In pictures: Bangladesh pays homage to language heroes

People gathered at the Shaheed Minar on Dhaka University campus to pay tribute to the heroes who sacrificed their lives on February 21, 1952 to establish Bangalis’ right to speak in their mother tongue – Bangla.

Dressed in black and white to commemorate the occasion, men, women and children joined Probhat Feri – the long procession in the morning to lay floral wreaths and bouquets at the altar of Shaheed Minar – to pay their respects on Language Martyrs’ Day. One minute after the zero hour on Tuesday, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the language martyrs by laying floral wreaths at the altar of the Shaheed Minar.

The photos were captured by Dhaka Tribune photographer Mehedi Hasan