Bangalees united by linguistic identity, not communal affiliation

Nationalism is inherently political; it raises questions about the formation and dissolution of states. Language, however, transcends the state and holds possibilities that are not only vast and profound but also both democratic and socialist in nature. This is because linguistic identity has the power to surpass class divisions. Our language movement was democratic in multiple ways. Firstly, it aimed to establish the rights of the Bengali-speaking majority within the Pakistani state structure. Secondly, it sought to unite Bengalis not on the basis of class or communal identity but through linguistic identity, which carried an inherent socialist aspiration.

Even those who disapprove of nationalism—considering it a means of subjugating citizens—have acknowledged the beneficial role of language. For instance, Rudolf Rocker believed that a person's true homeland is their language. He stated, "Of all the evidences which have been cited for the existence of a national ideology, community of language is by far the most important," and "In nothing does the national character, the imprint of the mental and spiritual power of a people, express itself as clearly as in language."

Pakistan was founded on the basis of a religious nationalism. However, this nationalism was not acceptable to the people of East Bengal. In reality, the concept of religious nationalism was artificial. This is why, from the very inception of the new state, its founding leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948), felt compelled to declare that there would be no distinctions between Hindus, Muslims, and Christians in Pakistan and that all citizens would have equal rights. Yet, he sought to impose Urdu as the sole state language. This was not an error but a deliberate decision, as his ambition was to establish the dominance of West Pakistan over East Pakistan. Language was intended to be a tool of this dominance. The justification given was that Urdu was more closely associated with Islam than Bengali, but this was merely a pretext. The true intent was West Pakistan's control over the East.

West Pakistan viewed East Bengal as a colony. Bengali Muslims had overwhelmingly voted for Pakistan, and in fact, their votes were instrumental in its creation. In undivided India, Muslims constituted one-fourth of the population, and one-third of these Muslims lived in Bengal. When they voted in favor of Pakistan, their demand could no longer be ignored. However, Bengali Muslims did not support Pakistan for religious reasons or for the imposition of Urdu as the state language; rather, they sought economic emancipation. The fear arose that Urdu would become a major obstacle to this aspiration, leading to the inception of the state language movement. Having just emerged from one form of subjugation, East Bengal was unwilling to accept another.

Jinnah publicly declared his intent to make Urdu the state language in March 1948, only a few months after the creation of Pakistan. The language movement began as an immediate reaction to this declaration. In December of that year, the East Pakistan Literary Conference was held in Dhaka, where Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah (1885–1969) expressed a view that resonated with the conscious middle class: "It is true that we are Hindus or Muslims, but more than that, we are Bengalis. This is not just an idealistic statement; it is a reality. Nature itself has imprinted our Bengali identity in our appearance and language, and no amount of religious symbols—whether Hindu or Muslim—can conceal that."

Predictably, this statement provoked a hostile response from pro-Pakistan circles. However, the key point to note is that Bengali Muslims had never before felt such a deep emotional attachment to the Bengali language. In this regard, they even surpassed their counterparts in West Bengal. There was no language movement in West Bengal for Bengali as the state language, nor did such a movement lead to the establishment of an independent state, as it eventually did in Bangladesh.

Nevertheless, the idea that Bengali identity was fundamentally rooted in the Bengali language was never disputed. Despite their differences, Muhammad Shahidullah and Suniti Kumar Chatterjee (1890–1977) shared a common understanding of the linguistic basis of nationalism. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, in his seminal work Origin and Development of the Bengali Language (1925), highlighted the power of language in shaping dominance. Referring to the Aryan conquest, he wrote, "Through this victory of his language, the Aryans gave a distinct color with which it became associated."

The victorious Aryans had the ability to refer to the indigenous people of this region as birds, demons, sinners, dacoits, ogres, slaves, dogs, mlechhas (barbarians), and outcasts primarily for political reasons, but also due to linguistic factors. The Brahmins of the Aryan community did not understand the language spoken by the indigenous people, which gave them an excuse to label them as barbarians—just as the ancient Greeks considered all non-Greek speakers to be barbarians. The Greeks, too, were Aryans in this respect. Aryans identified themselves through language and had no intention of teaching their language to the indigenous population, nor were they willing to learn the local languages. This, however, had an unintended positive consequence: the emergence of distinct regional languages, one of which was Bengali.

It is precisely because of the Bengali language that the Bengali nation gained a definable identity. Elsewhere, Suniti Kumar rightly stated, "Without language, there would be no nation." He further elaborated, "When we speak of the Bengali nation, we refer to those people who use the Bengali language as their mother tongue or household language." Sukumar Sen (1901–1992) echoed this sentiment: "A nation is built upon its language, and a country is built upon its nation." The history of the Bengali nation began with the emergence of the Bengali language. Rabindranath Tagore expressed it even more eloquently: "For so long, we have been called Bengalis, and that designation exists solely because we speak Bengali. Administrators have carved up Bengal and annexed its parts to other provinces, but their bureaucratic scissors could never cut our language apart."

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838–1899) is particularly significant in this regard. He thought more about Bengal than he did about India as a whole. While Raja Rammohan Roy (1772–1833) was called Bharatpathik (a traveler of India), in the same sense, Bankim was Bangapathik (a traveler of Bengal). His magazine was named Bangadarshan (Vision of Bengal). His song Vande Mataram was embraced by people from other provinces, but the mother figure he glorified was that of the greater Bengal, not all of India. Bankim Chandra was deeply concerned with the Bengali people and firmly believed that language was their greatest strength. He stated, "The root of national unity is linguistic unity" (Bangadarshan, Poush 1281).

Promoth Chowdhury (1868–1946) had a penchant for delivering profound messages in a lighthearted manner. He remarked, "All Bengalis are kin to one another because the bond of language is both mental and physical—stronger than even the bond of blood." Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), known for his intensity, proclaimed, "Language is the primary means and hallmark of progress."

Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury (1863–1929), in his pamphlet The Vernacular Education in Bengal, lamented that "Bengali literature has not become dear to Muslims because it does not reflect their lives." Commenting on this, Rabindranath Tagore remarked, "We must not forget that Bengali Muslims and Bengali Hindus are bound by blood ties."

Sirajul Islam Chowdhury is a renowned thinker and Emeritus Professor.