Language Movement Day

Language Movement Day, also known as State Language Day or Language Martyrs' Day, is a public holiday in Bangladesh, and it is observed on February 21 each year.

Language Movement Day commemorates the Bengali language movement, a political movement that happened in 1952. British India has two independent dominion states: India and Pakistan in 1947. The Dominion of Pakistan was made of two parts at that time: the western part is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the eastern part is the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

People speak the Urdu language in the west wing of Pakistan, and people speak Bengali in the east wing of Pakistan. However, the military and political services were dominated by personnel from the western wing. In 1947, the Dominion of Pakistan advocated Urdu as the sole state language, and protests immediately arose in the eastern part.

On February 21, 1952, students gathered to demand Bengali as an official language, and the armed police surrounded the campus. When students attempted to break the police line, the police fired tear gas to warn the students. As the situation got worse, the police arrested and killed several students, which led to a general strike. In February 1956, the Bengali language was recognized as the second official language of Pakistan.

The following is the list of Language Movement Day in Bangladesh from 2022 to 2026.

Please check more public holidays in Bangladesh: