"Whispers of Valor: The 19th May Satyagraha of Bengalis”

In the chronicles of history, few events evoke the profound sense of loss and longing as the partitions of Bengal. The first, in 1905, orchestrated by British colonial rulers, ripped through the heart of a culturally rich land, introducing a pain of separation hitherto unknown. Four decades later, the wounds deepened with the 1947 partition, carving East Bengal into Pakistan, scattering millions and severing families across newly drawn borders. Yet, these partitions, stark and cruel, failed to fracture the linguistic and cultural ties that bind. Language, that indomitable vessel of heritage, defies political demarcations, flourishing beyond imposed boundaries. It is in the fervent protection, preservation, and propagation of language that the true essence of a culture is safeguarded. History is replete with valiant struggles for linguistic identity—from the spirited defense of Gaelic in Ireland, the tenacious revival of Hebrew in Israel, to the struggle of Bengalis in South Asia. These battles underscore a universal truth: language is the soul’s script, and its survival is the narrative of human resilience and unity.

The Bengali Language Movement of Barak Valley stands as a poignant chapter in the chronicles of linguistic struggle. In a region where approximately 80% of the populace speaks Bangla—comprising an almost equal number of Hindus and Muslims—there arose a fervent protest against the Assam government’s decree to make Assamese the sole official language.

This decision by the Assam Congress government starkly contradicted the 1956 Language-based State Reorganization Committee’s directive, which stipulated that a state could adopt a single official language only if over 70 percent of its population spoke that language exclusively. Despite Assam not meeting this criterion, the state government proceeded with its decision regardless.

This fateful decision overlooked the linguistic identity of Barak Valley’s residents, igniting a powerful resistance. On the tragic day of May 19, 1961, a Satyagraha at Silchar railway station saw trains halted in their tracks. Despite the police’s brutal efforts to disperse the peaceful demonstrators, the fervor for their mother tongue could not be quelled. The situation escalated as the paramilitary was summoned, and Assam Rifles opened fire on the unarmed protesters. Eleven valiant souls, including a young girl, laid down their lives, immortalizing their love for their language in an act of ultimate sacrifice.
This incident is compared with the one in Bangladesh on 21 February 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bengali, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka.

As François Grosjean aptly remarked, “The world is a mosaic of visions. With each language that disappears, a piece of that mosaic is lost.”

Faced with unyielding resistance, the Assam government eventually rescinded its directive, granting Bengali official status in Barak Valley. At the intervention of the then Union Home Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the protests were called off on June 17, 1961.

According to Section 5 of Assam Act XVIII, 1961, the use of Bengali was officially recognized in the three districts of Barak Valley.

Throughout world history, the Bengali language remains sui generis. Its speakers have twice made the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their lives en masse to preserve the right to use their mother tongue.
More than 60 years have passed since this historic tragedy, yet the Barak Valley Bengali Language Movement in Assam remains a silent protest, unmentioned in history or political science textbooks. Unlike the Bengali Language Movement in Bangladesh, which prompted UNESCO to declare February 21st as International Mother Language Day, the Bengali Language Movement in Assam remains an overlooked chapter in history.

Every year on 19th of May, Bengalis in Barak Valley remember and honor this day as “Bhasha Shohid Divas”, which is referred by many as ‘Unnishey Mey’. It marks the day to pay tribute to those 11 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the protection and preservation of Bengali.

These 11 individuals—Kanailal Niyogi, Chandicharan Sutradhar, Hitesh Biswas, Satyendra Deb, Kumud Ranjan Das, Sunil Sarkar, Tarani Debnath, Sachindra Chandra Pal, Birendra Sutradhar, Sukamal Purakayastha, and Kamala Bhattacharya—embody the unwavering guardians of linguistic heritage. Their legacy stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit of cultural identity.

The remarkable aspect that often goes unnoticed is that language movements are not solely about advocating for one’s own mother tongue, but inherits notions of multilingual diversity and right to existence. Multilingual diversity is a crucial element of human culture and identity, embodying the richness and complexity of our communication and expression. Simultaneously, the right to exist is a fundamental human right, guaranteeing individuals the essential conditions needed for their survival and well-being. Multilingual diversity and the right to existence are closely interconnected. For many individuals and communities, language is a critical aspect of their identity and culture, and losing their language can threaten their very existence.

As Dhirendranath Dutta once said “I have always considered it a great honor to die for my mother tongue. ”

The ‘Basha Shadid Divas’ is indeed the moment, that we can muse ourselves, and understand what message our great martyrs have kept for us. Our martyrs have given to each of us and others the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity, our culture, the liberty to speak in our own mother tongue and the responsibility to preserve and protect it. They are the ‘beau idéal’ of cultural plurality.

As Noam Chomsky says, language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in a language.

Let us then all, guard our mother tongue fiercely, let its melodies thrive, In its embrace, is our heritage alive.

Written by: Abhishek Das, former MA. Politics student at Savitribai Phule Pune University.