19 May: Long live the language martyrs….

19 May: There are certain days which goes down the annals of history for time immemorial and becomes a source of inspiration and a signature event for posterity to take pride in. 19 May is such a date for the people of Barak Valley, which would remain alive forever in the heart of hearts of millions who loves & respects their own mother tongue. From dawn till dusk, people of this valley observe this day amidst a bouquet of activities.

However, just like the previous year, 19 May, 2021 too would be somewhat different. The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has become a great hurdle in observing any event. Social distancing has become the new norm. Though the day will not witness the pomp & splendour of the previous years, but at the same time, it will also not be one without any lack & luster. Although in a miniature scale, yet people of the valley are all geared up to observe the day mostly online. Let’s go down the memory lane and indulge in recollection of past events which made ’19 May’ a red-letter day.

Bhasa Swahid Diwas (Language Martyrs Day) is observed every year in every nook and corner of Barak Valley to commemorate the death of 11 persons who were killed on 19 May, 1961 while they were peacefully agitating at Silchar Railway Station. The Satyagrahis were demanding the revocation of the Assam Official Language Act, 1960, according to which Assamese was made the only official language of the state of Assam. Barak Valley being a Bengali dominated region, this circular was regarded by the people of this area as an act of linguistic aggression.

In the aftermath of the valiant sacrifices of the martyrs, Bengali was made the official language of the three districts of present day Barak Valley under Section 5 of Assam Act XVIII in 1961. Since then, this date “UNISHE MAY” is observed by the people of Barak amidst a host of programmes.

The eleven youth including one woman who laid down their lives in police firing at the Silchar Railways Station are Kanailal Niyogi, Chandicharan Sutradhar, Hitesh Biswas, Satyendra Deb, Kumud Ranjan Das, Sunil Sarkar, Tarani Debnath, Sachindra Chandra Pal, Birendra Sutradhar, Sukamal Purkayastha and Kamala Bhattacharjee. However, the irony of the fact is that till today they have not been accorded the status of martyr’s by the Assam government.

On this day (19 May), a number of events take place at Silchar. Sharp at 8 in the morning the gates of Silchar’s funeral ground are opened for thousands to enter and offer floral tributes to its 11 martyrs. Again, at Gandhi Bagh, Silchar, a martyr’s tomb, known as the Shahid Minar was erected 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. Sharp at 2.35 PM, people gather in large number to offer floral tribute at Gandhi Bagh. It is the time when on 19 May, 1961 police opened fire and killed 11 persons. Floral tributes are also paid in the morning to the language martyr’s at a martyr’s column erected at Silchar Railway Station.

Although, there will be some exception to the established norms this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19, yet this description speaks of the normal activities which used to happen all these years amidst much fanfare.

In the year 2005, mass demand was raised to change the name of Silchar Railway Station to “Bhasha Shahid Station, Silchar.” This demand was moved to preserve the self esteem of mother tongue in Barak Valley. However, this was later on transformed into a mass demand with the support of every linguistic community and political parties.

The Home Ministry on 7 November, 2016 issued an approval letter to the state government giving consent for changing the name of Silchar Railway Station to “Bhasha Shahid Station, Silchar.” It was further stated in that letter that the Government of Assam should issue a notification about the spelling of the new name of the station in English, Hindi and Bengali and also send it to them. But since then, the issue is lying pending with the state government. Probably, time could say whether this legitimate claim of the people of Barak Valley would see the light of the day! However, for the people of this valley, those 11 persons are the martyr’s and the station is Bhasha Shahid Station, Silchar. Long live the martyrs!