest reached its climax in —.
(i) 1952 (ii) 1948 (iii) 1971 (iv) 1947
(r) The students of Dhaka — brought out a peaceful protest
procession.
(i) University (ii) Medical College (iii) College (iv)
Dental College
2. Answer the following
questions :
(a) Why is
February 21 memorable?
(b) Whom do we
pay tribute always?
(c) Who defied
the law imposed by the then Governor General of Pakistan?
(d) When did
the students of Dhaka University bring out a procession?
(e) Why do we
pay tribute to the martyrs of the Language Movement?
Extra Questions
:
(f) How do we observe the day of
21 February?
(g) When was the seed of the
Language Movement sown?
(h) What raised a storm of
protest in the eastern part of the country?
(i) What was the outlawed of the
government?
(j) Who were killed at the
police firing?
(k) How did the language movement
begin?
(l) What happened on 21 February
1952?
(m) How was Bangla treated as a
language in the then Pakistan?
(n) Who are our language martyrs?
How do we respect them?
Teacher(English)
Kurmitola High School and College
English Language Trainer (Pavers Point, ETAB)
Executive Member , ETAB
Contact : 01683288352
