বাংলা ভাষাকে পাকিস্তানের অন্যতম
রাষ্ট্রভাষা করার প্রস্তাব উত্থাপন
পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ
১০ই এপ্রিল, ১৯৫২
Motion Re: Bengali Being One of the State Languages in The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, 10th April, 1952 Mr. Nur Ahimed (East Bengal : Muslim) : Sir, I move : ‘That the Assembly is of opinion that Bengali language shall be made the State Language of Pakistan.
Sir, my resolution is self-evident and clear to every Honorable Member of this House. I would not take the valuable time of the House by inflicting a speech in support of my motion.
Mr. President (to Mr. Nur Ahmed): Do you want to speak?
The Honourable Mr. Nurul Amin (East Bengal : Muslim) : He has spoken.
Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan (Punjab : Muslim) : An official is stopping him from speaking. Mr. President : Motion moved.
‘That this Assembly is of the opinion that Bengali language along with Urdu language shall be made the State language of Pakistan.
The Honourable Pirzada Abdus Sattar Abdur Rahim (Sind : Muslim): Sir, I move :
‘That in view of the fact that no decision has yet been taken in the matter of the State language and there being no immediate necessity of taking a decision thereon, be it resolved that the question be decided by this Assembly when it comes up before it in due course.
Sir, the Amendment is very clear and it does not need any further clarification.
Mr. President : Motion moved :
“That in view of the fact that no decision has yet been taken in the matter of the State language and there being no immediate necessity of taking a decision thereon, be it resolved that the question be decided by this Assembly when it comes up before it in due course.’
Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan : Sir, I am both pained and surprised to see that one of the Government party’s members is first allowed to bring the resolution and then the Government itself tries to postpone it. We have seen during the past two months that this language issue has taxed the minds of the people and our brethren in East Bengal.
The issue was then raised after the speech of no less a person than the Prime Minister of Pakistan and then after that there were trouble, there agitation, there were shourtings, there were killings and there was lot of agitation, seeing which on less a person than the Chief Minister of East Bengal got up in his Legislature where he holds a majority to pass a resolution in keeping with the feelings of the people of East Bengal. Unless he was then in harmony with the ideas of the people of East Pakistan, he could not have passed those resolutions or was it only a political way in which he wanted to get out of the difficult situation? I would ask the Honourable Chief Minister from East Bengal, what was the reason that he passed that resolution in the Legislature of East Bengal. If there was no need for it then, there was no need for bringing this resolution here. If there was a need for that resolution to be passed, if there was a public feeling which had led him to pass that resolution in the East Bengal Assembly, then surely, Sir, that need has not been done away with and therefore this issue should not be put in cold storage.
I have been to a province where we have nurtured and brought up Urdu in the last 30 years or 40 years or more and Punjab is really proud for nurturing that language which was not its own. Then, Sir, after all these years we have been speaking that language and improving that language, in spite of the fact, I am today with the fullest responsibility standing here to support the issue of Bengali and I say that let us have Bengali as one of the State Languages because it is the language of 4 crore and 9 lakhs of our people living in East Bengal. If we, from West Pakistan, are going to oppose that urge of the people of East Pakistan, we will be responsible for starting trouble in East Pakistan, which may damage the very fabric of my country and my nation. Sir, I am one of Those, therefore, who, though loving Urdu language, though speaking Urdu language, are today on their legs to support this issue with all sincerity and all seriousness because we do not want that by opposing the cause of the people of East Pakistan, we are going to do no good. Instead, by postponing the issue, by postponing the evil day once again, we will be starting trouble which may result in the complete disruption of Pakistan. Therefore, Sir, in the interests of Pakistan, in the interests of our people, in the interests of our solidarity, in the interests of our future lines, in the interests of our future children and in the interests of our posterity, I am going to support the issue of Bengali. Let us not waste any time; let us support the resolution of the Chief Minister of Bengal; let us have the Bengali language as one of our State languages. If we can have English, if English could be spoken here, if English could be treated as a language in which we can communicate with each other why cannot the Bengali language, the spoken language of 4 crores of people, be the State language. I am sure, Sir, that Urdu is not so weak, nor Bengali language so weak, that by having them both as State language, we are going to kill one or the other language. It is just trying to put oil on fire and this fire would spread, I assure you, Sir, if we do not take up this issue seriously and if we do not get over this petty Provincialism, if we keep on going on Provincial lines or sentiments on which we have lived for past so many years, we, we are going to destroy this country. Sir, sentimentalism should be apart. We have been sentimental for too long. We have been emotional too long. Let us be rational, let us ask ourselves, ask scarching questions to yourselves; I ask the Prime Minister here, let him ask a searching question to himself: Is it really the desire of East Pakistan people that they should have Bengali languages as one of the State languages? If it is not, then for God’s sake get up and tell us that it is fraud, it is not the voice of the people, it is only the call of a few people and I will take back all my words which I have spoken in favor of Bengali. But if on the other hand, he is certain that this is the urge of people, this is the desire of the majority of the people of Pakistan, then I do not see any reason why you are putting back the issue and why you are adding to the troubles of the Government and the people of Pakistan. Sir we know and all of us know that here are countries within which there are three languages spoken. Take Switzerland, there is German, French and Italian spoken. Take the question of Canada. There is French and English both. Take the question of our country; why cannot we have two languages? Why should we oppose it? We, who have been speaking English for 200 years, are going to oppose that language, the language of the majority of the people of this country? I have got no hesitation, Sir, in saying that we, in the Punjab, and we people who think sensibly about the future of Pakistan, we have got no desire to gloat about the language issue and other aspirations of the people of East Pakistan.
Sir, I am sure, if we have Bengali as one of the State languages, it will lead to stronger ties and stronger friendship between the two wings of Pakistan. There will be people here in West Pakistan who will be learning Bengali and there will be people in Bengal who will be learning Urdu so that by this interchange of languages, by this compulsory learning of the languages of both wings of Pakistan, we are going to forge ties which it will be impossible to break by an artificial manner. Therefore, Sir, if we are going to have stronger ties and friendship and brotherhood between the two wings of Pakistan, we should give up this emotionalism and come forward with open lands and say that we are accepting your language, not that you are in a majority but because we want to make Pakistan, stronger and our brotherhood stronger and a real and effective thing. We are coming forward to accept the language of your country as at par with Urdu which is the spoken language of certain people in West Pakistan. Sir, if we do not do that, if we do not come to rationalism, if we keep on being emotional, if we keep on putting it away for political reasons, then, Sir, I assure my friends opposite that they are not today shelving, the issue Bengali language, but they are shelving the very foundation of Pakistan being laid on a proper basis. By trying to put off this issue they are going to create trouble in the minds of the East Bengal people who might think, and think wrongly, that we, in West Pakistan, are trying to dominate them. We have no desire whatsoever to dominate any one part or any Province or any people of this country. We want all the people and all the Province to get up together and with proper cooperation and friendship with each other, we should grow into a mighty nation which is our right to be.
Therefore, Sir, in the interest of Pakistan’s solidarity, in the interest of our people, in the interest of Bengal, Punjab, Sind, Frontier and Baluchistan, I am going to ask my friends in the Government, do not keep on shelving these issues, do not keep on putting off the real issues of the country, do not keep on putting off the need of the day. Be brave, be the worthy followers of Quaid-i-Azam, the worthy successors of Quaid-i-Azam, behave like true successors of Quaid-i-Azam and get up and do as he would have done in a different situation like this and accept this language issue. Do not do a thing which is going to disrupt the very strength of our nation. : Sir, it is very well said that when the constitution is made, then we will take up this issue. Even Sir, only yesterday a resolution was brought in about Islamic research. Many resolutions every day are brought in, some are about elections, some about amending the Government of India Act. When these small thing can be discussed in this House and passed, why cannot these major issues, when they arise, be discussed and passed to that there is no trouble in the country, so that we can live happily, so that there is no inferiority complex anywhere that people here are conspiring against them or people there are trying to dominate the people in West Pakistan. Sir, with these few words, these inadequate words, I am going to once again appeal to the people to be sensible, do not try to be emotional and do not try to put off these issues. Let us go and help the Bengali culture to grow and if necessary, if you think and I am sure the people in East Bengal and people in West Pakistan may agree that we may try to have a common script so that Urdu and Bengali languages can be understood and read easily by the people of West Pakistan and East Pakistan. Therefore, Sir, with this prayer that you should coolly and calmly consider this issue and settle at once as all and take up the issue of the script and let us see if we can have a common script. Let us have this Quranic script which is understood by both the people in East Bengal and people in West Pakistan. This may be the common script of the two languages. Therefore, Sir, with these words and with these suggestions, I appeal to the House for God’s sake give up your ideas of Provincialism of which you are accusing your opposition and rise above the present level and see that you are the real Statesmen of Pakistan and that you are going to preside over its funeral.
Mr. A.K. Fazlul Huque (East Bengal : Muslim) : Sir, while I had been listening to this debate, I felt it my duty to put forward my views before the House. I do not claim an orator. Nor can I claim to possess the vehemence of language with which my friend Mr. Shaukat Hyat Khan, can carry a motion before the House, but, Sir, I claim, through God’s grace, to have had something of parliamentary experience. I have outlined three parliamentary generations in the whole of India and I know, sir, what it is. When a question of the utmost importance to the State is being discussed, how can people play to the gallery and not look to the essential importance of the question itself. I do not for a moment impute to any of my friends here the charge that they do not realize the importance of the question itself. I do not for a moment impute to any of my friends here the charge that they do not realize the importance of the motion, but I do say that they are not in possession of all facts. Not only have I derived experience, Sir, of my thirty years either as a politician or as a member of the Bar, I am in close touch with the people from the mofussil who come to me for professional work. After my work is done, I just indulge in conversation with them to find out the real feelings of the people in connection with my burning question of the day. Now, Sir, I say it without any fear of contradiction that whatever the reasons may be, the feelings of the people of East Pakistanat the present moment are that Bengali should at the least be given a place in the recognised state languages of Pakistan. Sir, I do not think there is any inhabitant of Eastern Pakistan at present who can be expected to vote for Urdu only as the State language of Pakistan. It is not for me to say whether that feeling is well founded or not. I am not saying that. Now, Sir, at present the question that has come up before the House has not been the unseating of Government. Government did nothing but some of our Members have tabled resolutions to the effect that Bengali should be recognised as one of the State languages of Pakistan., My friend, Mr. Nur Ahmed, who will pardon me if I say that he is a machine for turning out resolutions at the rate of 100 per hour and amendments at a similar rate. He could not have left this occasion to go without tabling a resolution. Moreover, being an inhabitant of Chittagong, for the feelings of the most violent character he has only done his duty in bringing this motion before the House. So let us now understand the position. What has the Government decided? Government has fully realized that there is behind this demand of Bengali being one of the state languages, the voice of 90 million of Pakistan. At the same time, the question can be looked at from various points of view. It takes time to consider and come to a definite decision. All the Government proposes is that the question should not be decided here and now by the mere majority of votes, but that time should be taken into consideration to see that question is gone into in all its aspects and decided finally as to what should be the language or the languages of Pakistan. I do not very much like the phrase in due course. As things at present stand, I feel that ‘due course? may not come in the near future. It may be that the English language may continue to be the State language for five or eight years. We do not know what will happen, but whatever the reasons, if the Government motion is held today, we will not allow the Government to sleep over this question. We will face an issue the next time when the Assembly meets. All this time we will have ample opportunities of mobilizing the public opinion in East Pakistan and if we succeed in showing to the world that the people of East Pakistan have not only got a very good case, but also they have got public opinion behind their demand, I am sure the Government will have to look into it, whatever may be any personal views in this matter.
Mr. President : I may remove a misconception. Here the Government is not represented. All members represent themselves.
Mr. A. K. Fazlul Haque : Sir, that is theory. So whatever it may be, the remarks I make here apply to Honourable Pirzada. Whatever may be caso, I am placing certain facts. I am saying that after coming to Karachi I looked at this question from various points of view. At present my estimate is that Government has got a majority in the House. If we force a decision we are likely to lose, and if we lose we lose this course forever, because it is not only the members of the Constituent Assembly, but a member of that section of the Constituent Assembly who dealt with the situation. But if we allow this question to remain open, get an opportunity of considering this question along Members of Government and have not a decision to the question we desire. I submit, Sir, then we will have great apprehensions. I do not I wish to get a definite decision today, but I wish to have an opportunity to mobilize public opinion there and induce the Government to accept our point of view. There is a beautiful couple that say: ‘He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day’. If that my be the position then that is to our advantage. Instead of taking a defeat just now, whatever may be the reasons, it is much better that the question should remain open and the Government may have an opportunity of considering the questions from all its aspects and coming to a decision.
Now, Sir, I will be very frank. The discussions that have taken place and the discussion that will take place will show that the Members of this Assembly from Eastern Pakistan, and if we will have the Members who come from Eastern Pakistan- will be put is a very awkward position, because their own feeling are that Bengali should be declared straight away here and now as one of the State languages of Pakistan.
Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan : Why don’t you say so?
Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque : Well, I want it. But I want to have proper initiative. Sir, I want to be frank. As I have said, I do not want to break it. I feel that if a division is taken in the present circumstances, we will lose, whatever reasons may be. I do not want to lose but I want to get an opportunity and as a matter of fact I do not want to shelve the question but I want to put off the defeat and see if I can get successfully out of unfortunate circumstances.
Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan : Who can defeat you?
Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque : I cannot for a moment answer my friend’s questions in the way he desires because it is not for me to change facts. I am not saying these things from the point of view of any particular section of the House. I am not holding any brief for anybody but I am only putting before the House the question from a practical point of view. Does the amendment of Honorable Abdus Sattar go to such a length that this question can never come before this House for consideration? It may be postponed for six months or eight months. These are all matters of procedure. So, Sir, I submit that it is not fair polities because some of the Members here have been placed in a very awkward position because there is a conflict between their duty towards their constituencies and the circumstances with which we are faced in this House today. I am only appealing to the House not to make provocative speeches but allow the Government to consider this question coolly and calmly and I feel sure that the time will come when we will be able to convince them that the importance of Bengali must be properly weighed.
Before I sit down I convey my gratitude to my friend Sardar Shaukat Hyat for the manner in which he has espoused the cause of Bengali. I wish I had delivered that speech and not him. (Applause)
Shri Dhirendra Nath Dutta : Mr. President, Sir…. today, it is rather difficult for me to speak as it has been enhanced by the fact that I am to speak after the Honorable and most learned friend, Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque. I have the honor of being his colleague for a long period and I know the difficulty of speaking after him. He can place any cause with abounding arguments. He has got that capacity. I shall confine myself to one fort only and that is this : Whether there is a necessity for postponing the consideration of this issue. It is now agreed, Sir, and it has been agreed by my Honourable and most esteemed friend, Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque, that the claim of the Bengali language is genuine and it has got the opinion and the backing of all the population of East Bengal. If we look, Sir, to the resolution that has been tabled in this House, we shall find it. Not only Mr. Nur Ahmed, who has got a knack of moving resolution, and who comes from Chittagong, has moved this resolution but the resolutions have been moved by Mr. Shahoodul Haq coming from my place in the district of Tipperah and if you look to the resolution itself, it says that ‘in view of the general opinion prevailing in East Bengal over the question of State language and also in view of the unanimous resolution of the East Bengal Assembly passed at its last session recommending adoption of Bengali as one of this State languages of Pakistan, the Constituent Assembly resolves to adopt Bengali as one of the State languages of Pakistan.
So, it has been said in the resolution itself that there is the general opinion prevailing of the question of State language and there is unanimous resolution of the East Bengal Assembly. Sir, I happen to be a Member of the East Bengal Assembly. I know, Sir, the leader of the East Bengal Assembly.
I mean the Honorable the Chief Minister of East Bengal, himself moved that resolution. He himself got up and got it passed that the East Bengal Assembly recommends that the Bengali language shall be one of the State languages of Pakistan. Then, Sir, we get the resolution of Mr. Abdullah-al Mahmood who comes from Pabna who also says that Bengali be declared as one of the State languages. Then Mr. Abul Kasem Khan who also comes from Chittagong also says that. Then Moulvi Ebrahim Khan who is the President of the Secondary Education Board of East Bengal, and who was the Principal of a College in the District of Mymensingh also says in his resolution that Bengali should be one of the State languages. So, Sir, it is a greed and it cannot be denied that there is the backing of the whole population of Eastern Bengal that Bengali shall be one of the State languages. I have got the opportunity of mixing with children in the Districts. The children who can barely speak, utter the slogan : “Bengali shall be a State language.’…
Sir, it is most regrettable that silence has been imposed upon my friends who come from East Bengal. Mr. Nur Ahmed has only moved the resolution and has not spoken a few words; in favor of the resolution. Other Members, Sir, are also keeping mum. So, Sir, it is clear that the silence has been imposed upon them by the persons in authority and by the present ruling group. Then, Sir, Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque says that it should be postponed and a better day shall come. In these matters, Sir, which have been agitating for the last 4 years and in which they have been silenced, no further mobilization is necessary. It is well known, Sir, and I do not understand how the present ruling group does not attach any importance to it. Let us decide it once for all. It is useless to ignore facts. I have paid due attention to the arguments that have been advanced by Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque that the matter shall improve if the consideration is postponed. He has declared that he wants Bengali to be one of the State languages of Pakistan. But he has not given any argument in favor of the postponement of the consideration. But, I know, Sir, the reason for postponement. The reason is to shelve the matter today. It is clear, Sir, that a silence has been imposed upon members of East Bengal Legislative Assembly who rule East Bengal, I mean my Muslim brethren. Silence has been imposed upon them and silence will be imposed upon the people and, therefore, it is not prudent today to postpone the consideration. The matter is of such importance that it cannot be shelved. Is it not a fact that the feelings of the Bengalis are not known to our Prime Minister who happens to be a Bengali? My Chief Minister is present today, sitting up quite silent and mum. He knows the real situation. But he does not venture and the members of the Eastern Bengal, my Muslim brethren, do not venture today to utter an expression in favour of the Bengali language. I know their feelings and I know the feelings of the people of Eastern Bengal. Whatever may be said, but they have been compelled to be silent today. Face the question bravely and courageously. The demand that Bengali should be one of the State languages of Pakistan is in the interest of Pakistan. For the interest of Pakistan and for the integrity of Pakistan, the Eastern wing and the Western wing should be connected and they can be connected if my friends from Western Pakistan start to learn Bengali and we learn Urdu,…
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya (East Bengal : General) : Mr. President, I rise to support the resolution moved by Mr. Nur Ahmed and oppose the amendment which has been moved by Mr. Pirzada with trepidation.
The first cause of my trepidation in this debate is that when Mr. Nur Ahmed brought this resolution before this House. The words uttered by him looked to me like some Mantras in a Sradh ceremony. I know that Mr. Nur Ahmed, even when he gets up without moving any Resolution, talks a lot and it is always difficult for the President to stop within time, but what did he do today? He got up and read the resolution like Mantras on a Shradh ceremony without a word in support. I think really, he was gagged …
| My second point is his that when there was an agitation in East Bengal personally I do not know anything about that because I was absent from East Bengal at that time, the Chief Minister of East bengal hurriedly went to the East Bengal Assembly and himself moved a Resolution supporting the Bengali Language and promising that he would see that it is accepted as one of the state languages or something like that.
The Honourable Mr. Nurul Amin (East Bengal : Muslim) : Where did you get it from?
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : Did you now support it?
The Honorable Mr. Nurul Amin : Who do you put in a sentence which was not uttered by me?
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyays : Did you move the resolution or not?
The Honorable Mr. Nurul Amin : I said something else.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : What is the Resolution which you moved?
The Honorable Mr. Nurul Amin : You can read yourself.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : I was not there; I was not a member of your Assembly. I did not get a copy but I saw it in the newspaper.
The Honorable Mr. Nurul Amin : Then why do you quote me; why do you tread on the subject if you have not read the Resolution?
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : You moved that Resolution and it is reported that you said that you would come here and have that Resolution supported by this Assembly.
Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan : You are treading on his pet corn.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : I know that. However, I had accepted that being the leader of the House in the East Bengal Assembly and having moved that Resolution, it would have been proper on his part himself to bring that Resolution before the House. I find, as he did not move the Resolution, nor has he said anything in support of the Resolution, that he may be against the Bengali language being made a State language. That is the second reason for my trepidation; so that it may not be said here after that there was a talk over the language question in the Assembly but it came more from the Hindu side and therefore it was only a Hindu agitation, and it may be circulated thereafter that it was merely a Hindu agitation, as I find, there is already the allegation that the language agitation in East Bengal was engineered by the Hindus, the dhoti wales and others, and not by the Muslims and handy Safety Act was used against some of them. That is my difficulty.
Then, Sir, my old friend, who was my colleague once- Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haque, in his old age is a very different man… Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haq : You are senior to me.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : Mr. Fazlul Haque has asked for time. Sir, he who once wanted the Britishers to leave the shores of India, not giving them even 24 hours to do that, today comes forward to say that, though he knows this is an urgent matter, still be silent now and some time may come, it may be after the doomsdaywhen Bengali will become a State language.
Now, who has nurtured this agitation; who is responsible for this agitation? There was an agitation in 1948. There was no agitation afterwards in Bengal, until there was speech, somebody may say you are misquoting, but there was a speech by some big man in which he said Urdu was to be the State language and no other language. I was not there, but that set the ball rolling and that brought together all Muslim Students, Students of Fazlul Haque Hall and Salimullah Hall, who came forward and started that agitation, it is stated that they were going on with this agitation months before the 21st February. If it was in their knowledge that they were agitating about the language issue, why did Mr. Nurul Amin rushed to the House on the 22nd at nightfall to move his Resolution? If he had moved that Resolution on the 20th the whole agitation would have fizzled out. There would have been no provocation for that agitation…
Mr. President: Mr. Chattopadhyaya, that is not the issue before us. You can speak in respect of the resolution and the amendment.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya : I am on the amendment. I do not agree with these words of the amendment, these words, “That there is no immediate necessity of taking a decision here and now.’ I do not agree with that, I say it is a very urgent matter. Already people are in a temper in East Bengal. Therefore, the sooner it is decided, one way or the other, it is better at least for the people of East Bengal. Because in that case they will not be back into the agitation and they will not give opportunity to the Government of East Bengal to use their Safety Act and other laws for terrorizing the people and it will not be necessary for them to use firing squads against the youth and boys, that would be very wrong for them to do. But if it is postponed in this way without a final decision that will give cause for fresh agitation and will not stop the people of East Bengal from pressing their claims for recognition of Bengali as a State language. I am afraid of this. Again they will say it is being engineered by Hindus. I think, in that case our only course would be to leave the town of Dacca for some time so that nobody can say Hindu are doing all this. Hindus had not taken part in agitation and will also remain aloof from any future movement on language question. We do not want to take any part in this agitation. We do not agitate for Bengali language outside this House. This House is our only forum. We have tabled motions and we support this issue here and we had agitated for Bengali in this House before; and there it ended. We do not go outside to agitate. Many things have been stated and said in support of the Bengali language. In this connection 12 Muslim Editors of East Bengal issued a statement, one of them is the Editor of the Azad of which my friend, Maulana Akram Khan, is the proprietor, strongly supporting the demand for Bengali as a State language……
… I expected the mover to have spoken some words in support of his resolutions. I expected some of our Muslim members of this House from East Bengal would have spolen either way-either supporting or rejecting it. By keeping mum people there will understand they are not supporting the Bengali language. The people of East Bengal will be misled thereby.
The Honourable Mr. Nural Amin : I rise to speak a few words more for giving a personal explanation on account of certain misstatements made by no less a person than Mr. Chattopadhyaya who is the leader of the Opposition in the Legislature…
(Interruption)
I understand he is a leader in the Constituent Assembly, as well, which puts him in a position of much higher responsibility than being a leader in the Legislature. When I heard certain provocative statements coming down from his lips, mis-statements, incorrect facts – I thought that it was not the Bengali language which had created a loss of balance in him but it was something else which was in his mind and which was coming up before the House. This is a bill which is going to be moved with regard to the arrangements that will be made in East Bengal for the coming general elections on the basis of separate electorates. As for myself, I did not speak because I thought the amendment which has been made by the Honorable member Mr. Abdus Sattar was not inconsistent with the resolution moved by me in the Bengal Provincial Legislative Assembly or with any of the motions tabled by me esteemed friends from East Bengali But there was another reason for which I did not speak. I wanted to see how far the Honourable members sitting on my right can go to create a cleavage between us; what are the arguments, what are the provocations, what are the appeals to our sentiments, in which they are part-masters, by which they want to create a cleavage. In that I hope I have been successful in exposing them to the best. This was not such a motion on which such lengthy, and emphatic speeches would have been made. It was not the denial of the desire of the people of East Bengal; it was not the shelving of the question, but it was a very simple proposition by which it is expected that better results may emerge. There has been a demand from East Bengal for Bengali language, no doubt, the people of Bengal also want that people on this side, their brethren on this side, should be educated and acquainted with their feelings, logic and justification. So, Sir, this postponement, to my mind, seems for the better and not for the worse as has been interpreted by my honorable friends in the opposition. Each one of them has spoken in the strain that they are the only advocates, fathers and forefathers of Bengali language; and the Muslims coming from East Bengal have no claim on Bengali language and have no love for that language. This is not their monopoly. They arrogate to themselves in certain matters to show to the world that they are the monopolists in these matters, in the matter of preservation of right in a democratic country; in giving rights to the people; in giving rights to the people for the freedom of speech and all that. But they should understand that we who are sitting here, who have got the responsibility to run the administration of the country, have got to be more responsible than those …
(Interruption) … Sir, what was the resolution that I moved in the East Bengal Assembly to which several honorable members on this side, including the Leader of the Opposition, have referred. This is a simple resolution :
‘The reason for moving this resolution is that there has been a good deal of confusion among a section of the members of the public that the action that was taken by the Government yesterday was on account of the demand by the students for Bengali to be one of the State languages. The issue has been confused because so far as that demand is concerned, the students brought out two peaceful processions on two occasions and the Government did not interfere.’
That was the occasion on which this resolution was moved. Then there was an amendment by a member of that Assembly- Begum Anwara Khatoon-to the effect.
‘That should be finally decided in the next session of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.’
That was the amendment and my reply was :
“Coming to the amendment of Begum Anwara Khatoon there also I find that it is not acceptable because we are not the persons, we are not the authority to decide whether this matter will be taken up in the next session of the Constituent Assembly or not.’
So this amendment was also voted down. It was not accepted. So what I meant by this resolution, and I still stand by that – was that this resolution should be forwarded to the proper authority, the President of the Constituent Assembly, who will deal with this matter according to the rules governing such matters in the Constituent Assembly, and this has been sent to the President. I do not know what will happen to that, but when this matter comes up before this House in due time, certainly I will mention the resolution passed by the Legislative Assembly of East Bengal. This is not the proper time. This matter has come up before this House because certain motions have been moved by some members of this House and there has been an amendment to that motion, and I do not see how the amendment is contradictory to any of the resolutions which has asked Bengali to be one of the State languages in Pakistan. So long as the question of Bengali language remains pending, so long as the demand of East Bengal is not decided adversely, I do not see any fear in that. Rather I am hopeful that better results may come out of it. But there are members in this House who want to fish in troubled waters when they get a certain opportunity, and this is one of them…
… Sir, I have confined myself to the issue. Sir, the resolution is on the East Bengal Assembly there. I have read out the wording of the resolution of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly, as also its intention. So it is not the question why I don’t move that resolution here. A motive has been imputed by the Honourable the Leader of the Opposition. So there should not be a confusion which has been sought to be created amongst our people by the gentleman speaking from that side. I do not touch the points raised by Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan who has spoken from the Bench over there, because I know that his party being so small, he has got to be in the lap of my friend Mr. Chattopadhyaya. …
Mr. President: I am first putting the amendment to vote. The questions is : That for the original motion the following be substituted :
“That is the view of the fact that no decision has yet been taken in the matter of the State Language and there being no immediate necessity of taking a decision thereon be it resolved that the question be decided by this Assembly when it comes up before it in due course.’
(The House then divided)
A YES – 41
1. Mr. Abdullah-al Mahmood.
2. Maulana Md. Abdullah-el Baqui.
3. Maulana Md. Akram Khan.
4. The Hon’ble Mr. Azizuddin Ahmad.
5. Moulavi Ebrahim Khan.
6. The Hon’ble Mr. Fazlur Rahman.
7. Mr. Ghayasuddin Pathan.
8. Mr. Shahidul Haque.
9. The Hon’ble Dr. Ishtiaq Husain Qureshi.
10. The Hon’ble Mr. Mafizuddin Ahmad.
11. The Hon’ble Mr. Mahmud Hussain.
12. The Hon’ble Dr. A, M. Malik.
13. The Hon’ble Mr. Md. Habibullah Bahar.
14. Mr. Nur Ahmed.
15. The Hon’ble Mr. Nurul Amin.
16. The Hon’ble Khwaja Nazimuddin.
17. Mr. Asadullah.
18. H.E. Khwaja Shahabuddin.
19. The Hon’ble Mr. Abdul Hamid.
20. Sayed A. B. M. Hussain.
21. Shri Dhananjoy Roy.
22. Mr. Akshay Kumar Das.
23. Mr. Abdul Monem Khan.
24. Mr. Choudhury Zahiruddin Moazzim Hossain (Lalmian)
25. H.E. Malik MD. Firoz Khan Noon.
26. The Hon’ble Mr. Mohammad Ali.
27. The Hon’ble Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan.
28. The Hon’ble Sardar Abdur Rab Khan Nishtar.
29. Khan Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot.
30. Syed Khalilur Rahman.
31. Sardar Amir Azam Khan.
32. Sheik Sadiq Hasan.
33. Sayed Ghulam Bhik Nairang.
34. Malik Shaukat Ali.
35. The Hon’ble Pirzada Abdus Sattar Abdur Rahman.
36. Mr. M. H. Gazdr.
37. Mr. M.A. Khuhro.
38. Mr. M.H. Kizilbash.
39. The Hon’ble Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani.
40. Mr. P. D. Bhandara.
41. Mr. Ahmad E.H. Jaffer.
NOES-12
1. Mr. Prem Hari Barma.
2. Shri Hirendra Nath Dutta.
3. Shri Kamini Kumar Dutta.
4. Prof. Rajkumar Chakraverty.
5. Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya.
6. Mr. Bhupendra Kumar Datta.
7. Mr. Jnanendra Chandra Majumdar.
8. Mr. Birat Chandra Mandal.
9. Mr. Bhabesh Chandra Nandy.
10. Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan,
11. Sardar Asadullah Jan Khan.
12. Seth Sukhdev. The motion was adopted
Mr. President : So all the other motions on the language issue fall through.
সূত্র: ভাষা আন্দোলনের ইতিহাস ও দলিল – সাহিদা বেগম