Pakistan came into being in 1947. The Pakistan rulers to give proper honour to Bangla the language of 56% population of Pakistan who lives in the erstwhile East Pakistan . In March 1948, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor General of Pakistan, declared in the convocation of Dhaka University that Urdu and only Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan.

The patriotic people of Bangladesh took it as a great blow to their culture. The declaration sowed the seed of Bangla Language Movement. The students and the politically conscious people made strong protest against this. On February 21, 1952 the Language Movement Committee decided to go to the East Pakistan Assembly House from Dhaka University. The East Pakistan Govt. promulgated section 144 in the University and Assembly area. The students of East Pakistan violated it. The police opened fire and the street of Dhaka University was stained with the blood of Barkat, Salam, Jabbar and others. The following day strike paralysed the whole of East Pakistan. At last the Pakistani rulers were compelled to accept Bangla as one of the state Language of Pakistan. This Language Movement created a new national awareness which culminated in the creation of Bangladesh. Bangladesh observes 21 February as Martyr Day. The UNO declared this date as International Mother Language Day.