With the memory of bloody February 21 still fresh, the manifesto struck a chord. It was a prominent pledge, more so in light of the fact that the first and foremost pledge in the United Front's election manifesto was to recognise Bengali as one of the state languages of Pakistan. The issue of Bangla Academy had made it to the electoral manifesto of the alliance, the United Front, beforehand. The Awami League and three other political parties joined forces and defeated the Muslim League, which was seen as supporting the West Pakistani regime, in the ensuing elections of 1954. These two identities-Bengali and secular-would later be the guiding beacon in the Bengali's struggle for liberation. The Awami Muslim League, which played a pivotal role in the language movement, became the Awami League, giving itself a more secular form. The far-reaching incident ignited a populist Bengali nationalism that quickly began to prevail over the existing Muslim nationalism. It was a watershed moment in the history of East Pakistan, one that eventually led to its separation from West Pakistan 19 years later through a bloody war. The paper also endorsed his ideas in an editorial.īy that time, the battle over what would be the state language of Pakistan was gradually gaining momentum, culminating in the demonstrations of February 21, 1952, when the police opened fire on protestors and nationwide outrage followed. He expanded on his ideas through opinion pieces in the Dainik Azadi, an influential voice in the then-East Pakistan. In 1948, at a literary conference held in Dhaka, he proposed to establish a body that would be devoted to researching Bengali language and literature and entrusted with the authority to standardise the rules of usage and grammar. By many accounts, Bangla Academy was the brainchild of Dr Muhammad Shahidullah, the legendary Bengali linguistic.
Contrary to popular belief, the idea of establishing Bangla Academy predates the language movement.
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