Language Movement (International mother language day) began in 1948 and reached
its climax in the killing of 21 February 1952, and ended in the
adoption of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan. The
question as to what would be the state language of Pakistan was raised
immediately after its creation. The central leaders and the
Urdu-speaking intellectuals of Pakistan declared that urdu would
be the state language of Pakistan, just as Hindi was the state language
of India. The students and intellectuals of East Pakistan, however,
demanded that
Bangla be made one of the state languages. After a lot of controversy
over the language issue, the final demand from East Pakistan was that
Bangla must be the official language and the medium of instruction in
East Pakistan and for the central government it would be one of the
state languages along with Urdu. The first movement on this issue was
mobilised by Tamaddun Majlish headed by Professor Abul Kashem.
Gradually many other non-communal and progressive organisations joined
the movement, which finally turned into a mass movement.
Source: Wikipedia Bangladesh and some other websites
