THIS year marks the fiftieth anniversary of our Language Movement. Immediately after the birth of Pakistan in 1947 conspiracy was on to colonise the new country's eastern wing. The most insidious aspect of this conspiracy was to try to make Urdu the only state language of Pakistan though the Bengalis constituted 56 per cent of the country's population. The question of accepting this did not arise and the Bengalis started to protest from as early as 1948. On 21 February 1952 several Dhaka University students were shot during a protest rally and strike on the issue of making Bangla a national language. This was the beginning of movement that ultimately led to our Liberation War in 1971. Thus Omor Ekushey, as the day is popularly called, became and remained as the most sacred commemorative event in our national life.

It was the commemoration of our Language Movement Day -- Ekushey -- that gave us the strength, the unity and the political direction to rise against all sorts of oppression and military rule of the Pakistan era. Though we call it our language movement day what Ekushey and the associated events collectively symbolises is really the series of events that galvanised our cultural regeneration, development of political consciousness and creation of our national identity. Our fight for independence all hinged on the consciousness triggered by Ekushey fifty years ago.

Over the years the celebration of this event has become a month long affair starting from the first of the month, as it did yesterday with the inauguration of the Ekushey Book Fair by the Prime Minister. Arguably the fiftieth commemoration of this singular event must be appropriate both in terms of magnitude and quality. We want to see this event celebrated throughout the country and in as many ways as possible. But most importantly we do not want to see this event politicised. The forced resignation of Prof. Anisuzzaman as the chairman of Bangla Academy, a man of impeccable credentials as an intellectual and writer, has given rise to serious confusion in the public mind as to the government's policy in dealing with writers and thinkers. The whole act smacked of politicisation of a very sacred institution and a more sacred event. The excuse that previously something similar may have happened is not acceptable to us simply because we want to move forward and not repeat the mistakes of the past.

We conclude the plea not to politicise the fiftieth anniversary of Omor Ekushey.