In Bangladesh, Freedom fighters, language movement veterans, physically challenged people, youths, day laborers, workers, homeless people, academicians, intellectuals, politicians and foreigners walked in queues towards the Central Shaheed Minar to pay their tributes to the martyrs of 1952.
The Central Shaheed Minar was flooded with flowers as thousands barefooted, wearing black ribbons and holding bouquets close to their bosoms thronged there to pay homage to the brave sons of the soil who laid down their lives in 1952 for mother tongue Bangla.
At 12:01am, Bangladesh’s President Iajuddin Ahmed led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar. Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed followed him. They stood there in solemn silence for a minute paying their respect to the language movement heroes. With daybreak people kept flooding in leaving hardly any space for free movement at the Central Shaheed Minar, symbol of the spirit of not bowing down to repression.
The day was also observed as the UN International Mother Language Day.
