Shaheed Minar
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- This article is about the Shaeed Minar in Dhaka. For the one in Kolkata see Shaheed Minar, Kolkata
The Shaheed Minar is a national monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh, established to commemorate the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952.
On February 21, 1952, dozens of students and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding equal status to their native tongue, Bangla. The massacre occurred near Dhaka Medical College and Ramna Park in Dhaka. A makeshift monument was erected the same night by students of University of Dhaka and other educational institutions, but soon demolished by the Pakistani police force.
The Language Movement gained momentum and after a long struggle, Bangla was given equal status as Urdu. To commemorate the martyrs, the Shaheed Minar was designed and built by Hamidur Rahman, a Bangladeshi sculptor. The monument stood in its solemn glory until the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when it was demolished completely during Operation Searchlight, a genocide carried out by the Pakistani Army resulting in an estimated 50,000 civilian deaths. After Bangladesh gained independence, it was rebuilt.
Today, the Shaheed Minar is the centre of cultural activities in Dhaka. Every year, the Language Movement is remembered with due respect at the monument.
See also
Related links
- [BanglaPedia] Banglapedia article on the Shaheed Minar.
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