As a gesture of respect to the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement, a group of cyclists have been cycling all the way from Kolkata to Dhaka on February 21 for the past three years.
“We do this for the linguistic thread that connects the two sides,” Chandan Saurav, one of the four organisers of the initiative, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“The initiative comes to respect the struggle for one’s right to their mother language and for the martyrs who fought for this right,” he added.
Other organisers of the initiative are Sharajit Roy, Anwar Shumontro and Amitabh Sengupto.
The bike ride, arranged by Adventure Tourism, takes seven days to reach Dhaka, traversing about a 100-mile. The group plans to attend the “Probhat Feri” today and visit the University of Dhaka campus in the evening, before they head back to India tomorrow.
For the past three years, many people from diverse backgrounds have joined the group for the initiative. This year, the group has nine participants, including one from Rajasthan who does not even speak Bangla, and an 80-year old man. Last year, there was a Spanish woman on their team.