The Bangla Government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has always given due respect to the language martyrs, or ‘Bhasha Shahids’, of February 21, 1952.
Every year on this day Mamata Banerjee attends the wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial, Bhasha Shahid Smarak, located on the Maidan, opposite MP Birla Planetarium in Kolkata. It was inaugurated by her on February 19, 2016.
The memorial comprises of a statue of a beautiful young woman with long braided hair, holding a dead man on her lap. The woman symbolises ‘Mother Language’ and the dead man, the martyrs who gave their lives for the cause of their language on that terrible day in Dhaka.
Various cultural programmes take place throughout the day, in Kolkata and in cities and towns across the State, organised by the authorities and the party.
Another memorial constructed in 2014 called Bhasa Smriti Mancha is located at Deshapriya Park. Various events take place here too.
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