The Anti-Heroes of the Language Movement Author(s): Badruddin Umar Reviewed work(s): Source: Economic and Political Weekly,

Vol. 33, No. 12 (Mar. 21-27, 1998), pp. 636-637 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4406547 . Accessed: 28/11/2011 02:35
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The It is not surprisingthat a financial structure 2 JayatiGhosh,'CoerciveCorporation: State in Indonesian Capitalism', Social Scientist, similarassets wouldremain whichgenerates November-December 1996. fragile and vulnerable, epecially under 3 Sunanda Sen 'Growth Centres in Southuncertainty.A defeat as well as accommoEast Asia in the Era of Globalisation' dation,by thenationstateto theconsequences Discussion Papers, No 118, SepUNCTAD of these upheavalssymbolises the triumph tember 1996. of of finance over industry(and state power) 4 See for a documentation these facts, Donald P Hanna, 'The Indonesian Experience with in generalandthe defeatof the weakerstates Financial Sector Reform' in Yilmaz Akyuz to the collective forces of supranational and Gunther Held, Finance and the Real finance and rich nations on the other.

Notes
[This paper was presented in a conference on 'Globality,IdentityandLocality' which was held in Sariska during February22-24, 1998. 1 am and thankfulto the participants to Amiya Bagchi in particularfor helpful comments.] 1 J R Hicks,CriticalEssays on MonetaryTheory, 1967.

Economy,ECLAC and UNCTAD, Santiago, September 1993. 5 See for documentations, Sander Thoenes, 'Indonesia: The Offshore Borrowing Trap' Financial Times, January 12, 1998. Sander Thoenes, 'IMF Warns Suharto that It May Cancel $43 billion Rescues', Financial Times, 6, February 1998.GeorgeGraham,'Indonesia: Bankers Wearily Gauge Risk', Financial Times, January9, 1998.

BANGLADESH

The

Anti-Heroes

of

the

Language

Movement
Badruddin Umar After instituting Bengali as the state language in the constitution, the ruling classes of Bangladesh completely abdicated their responsibility towards enriching the knowledge available in their mother tongue. So as Bengali languishes, the lower classes, who cannot afford access to any other medium of instruction, continue to be deprived of opportunities to improve their living standards.
THE principal objective of the language movement of 1952 was fulfilled when Bengali was declared as a state language along with Urduin the Pakistanconstitution of 1956.To be declaredas the statelanguage of Pakistanwas not the only objectiveof the language movement. It was necessary to have Bengali as a state languagein orderto develop Bengali as a mediumof instruction as well as a languageof education,science and culture. Thus, after its being declared as a state language, it was necessary to go andfight for the developmentof the Bengali language. But this necessary task soon becamea matterofno concernfortheBengali bourgeoisie,even underPakistan.They just sought satisfaction in recalling and ruminatingthe struggles and achievements of the 1952 language movement, but did little or nothingto workfor the development of the Bengali language. This attitude of the local Bengali bourgeoisiebecamequitewell-definedafter the establishment of Bangladesh as an independentstate. The Bengali rulingclass - the partyin power, its political allies and associated intellectuals derived great satisfactionin the constitutionaldeclaration of Bengali as the state language and the at languageof instruction all levels, fromthe minor schools to the universities.But that was the end of it for the ruling classes in independent Bangladesh. Henceforward, they began to act as the anti-heroesof the languagemovement,thoughthey continued to glorify for political advantage "their" heroic acts during the 1952 language movement and the "great sacrifices" they made during that struggle. It is one thingto declareBengali as a state language and as a language of instruction, it is another thing to practically make it possiblefor Bengali to be fully used as such. This is lecause a constitutionaldeclaration is not a magic wand by which a mere can in declaration be implemented thespecific areasfor which such a declarationis made. A numberof related work has to be done in orderto make any declarationeffective. Nothingwas actuallydone in Bangladesh as a follow up of the constitutional declaration regardingthe language. Bengali was as introduced a mediumof instruction to up the university level. Consequently, some very good teachers who did not know the languageproperlyhad to give up theirjobs.

But no arrangement was made for making minimum number of books available in Bengali for the variousfaculties.The crisis became particularly acute when English teaching was withdrawn from the school level, and there was no effective way of learning English by the ordinarystudents. Thus no books were made available in Bengali, andbecauseof a lackof knowledge of English, books availablein Englishwere and still are inaccessible to the studentsat large.Or,in otherwords,a seriousdichotomy was created in the system of instruction which resulted in the continuouslowering of the standardof education. Inorderto preventa seriouscrisislikethis, it was necessary to work out the phases in whichBengaliwouldbe gradually introduced at variouslevels: And for thatit was further necessary not to practically abolish the teaching of English and undermine the importanceof that languagefor acquisition of knowledge. for Whatwas really important promoting educationaladvancementwas to establisha bureauof translation the governmentand by undertakethe work of translatingscientific literature,literary,philosophical and other classics, reference books and all sorts of necessary reading and research materials from foreign languages into Bengali. The thus establishedcould bureauof translation appointpersonshavingadequate knowledge of various languages - French, German, English, Russian, Italian,Spanish,Chinese, and Arabic,Persian,Sanskrit theotherIndian languages like Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, etc. Malayalam, They alsocouldcommission Bengali scholarsfromBangladeshandIndia living either in Bangladesh or in India, or books.The abroad,for translating particular government could directly undertake publicationsof such translationsand at the sametime could encourageandgive subsidy to privatepublishersfor the publicationsof translatedworks. Itdoes not requiremuchwisdom to realise that it was the most importantstep in the languagemovementin the new independent state of Bangladesh.But nothing was done in that direction and the education system was left thus unattended. Whatis surprising is that beginning from Qudrat-i-Khuda EducationCommissionto the lastone which to recently submittedits recommendations the presentgovernmenthave maintained an inexplicable silence in this matterin spite of the repeated demandfortheestablishment of a bureauof translation. There is no other way of describinga class of people like this other than calling them anti-heroesof the language movement. The deep-rootedcauses of this conspiracy of silence regarding the development of Bengali andof the entireeducational system have to be soughtin the character theclass of

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which came to rule Bangladesh since the overthrowof Pakistan from our soil. This is a class of people who came to possess an incredible amount of property and wealth primarily through primitive plunder,robbery,corruptionand terrorism. It is no surprisethat the cultureof this new ruling class would be in harmonywith the ways of acquiringthis wealth. Wealth can be acquired by overnight the methodsabove mentioned,but acquisitionof culture is an entirely differentmatter. It is not possible to go into all the details of policy and actualwork of the successive governmentssince the end of 1971, but it to will not be incorrect say thatthe men and women who came to rule this country had littletimeandinterestto turnto theeducation of andculture thecommonpeople.They and their camp-following intellectuals shed profusetearsduringthe month of February for the martyrsof the language movement of 1952 and cry hoarse for using Bengali in all spheresof our activities,but in matters of policyandactualworktheygrosslyneglect the generaleducationalsystem, the system of instruction theBengalimediumschools, in colleges anduniversities,which concernthe great masses of students, the children of those who are exploited and victimised by the ruling classes in a thousand ways. But this does not mean that the ruling classes of people neglect the education of theirown children.Farfromit. They provide much better education for their children throughthe model schools, cadet colleges and expensive English medium schools, whereteachingof English language is done is seriouslyandthe level of instruction much higher.Those who want to and can afford to provide still better education for their children send them abroad, mostly to the "fairyland" called the US. It is true that the children of the ruling classes, in any society divided into classes, get bettereducationthan the others as they eatbetter food,wearmoreexpensive clothes, liveinbetter housesandreceivebetter medical treatment duringillness. But the situationin Bangladeshis really deplorable when one comes to thinkthatBangladeshneglects the mother tongueof its people much more than it used to be under Pakistan. in Every yearreports appear thenewspapers about expulsions of thousands of students duringschool and college examinations.In orderto divertattention fromthe realcauses, studentsof the new generationare blamed and abused as thieves, and moral sermons are delivered by persons responsible for conducting the education system and the affairsof the country.Some cry hoarse for more strict policing of the examination centres. But the fact is, the studentscannotbe held responsible for the phenomenon of mass

thievery in the examination centres. The truth is that the students are not properly preparedat their respective institutionsfor answering the questions which are dished out to them at the examination halls. One or two such cases could be treatedas exceptions, but when it happens that most students lend themselves to thievery provided they get the opportunities or can forcibly create such opportunities, it is clearly a social phenomenonfor which no particular individual can truly be held responsible.. Thispointmaybe understood moreclearly when we consider the fact that cases of thieveryatthe model schools, cadetcolleges andotherexpensiveEnglishmediumschools are quite negligible or do not exist at all. Nothing is more stupid and mischievous than to think and say that the children of people who are rich or earn their money throughunfair methods, are morally better and more honest than the children of the poorerclasses of people who generallyearn their living by the sweat of their hrow. The continuous lowering of the standard of education and the virtual collapse of the educational systemcanbe directlyconnected with various forms of terrorismresortedto

by some students in the Bengali medium institutions, particularly the universities. Again, no such terrorismexists in the other kind of educational institutions. Thus, the present educational system is veryclearlydividedbroadlyintotwo systems on the basis of medium of instruction- one for the generally lower income groups and the otherfor the higher income groups.The latter,by virtueof theirbettereducation,get far better opportunities in their posteducationalcareer.The situationwould not have been as bad as it is today, if they remained in the country and lived their economic and cultural life : the midst of ourpeople. But whatactuallyhappensis that a largenumber studentswho receivebetter of educationeitherdo not return Bangladesh to or leave the countryfor betteropportunities abroad. Thus, after receiving their high educationat the expense of the country,they contributeto the economy of othercountries and fertilise other soils. This is the "heroic"achievement of the anti-heroesof the language movement, the ruling classes of Bangladesh,in the sphere of education thisis theirsolidcontribution and to the developmentof the mothertongue of the Bengalees duringthe post-1971 period!

General Elections, 1996

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