On February 25, 1948 the Pakistan Constituent Assembly proposed Urdu as the official language of Pakistan. Similarly, Ranendra Mohan Das, a Karimganj (North) legislator, stood defiant against the imposition of Assamese as the state’s official language by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It all came to a head on October 10, 1960 when the Assam Official Language Bill was placed in the Legislative Assembly. When his threats went ignored, picketing began on May 19 in the sub-divisional towns of Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. Their sacrifice did not go in vain – Bangla was ultimately accorded the status of an official language in all three districts of Barak Valley.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 23, 2018 15:56 UTC