The Martyrs Day and the International Mother Language Day are being observed on Tuesday marking the 71th years of the Language Movement.
People from all walks of life are paying glowing tributes to the memories of language movement martyrs, the valiant sons of the soil who made supreme sacrifices to establish the rights of the mother tongue Bangla in 1952.
The Ekushey programme began placing wreaths at the central Shaheed Minar in the capital at 12:01 am.
People wearing black badges are also paying rich tribute at the graves of the language heroes by placing wreaths.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have issued separate messages marking the day.
The day is also being observed around the world as the UNESCO recognised the ‘February 21 (Ekushey February)’ as the International Mother Language Day on November 17, 1999.
On February 21 in 1952, Salam, Rafique, Shafique, Jabbar and Barkat embraced martyrdom in police firing in front of the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) as they took to the street to intensify the campaign to establish Bangla as the state language of the then Pakistan, sowing the seeds of subsequent movements for the country’s independence.
The movement for Bangla, however, did not stop and Pakistan government on February 29, 1956 was compelled to recognise Bangla as one of the state languages apart from Urdu.
The decision, however, could not stop the movement against repression and misrule of Pakistani government and subsequently led to the War of Independence and ultimately the emergence of Bangladesh.
The day is a public holiday.
National flags are kept half-mast in a proper manner having accurate size at all the government, semi-government, autonomous and private organisations and educational institutions.
In line with the national programmes, all educational institutions, local government bodies, district and upazila administration, Bangladeshi missions abroad have taken proper measures to observe the day.