Bengali Language Movement (Barak Valley) - Revision history

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	=== Main incident of 19 May ===		=== Main incident of 19 May ===
	[[File:Lathicharge on satyagrahis at Tarapur railway station on 19 May 1961.jpg\|thumb\|left\|Assam police resort to lathicharge on the satyagrahis at the Tarapur railway station (now, [[Silchar railway station]]).]]
	On 19 May, the dawn to dusk hartal started. Picketing started in the sub-divisional towns of Silchar, [[Karimganj]] and Hailakandi from early in the morning. In Karimganj, the agitators picketed in front of government offices, courts and railway station. In Silchar, the agitators picketed in the railway station. The last train from Silchar was around 4 PM, after which the hartal would be effectively dissolved. Not a single ticket was sold for the first train at 5-40 AM. The morning passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. However, in the afternoon, the [[Assam Rifles]] arrived at the railway station.		On 19 May, the dawn to dusk hartal started. Picketing started in the sub-divisional towns of Silchar, [[Karimganj]] and Hailakandi from early in the morning. In Karimganj, the agitators picketed in front of government offices, courts and railway station. In Silchar, the agitators picketed in the railway station. The last train from Silchar was around 4 PM, after which the hartal would be effectively dissolved. Not a single ticket was sold for the first train at 5-40 AM. The morning passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. However, in the afternoon, the [[Assam Rifles]] arrived at the railway station.

	At around 2-30 PM, a Bedford truck carrying nine arrested [[Satyagrahi]]s from Katigorah was passing by the Tarapur railway station (present-day [[Silchar railway station]]). Seeing the fellow activists arrested and being taken away, the Satyagrahis assembled at the railway tracks broke out in loud protests. At that point the truck driver and the policemen escorting the arrested fled the spot. Immediately after they fled, an unidentified person set fire to the truck.<ref name="choudhuri"/> A fire fighting team immediately rushed to the spot to bring the fire under control. Within five minutes, at around 2-35 PM, the paramilitary forces, guarding the railway station, started beating the protesters with rifle butts and batons without any provocation from them. Then within a span of seven minutes they fired 17 rounds into the crowd. Twelve persons received bullet wounds and were carried to hospitals. Nine of them died that day. [[Ullaskar Dutta]] send nine bouquets for nine martyrs.<ref name="es19052013-2"/> On 20 May, the people of Silchar took out a procession with the bodies of the martyrs in protest of the killings.<ref name="es19052013-2"/> Two more persons died later. One person, Krishna Kanta Biswas survived for another 24 hours with bullet wound in chest.<ref name="tsi04032013">{{cite news\|url=http://www.thesundayindian.com/bn/story/%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F/7/1256/\|script-title=bn:উনিশের সংগ্রাম অনন্য, অতুলনীয়\|last=Laskar\|first=Dilip Kanti\|date=4 March 2012\|work=The Sunday Indian\|language=bn\|access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref>		At around 2-30 PM, a Bedford truck carrying nine arrested [[Satyagrahi]]s from Katigorah was passing by the Tarapur railway station (present-day [[Silchar railway station]]). Seeing the fellow activists arrested and being taken away, the Satyagrahis assembled at the railway tracks broke out in loud protests. At that point the truck driver and the policemen escorting the arrested fled the spot. Immediately after they fled, an unidentified person set fire to the truck.<ref name="choudhuri"/> A fire fighting team immediately rushed to the spot to bring the fire under control. Within five minutes, at around 2-35 PM, the paramilitary forces, guarding the railway station, started beating the protesters with rifle butts and batons without any provocation from them. Then within a span of seven minutes they fired 17 rounds into the crowd. Twelve persons received bullet wounds and were carried to hospitals. Nine of them died that day. [[Ullaskar Dutta]] send nine bouquets for nine martyrs.<ref name="es19052013-2"/> On 20 May, the people of Silchar took out a procession with the bodies of the martyrs in protest of the killings.<ref name="es19052013-2"/> Two more persons died later. One person, Krishna Kanta Biswas survived for another 24 hours with bullet wound in chest.<ref name="tsi04032013">{{cite news\|url=http://www.thesundayindian.com/bn/story/%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F/7/1256/\|script-title=bn:উনিশের সংগ্রাম অনন্য, অতুলনীয়\|last=Laskar\|first=Dilip Kanti\|date=4 March 2012\|work=The Sunday Indian\|language=bn\|access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref>

	~~[[File:Procession in Silchar on 20 May 1961.jpeg\|thumb\|right\|Procession in Silchar on 20 May 1961 in memory of the deceased martyrs in defiance of the curfew.]]~~

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References

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The Bengali Language Movement of [[Barak Valley]], [[Assam]] was a protest against the decision of the [[Government of Assam]] to make [[Assamese language|Assamese]] the only sole official language of the state, even though knowing that a major proportion of the Barak Valley population speaks [[Bangla language]]. About 80% of the Valley's residents are [[Bengalis]].<ref>https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/politics/assam-elections-2021-can-barak-valley-pay-bjp-the-dividend-of-caa-bid-6706541.html</ref> In the Barak Valley region, the Bengali population consists of both [[Bengali Hindus|Hindus]] and [[Bengali Muslims|Muslims]], who are almost equal in population and constitute the overwhelming majority of the population. There is also a substainable minority of tribals and immigrants from other parts of India. The main incident took place on 19 May 1961 at [[Silchar railway station]] in which 11 Bengalis were killed by Assam police.

== Events of 1960-61 ==
===Background===
In April, 1960, a proposal was raised at the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, to declare [[Assamese language|Assamese]] as the one and only official language of the state.<ref name="es19052013">{{cite news|script-title=bn:বিস্মৃত বলিদান|last=Chowdhury|first=Ranajit|url=http://www.epaper.eisamay.com/Details.aspx?id=3850&boxid=32416359|date=19 May 2013|work=Ei Samay|language=bn|access-date=22 May 2013}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=July 2014}}

On 10 October 1960, [[Bimala Prasad Chaliha]], the then Chief Minister of Assam presented a bill in the Legislative Assembly that sought to legalize Assamese as the sole official language of the state.<ref name="es19052013"/> Ranendra Mohan Das, the legislator from Karimganj (North) assembly constituency and an ethnic [[Bengalis|Bengali]], protested against the bill on the ground that it sought to impose the language of a third of the population over the rest two thirds.<ref name="es19052013"/> On 24 October, the bill was passed in the Assam legislative assembly thereby making Assamese as the one and only official language of the state.<ref name="es19052013"/>

===Protest===
On 5 February 1961, the Cachar Gana Sangram Parishad was formed to agitate against the imposition of Assamese in the Bengali-speaking [[Barak Valley]]. On 14 April, the people of [[Silchar]], [[Karimganj]] and [[Hailakandi]] observed a Sankalpa Divas in protest against the injustice of the Assamese government.<ref name="choudhuri">{{cite web|url=http://wethepeople-barakvalley.com/bhasha-shahid-divas-language-martyrs%E2%80%99-day/843|title=Bhasha Shahid Divas|last=Choudhuri|first=Arjun|publisher=We The People, Barak Valley|access-date=23 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529232759/http://wethepeople-barakvalley.com/bhasha-shahid-divas-language-martyrs%E2%80%99-day/843|archive-date=29 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 24 April, the Parishad flagged off a fortnight long [[padayatra]] in the Barak Valley, in the regions surrounding Silchar and Karimganj to raise awareness among the masses. The satyagrahis who took part in the padayatra walked over 200 miles and covered several villages. The procession ended on 2 May in Silchar. Later on a similar padayatra was organized in Hailakandi. After the padayatra, Rathindranath Sen, the Parishad chief declared that if Bengali was not accorded the status of official language by 13 April 1961, a complete hartal would be observed on 19 May from dawn to dusk.<ref name="es19052013-2">{{cite news|script-title=bn:বাঙালির চেতনায় শুধু একুশে, স্থান নেই উনিশের শহীদদের|last=Mukhopadhyay|first=Baidyanath|date=19 May 2013|work=Ei Samay|language=bn|location=Kolkata}}</ref> The Parishad also called for due recognition of the languages of other linguistic minorities.

On 12 May, the soldiers of the Assam Rifles, the Madras Regiment and the Central Reserve Police staged flag march in Silchar.<ref name="report-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.unishemay.org/english-pages/lang-content/NCChatterjee.pdf|title=Report of Non-Official Enquiry Commission on Cachar|publisher=A. K. Das Memorial Trust|page=14|access-date=25 May 2013|location=Silchar|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229042659/http://www.unishemay.org/english-pages/lang-content/NCChatterjee.pdf|archive-date=29 December 2013}}</ref> On 18 May, the Assam police arrested three prominent leaders of the movement, namely Nalinikanta Das, Rathindranath Sen and Bidhubhushan Chowdhury, the editor of weekly Yugashakti.

=== Main incident of 19 May ===
[[File:Lathicharge on satyagrahis at Tarapur railway station on 19 May 1961.jpg|thumb|left|Assam police resort to lathicharge on the satyagrahis at the Tarapur railway station (now, [[Silchar railway station]]).]]
On 19 May, the dawn to dusk hartal started. Picketing started in the sub-divisional towns of Silchar, [[Karimganj]] and Hailakandi from early in the morning. In Karimganj, the agitators picketed in front of government offices, courts and railway station. In Silchar, the agitators picketed in the railway station. The last train from Silchar was around 4 PM, after which the hartal would be effectively dissolved. Not a single ticket was sold for the first train at 5-40 AM. The morning passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. However, in the afternoon, the [[Assam Rifles]] arrived at the railway station.

At around 2-30 PM, a Bedford truck carrying nine arrested [[Satyagrahi]]s from Katigorah was passing by the Tarapur railway station (present-day [[Silchar railway station]]). Seeing the fellow activists arrested and being taken away, the Satyagrahis assembled at the railway tracks broke out in loud protests. At that point the truck driver and the policemen escorting the arrested fled the spot. Immediately after they fled, an unidentified person set fire to the truck.<ref name="choudhuri"/> A fire fighting team immediately rushed to the spot to bring the fire under control. Within five minutes, at around 2-35 PM, the paramilitary forces, guarding the railway station, started beating the protesters with rifle butts and batons without any provocation from them. Then within a span of seven minutes they fired 17 rounds into the crowd. Twelve persons received bullet wounds and were carried to hospitals. Nine of them died that day. [[Ullaskar Dutta]] send nine bouquets for nine martyrs.<ref name="es19052013-2"/> On 20 May, the people of Silchar took out a procession with the bodies of the martyrs in protest of the killings.<ref name="es19052013-2"/> Two more persons died later. One person, Krishna Kanta Biswas survived for another 24 hours with bullet wound in chest.<ref name="tsi04032013">{{cite news|url=http://www.thesundayindian.com/bn/story/%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F/7/1256/|script-title=bn:উনিশের সংগ্রাম অনন্য, অতুলনীয়|last=Laskar|first=Dilip Kanti|date=4 March 2012|work=The Sunday Indian|language=bn|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Procession in Silchar on 20 May 1961.jpeg|thumb|right|Procession in Silchar on 20 May 1961 in memory of the deceased martyrs in defiance of the curfew.]]

=== Effect ===

After the incident, the Assam government had to withdraw the circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the three districts of Barak Valley.<ref name="tt27dec">{{cite news|title=No alliance with BJP, says AGP chief|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1031227/asp/northeast/story_2721710.asp|access-date=26 May 2017|newspaper=The Telegraph, Calcutta|date=27 December 2003}}</ref><ref name="toi9jun">{{cite news|title=Silchar rly station to be renamed soon|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Silchar-rly-station-to-be-renamed-soon/articleshow/4633120.cms?referral=PM|access-date=26 May 2017|newspaper=The Times of India|date=9 Jun 2009}}</ref> Section 5 of Assam Act XVIII, 1961, safeguards the use of Bengali in the Cachar district. It says, “Without prejudice to the provisions contained in Section 3, the Bengali language shall be used for administrative and other official purposes up to and including district level.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://silcharnews.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/compulsory-use-of-bengali-language-in-cachar/|title=Compulsory use of Bengali Language in Cachar|date=2013-07-24|website=Silchar News|access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Silchar Bhasa.jpeg|thumb|250px|Language Martyr's Memorial at [[Silchar railway station]].]]

[[File:Silchar Language Marters.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|[[Silchar railway station]] is described as Bhasa Shahid Station]]

This massacre is compared with the massacre in Jalianwalabag or [[Bengali language movement#Events of 1952|the one in Bangladesh on 21 February 1952]] when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bengali, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, which is the capital of present-day Bangladesh.<ref>[[International Mother Language Day]] {{circular reference|date=February 2020}}</ref>

Every year on 19 May is celebrated as [[Bhasha Shahid Divas (ভাষা শহীদ দিবস)]] to commemorate those 11 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of protecting Bengali language, various cultural programmes are conducted, rallies are taken out and bust of those martyrs are decorated with flower garlands.

The Assam government had on November 30, 2013 issued a circular asking the deputy commissioners of all districts of the state to ensure use of Assamese as official language, which generated a lot of protests in the three Barak Valley districts – Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. Section 5 of the Assam Official Language Act 1960 as amended in 1967 had specified Bengali as the official language anyway. This prompted the state government to issue a fresh circular on September 9 saying that the official language (Bengali) of Barak Valley will continue to be used for all official works.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/gogoi-draws-flak-over-official-language-circular-for-barak-valley/|title=Gogoi draws flak over official language circular for Barak Valley|date=2014-09-10|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2018-01-06|language=en-US}}</ref>

== List of martyrs ==
Eleven persons were martyred in 1961. Nine persons died on 19 May 1961, two died later.

* [[Kanailal Niyogi]]
* [[Chandicharan Sutradhar]]
* [[Hitesh Biswas]]
* [[Satyendra Deb]]
* [[Kumud Ranjan Das]]
* [[Sunil Sarkar]]
* [[Tarani Debnath]]
* [[Sachindra Chandra Pal]]
* [[Birendra Sutradhar]]
* [[Sukamal Purakayastha]]
* [[Kamala Bhattacharya]]

One person was martyred on 17 August 1972.

* [[Bijan Chakraborty]]

Three more persons were martyred on 1985 & 1986.

* [[Jaganmay Deb]]
* [[Dibyendu Das]]
* [[Krishna Kanta Biswas]]

== Memorial ==
[[File:Commemoration of Bengali language movement in Barak Valley - Kolkata 2019-05-26 182610.jpg|thumb|Dr. Mohit Ray, speaking at a commemorative event at Kolkata in 2019.]]
A martyr's tomb, known as the [[Shahid Minar, Silchar|Shahid Minar]] was erected in Silchar in the memory of the martyrs. This tomb stone shelter the ashes of the braves who chose death for their right to get formal education in their mother tongue in their free country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cacharclub.com/silchar.asp|title=Learn A Little About Silchar|publisher=The [[Cachar Club]]|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> In 2011, Gopa Dutta Aich unveiled a bronze bust of [[Kamala Bhattacharya]] in the premises of the [[Chhotelal Seth Institute]] under the initiative of Shahid Kamala Bhattacharya Murti Sthapan Committee.<ref name="ts18052011">{{cite news |title=Bronze bust of martyr Kamala Bhattacharya installed |url=http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=75299&dtP=2012-04-24&ppr=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235620/http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=75299&dtP=2012-04-24&ppr=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |newspaper=The Sentinel |date=May 18, 2011 |access-date=May 10, 2012}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bengali language movement in India]]
* [[Bengali language movement in Bangladesh]]

== References ==
<references />

{{Bengali Language Movement in India}}
{{Bengali Language Movement}}
{{Assam}}
{{Bengali language topics}}

[[Category:1961 in India]]
[[Category:1961 protests]]
[[Category:1960s in Assam]]
[[Category:Bengali language movement]]
[[Category:Language conflict in India]]
[[Category:Protests in India]]