Lala unit of Barak Valley Bengal Literature and Culture Conference pays homage at Gandhi Bhavan; speaker draws connection between 1952 Dhaka movement and Barak’s Unishe
Poets recited original verse, lamps were lit, and garlands laid at a martyr’s altar — this was how Lala town observed International Mother Language Day on Saturday, bringing together writers, educators, and community members to remember those who gave their lives for Bengali.
The Lala Regional Committee of the Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelan organised the programme at the Language Martyrs’ Memorial outside Gandhi Bhavan in the heart of Lala town. Regional President Nachiketa Nath and Secretary Happy Nath led the committee’s representatives in offering floral tributes and lighting lamps at the memorial. Cultural Secretary Puja Dev and Literature Promotion Secretary Manoj Pandey were also part of the tribute, joined by retired teachers Birendra Nath and Binata Rani Nath.
From the central committee, Literary Secretary Jitendra Nath and member Ashisranjan Nath attended the event. Among those also present were Raju Modak, Gopal Das, Rajdeep Dev, Amit Pal, Abhijit Pal Choudhury, Pushpa Nandi, Chunilal Nath, Prajesh Nath, and Prithish Nath.
The centrepiece of the afternoon was a speech by Ashisranjan Nath, who placed Ekushey squarely within its broader historical context. Speaking on the Bengali language movement that unfolded in then-East Pakistan on February 21, 1952, he went on to invoke Barak Valley’s own Unishe — May 19, 1961 — drawing a powerful through-line between the two sacrifices. His address reminded the audience that the struggle for linguistic identity was not confined to one geography or one generation.
The programme closed with poetry. Jitendra Nath and Chunilal Nath stepped forward to read compositions they had written for the occasion, giving the commemoration a fittingly literary send-off.