People began flocking to the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka and other memorials up and down the country on Sunday night to pay homage to the martyrs.
Barefooted, they carried flowers in their hands and the immortal line -- “‘Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano Ekushey February, Ami Ki Bhulite Pari’ (Can I forget the twenty-first of February/ incarnadined by the blood of my brother?) on their lips.
The observation of the day, Shaheed Dibosh or Martyrs Day and the International Mother Language Day, kicked off at 12:01am on Monday formally with President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - taking precautions because of the coronavirus pandemic - sending representatives to place wreaths on their behalf at the Shaheed Minar, reports bdnews24.com.
Salam, Rafique, Shafique, Jabbar and Barkat embraced martyrdom in police firing as they took to the street to intensify the campaign to establish Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan, sowing the seeds of subsequent movements for independence.