Bangla Academy commemorates Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta’s birthday

Bangla Academy on Thursday, honoured martyred former minister of health and language activist, Dhirendranath Datta by commemorating his 131st birthday. A lecture was organised by the academy where Awami League Presidium Member Nuh-ul Alam Lenin delivered the memorial lecture as chief speaker and chaired by Academy Secretary Md Anwar Hossain. Lenin said the debate on Pakistan’s state language was created long before the creation of Pakistan adding that the representatives of Bengal opposed the Muslim League’s proposal in All India Conference in 1937 in Lucknow for Urdu to be the lingua franca of the nation. Dhirendranath Datta started the debate on Pakistan’s state language in the Constituent Assembly on February 25, 1948. Muslim League proposed Urdu and English to be the state languages of Pakistan while debating which language would be used in Pakistan Constituent Assembly . Dhirendranath was the one who made the amendment on the Muslim League’s proposal which reads: “That in sub-rule (I) of rule 29, after the word ‘English’ in line 2, the words ‘or Bengalee’ be inserted.” Dhirendranath was against the partition of India and Bengal but decided to stay in the then East Pakistan amid much political upheaval. After the partition, he formed ‘People’s Party’ that won six seats among the reserved Hindu seats with the support of United Front in 1954’s provincial council elections. The People’s Party which later appeared as Pakistan People Association joined the coalition ministry of Awami League led by Ataur Rahman Khan and Dhirendranath took ministerial oath as representative of his party. Md Anwar Hossain, the secretary of the Bangla Academy, said Dhirendranath’s demand for Bengali to be the state language was the first step in our language movement. “He has worked for the people of his country all his life but the Pakistani government did not take his contributions well and brutally killed him,” Anwar said. “Although the Pakistani army killed him, they failed to kill his ideals. Thus Dhirendranath went on to show us the path to build a free, non-communal, democratic, discrimination free and affluent humane society.” Born on November 2, 1886, Dhirendranath Datta was a lawyer by profession. He joined the Indian National Congress from Mymensingh District and was first elected to the Bengal Legislative Council in 1937. He was arrested by the British rulers of India for his participation in the Quit India movement of 1942. He was brutally murdered on March 26, 1971 by the Pakistani military in Comilla.