The Tamaddun Majlish ( bn, তমদ্দুন মজলিশ), formerly Pakistan Tamaddun Majlish, is an Islamic cultural organization in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
immediately after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
on September 1, 1947, by Principal Abul Kashem, a professor in the physics department of
Dhaka University
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
. At first it was very active, playing a vital role at the start of the Bengali Language Movement.
The members of the organization were strongly influenced by the mentality of the East Pakistan Renaissance Society. After the partition, they realized that
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
was no longer governed with the idealism that had been promised. This led most of the members of the Tamuddun Majlish to drift away from the
Muslim League Muslim League may refer to:
Political parties Subcontinent
; British India
*All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan.
**Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...
.
Involvement in the Bengali Language Movement
Although the main intent of Tamaddun Majlish was to invigorate the Islamic spirit and culture of the new nation of Pakistan, the vigorous role played by this pro-Islamic organization made it clear to the
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
-speaking Muslim population of
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
that the demand to adopt Bengali as one of the state languages was "not at all motivated by the anti-state elements and communists of East Bengal." On September 15, 1947, Tamuddun Majlish issued a pamphlet titled '' Pakistaner Rashtra Bhasha: Bangla Na Urdu?'' ("Pakistan’s State Language: Bengali or
Kazi Motahar Hossain
Qazi Motahar Hossain (30 July 1897 – 9 October 1981) was a Bangladeshi writer, scientist, statistician, chess player, and journalist.
Hossain was a pioneer educationalist of Bangladesh. He did original research in statistics and pioneered ...
, Abul Mansur Ahmed and Principal Abul Kashem (General Secretary of Tamuddun Majlish), made a strong case for introducing Bengali as the only language of instruction, offices and courts of
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
. They also forcefully articulated the demand for Bengali to be one of the State languages of Pakistan. The seminal booklet also contained a succinct proposal, authored by Principal Abul Kashem in favor of the Bengali language, the gist of which is:
# Bengali should be:
## the medium of instruction in East Pakistan;
## the court language of East Pakistan; and
## the official language of East Pakistan.
# Urdu and Bengali should be the two official languages of the central government of Pakistan.
# Bengali should be the first language for the purpose of education in East Pakistan, to be learned by all the people;
## Urdu may be treated as the second language or inter-province language in East Pakistan, which can be taught as a second language to those people who will be working in
West Pakistan
West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...
. It will be more than adequate if Urdu is learned by only 5% to 10% of population of East Pakistan. Urdu may be taught in higher classes at the secondary school level in East Pakistan; and
## English should be the third or international language of East Pakistan.
# Both English and Bengali should be used for a few years as the official languages in East Pakistan."
Aimed at providing organized resistance against the anti-Bengali policies of the central government of Pakistan and to protest against comments about the Bengali language and script made by Fazlur Rahman, the Central Education Minister, the Tamuddun Majlish took the lead in the formation of the first ''
Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad The Rashtrabhasha Sangram Parishad (''National Language Action Committee'') was an organisation founded by Bengali politicians and intellectuals to agitate for the recognition of the Bengali language by the Government of Pakistan. It was established ...
'' ("State Language Movement Council") in October 1947. While Professor Nurul Huque Bhuyain of Dhaka University was elected to be the Convenor of the first ''Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad'', Professor Abul Kashem, the General Secretary of Tamudhun Majlish, played a key role in the early stages of the Bengali Language Movement by garnering widespread support for adopting Bengali as one of the state languages of Pakistan. He succeeded in enlisting the younger generations, and in particular the teachers and students of Dhaka University and other educational institutions. Thus, the first ''Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad'' provided the organizational structure needed to launch the language movement in the latter part of 1947 and the early months of 1948.
The first protest meeting was convened on the campus of Dhaka University on December 6, 1947, under the auspices of ''Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad'', to protest the unilateral decision of the National Education Conference in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
to adopt Urdu as the only state language of Pakistan. The protest meeting attracted a large number of students, teachers and others from Dhaka University and other educational institutions. Professor
Abul Kashem
Mohammad Abul Kashem (known as Principal Abul Kashem, 28 June 1920 – 11 March 1991) is generally considered as a pioneer and the architect of the historic Language Movement of Bangladesh. He was also a politician, author and an eminent educa ...
presided over the protest meeting, and a number of students and teachers including Munir Choudhury, Abdur Rahman, Kallayan Dasgupta, A.K.M. Ahsan, S. Ahmed, and Farid Ahmed, the Vice President of Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU), addressed the meeting.
The position of Tamuddun Majlish regarding the Bengali Language Movement also reflected the aspirations of the common people of East Bengal.
''Weekly Shainik''
Tamuddun Majlish published a weekly named ''Shaptahik Shainik'' from 1948 to 1961, as a mouthpiece of the Bengali Language Movement.
tamaddun majlish is played a great role for the language movement.
Abul Hashim
Abul Hashim (25 January 1905 – 5 October 1974) was a Bangladeshi politician and Islamic thinker in the Indian Subcontinent.
Early life
Hashim was born in a lord family in the village of Kashiara in Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal. He ...
*
Dewan Mohammad Azraf
Dewan Mohammad Azraf ( bn, দেওয়ান মোহাম্মদ আজরফ; 1908–1999) was a Bengali philosopher, teacher, author, politician, journalist and activist. In 1993, he was honoured as a National Professor in Bangladesh. H ...
*
Shahed Ali
Shahed Ali ( bn, শাহেদ আলী; 24 May 19256 November 2001) was a Bangladeshi litterateur and cultural activist. Aside from being an educationist and his journalism, he was one of the founders of the nationwide Tamaddun Majlish which i ...
*
Nurul Huq Bhuiyan
Nurul Haque Bhuiyan was a Bengali activist.
Career
Bhuiyan was a professor of Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry at the University of Dhaka during 1946–1994. He was a senior leader of the Tamaddun Majlish
The Tamaddun Majlish ( bn ...
*
Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali (April 20, 1918 – August 18, 1975) was a politician and a leader of the Bengali Language Movement. He was one of the founders of Awami Muslim League - which later became Awami League and is now the Bangladesh Awami League. He was ...
* Kabi M.A.N Shahidullah shahittarotno
* Abdul Gafur
* Sanaullah Nuri