He would later say that if language were the sole reason for nationhood, many other countries in the world would merge into one nation. Was our struggle for liberation driven by our separateness from the rest of Pakistan because of our language, or was it something that goes beyond our language? Language was only a part that played in the later war for independence from Pakistan, albeit it sowed the seed. To them, Urdu would be such a language and, to that end, many would speak in only this language. These decisions were tremendously opposed by participants from East Pakistan (then East Bengal), particularly by members of the Tamaddun Mazlish, a group of East Bengal educationists attending the conference.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 21, 2018 06:11 UTC