After we have studied this unit, we will be able to

• read and understand texts through silent reading
• infer meaning from context
• listen for information
• ask and answer questions
• write answers to questions

Key words : movement, discriminatory, emergence, identity

A. Look at the picture. Ask and answer the questions in pair.

1. What is happening here?
2. Does the picture relate to any important event in our national life?
3. What do you know about Bangabandhu's contributions to our national life?

B. Read the text.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was one of the few student leaders who played a significant role in turning the language movement into a mass movement. As a student leader, he was the central figure in organizing mass gatherings, rallies and strikes for raising awareness against the discriminatory language policy of Pakistan. The language movement started when the Governer General of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, declared "Urdu and only Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan" on 19 March 1948 at the Racecourse Maidan while addressing a public gathering. He again uttered the same on 24 March 1948 at the University of Dhaka during his convocation speech. The students instantly protested against this announcement vehemently.

It was the time when young Mujib started organizing the student front of Muslim League in East Pakistan. He was proud of his Bengali identity and very active to initiate strikes and protests against the language policy of Pakistan government. Later, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Khwaja Nazimuddin echoed the statement of Mr. Jinnah on 26 January, 1952. Mujib was in prison during this time due to his political activism and was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College under police custody. However, he stayed in constant touch with other leaders directly engaged in the movement to make Bangla the state language. His directions from prison led the movement to a success. On 14 February, he started a hunger strike there.

During a general strike on 21 February, 1952 the protesting students tried to defy Section 144 imposed by the government. The police opened fire and killed a number of students including Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abul Barkat, Abdul Jabbar and others. In his autobiography, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman says, "...We decided in the meeting in my room to observe 21 February as State Language Day and to form a committee that day to conduct the movement to establish Bengali as the state language." (adapted from Centre for Research and Information (CRI), August 2020

C Here are some multiple choice questions with one correct answer and three incorrect answers for each of the items. Choose the correct answer and put a tick mark (√) beside it.

1. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman played a significant role in our Language Movement. What does the underlined word mean here?

                   a) famous b) important c) infamous d) active

2. The protesting students tried to defy Section 144 imposed by the government. What does the underlined words mean in this sentence?

                   a) to refuse b) to agree c) to accept d) to obey

3. What's the meaning of the word "autobiography" in the passage?

                   a) The story of a person's life written by somebody else

                   b) The story of a person's life written by his friends

                   c) The story of a person's life written by that person himself 

                   d) The story of a person's life written by a journalist

4. Which of the following words is the meaning of "central" in the passage?

                   a) most important b) less important c) unimportant d) popular

5. "We decided in the meeting in my room to observe 21 February as State Language Day". What does the underlined word mean?

                   a) to celebrate b) to maintain c) to understand d) to arrange

D. Read the text again to answer the following questions:

1. Where was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the Language Movement in 1952?
2. Why do you think Mujib struggled for establishing Bengali as the state language?
3. What happened on 21 February in 1952?

E. The grid below has two columns. Column A has some words/phrases taken from the text in Section B. Column B has their meanings. Match the phrases with their contextual meanings.

F. Identify the main points in the text in Section B and re-write the text in 100 words.

Key words : extempore, legendary, struggle, heritage

A. Discuss in pairs or groups. Ask and answer the following questions.

1. What do you see in the picture?
2. What special day do you remember when you look at the picture?
3. Do you remember listening to any of Bangabandhu's speeches? Which one?
4. Why do you think people love to listen to his speeches so much?

B. Read the text.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his most iconic speech at the Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) on 7 March 1971. He called on his fellow countrymen to get ready for independence. On that day, a million people gathered there to listen to their great leader. It was this speech that encouraged the freedom-seeking Bangalees to prepare for the liberation war. The 19-minute speech has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the world's most important documentary heritages. UNESCO added the speech to the Memory of the World Register as a documentary heritage on 30 October 2017, giving it an legendary status. Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO announced the decision at its headquarters in Paris. UNESCO official website says that "...The speech effectively declared the independence of Bangladesh. ...The speech was extempore and there was no written script...". He started his speech with these words, "Today, I appear before you with a heavy heart. You know everything and understand as well. We tried with our lives. ... Today the people of Bengal want freedom, the people of Bengal want to survive, and the people of Bengal want to have their rights...."

C. Answer the following questions based on your reading of the text above.

1. What type of speech did Bangabandhu deliver on 7 March, 1971?
2. Why do you think the speech is significant in the history of Bangladesh?
3. What is the meaning of the word "iconic" in the passage?
4. In which category did UNESCO recognize Bangabandhu's 7 March speech?
5. What is special in this speech?

Ꭰ. See below an excerpt from Bangabandhu's historic 7 March speech. To understand what he had said, you have to fill in the gaps using the clues given in the box. When the gap filling is done, read the text aloud.

"Turn every house into a _, resist the enemy with everything you have... Since we have learned to _ our lives, we shall give more blood. We shall _ the people of this land. The struggle this time is for _, the struggle this time is for _. Joy Bangla" - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, March 7, 1971

E. Write a letter to your friend telling her/him how you feel when you listen to Bangabandhu's historic 7 March Speech.

Key words : declaration, resist, repression, occupation

A. Look at the image below and discuss in pairs to answer the following questions.

1. What does 'declaration of independence' mean?
2. Who declared the independence of Bangladesh and when?

B. Read the text below and see whether what you thought or have known about the declaration of independence is correct.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Source : Bangladesh Swadhinata Juddho: Dalil Potro, volume-3, and The Constitution of Bangladesh

Perhaps all of you are familiar with Bangabandhu's historic speech on 7th March, 1971. In that speech he narrated the long history of repression and struggle of Bangalees for self-rule. There he narrated how the Pakistani rulers exploited us and tried to stop our voice at the gun-point. By the end of the speech he urged everyone to be prepared with whatever they had. He emphasized that our struggle was for liberty and independence. And finally, the declaration of independence came from Bangabandhu in the first hours of 26 March, 1971. Bangabandhu passed on this voice message just before he was arrested by the Pakistani Army.

1. Why is March 26 observed as the Independence Day of Bangladesh?
2. Who declared Bangladesh an independent state?
3. Why did Bangabandhu say "This may be my last message." in his declaration of independence?
4. What connection do you find between Bangabandhu's speech on 7 March 1971 and this message on declaration of independence?

C. Match the words in the box with their meaning.

D. The sentences below in a nutshell tell us what happened from Bangabandhu's declaration of independence on 26 March, 1971 to his homecoming on 10 January, 1972. However, the sentences are not in the right order. Re-arrange them to make a cohesive text.

1. It was such a big setback for his political colleagues, but as per Mujib's advice many of them were able to cross the border in the next few days.
2. On the night of 25 March 1971, the Pakistani army started mass killing under their "Operation Search Light".
3. Mujib was almost sure that this would happen.
4. Afterwards they formed a government in-exile for the "People's Republic of Bangladesh" on 17 April, 1971.
5. After a nine-month long war, over ninety thousand Pakistani soldiers unconditionally surrendered to the joint command of Bangladesh's Liberation Army and Indian forces on 16 December 1971.
6. Hence he issued a text and a recorded message for the people urging them to fight for their own freedom.
7. On 10 January 1972, Mujib returned to his country as a hero and became the Father of the Nation.
8. Later that night, Mujib was arrested and taken to West Pakistan.
9. From there they led the war of independence in the name Bangabandhu.
10. There he declared the independence of Bangladesh in the early hours of 26 March, 1971.

E. Write a dialogue between you and your friends on how independence was declared by Bangabandhu.

Key words : memoirs, oppressed, auto-biography, unfold, excerpt, insist, equate, moist

A. Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

• What do you see in the picture?
• What does 'memoirs' mean?
• What does 'The Unfinished Memoirs' mean in your own language?
• What relation do you find between 'Sheikh Mujibur Rahman' and 'The Unfinished Memoirs'?

B. Read the text silently and tell what it is about.

You all know Skeikh Mujibur Rahman as a politician, who has many feathers in his crown. He is the leader of our struggle for independence. He declared independence on 26 March 1971. He is the founder of Bangladesh. He is our Father of the Nation. He is the leader of the oppressed people. He was and still is so popular, so dear, and so own to everyone that people passionately call him Bangabandhu meaning the friend of Bengal/Bangla. But do you know, Bangabandhu as a writer! Yes, we have got some precious memories of Bangabandhu written by himself. He wrote that in Bangla which is available as Osomapto Atmojiboni. Written in the style of auto-biography, Bangabandhu unfolds some unknown aspects of his personal, political and family life in this book. The narration clearly shows why he has been Bangabandhu and why he is the best Bangalee in a thousand years. The following text is an excerpt taken from The Unfinished Memoirs, an English translation of the book.

C. Here are some words from the excerpts taken from the Unfinished Memoirs. Work in pairs and write their synonyms on the blank spaces.

                                                 auto-biography       equate         excerpt             insist

                                                     memoirs                  moist         oppressed        unfold

D. Read the text once again and answer the following questions.

1. What kind of campaign do you think the writer is talking about?
2. Why would the villagers offer Bangabandhu money?
3. What is your opinion about the old woman in the above excerpt?
4. Why was Bangabandhu emotional to experience the story of the old woman?
5. Do you think this story has any moral? What is that? Justify your arguments.
6. What is your first reaction after reading this true story from the life of Bangabandhu?

E. Now read the following text and fill in the gaps using the words you have Bangabandhu?

You have read an _ from Bangabandhu's memoirs. The Unfinished Memoirs is in fact, Bangabandhu's _. Such a writing always _ someone's life-story. Have you read any other's _ ? Can you remember any other leader, who worked for the _ people? Anyway, it was really interesting to read about the woman in the excerpt who _ (ed) Bangabandhu to accept her _. It's true that nothing can _ such selfless love. Bangabandhu realized it and so his eyes got _.

F. Discuss in pairs to make a list of things that you can do for senior citizens in your community.