Shaheed Minar (Dhaka)
The Shaheed Minar ( Bengali: শহীদ মিনার Sahid Minar ) is a national monument in Dhaka. The monument commemorates the Bangladeshi students who for the recognition of Bengali as an official language in Pakistan lost their lives in the demonstrations of 1952.
Historical Background
In 1952 the regime of the then Pakistan decided the collection of Urdu the sole official language, although it was mother tongue for only 3 % of the population. In East Pakistan even almost exclusively Bengali was spoken. Protests in Dhaka on February 21, police fired on demonstrators; there were deaths.
Your continued linguistic and cultural repression of East Pakistan from West Pakistan led eventually to split off in 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh. The February 21 is celebrated as the day of martyrs there ever since. This day was collected in November 1999 by the UNESCO International Mother Language Day at the request of Bangladesh. On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year 2008 also the International Year of Languages.