'Inqilab Zindabad' has no place alongside Bangla language: Power Minister

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku has said that slogans like "Inqilab Zindabad" are incompatible with the spirit of Bangla language, asserting that such foreign expressions have no connection to Bengali identity.

The minister made the remarks at a discussion, cultural program and prize distribution ceremony organized by the district administration at the District Shilpakala Academy Auditorium on Saturday morning to mark Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day.

"Inqilab has become the language of our youth, and that is our failure," the minister said. "If we truly want to embrace Bangla and call it our mother tongue, then Inqilab Zindabad cannot be accepted. Inqilab Zindabad, Inqilab Moncho, these have no relation with Bangla. These are the words of those who tried to snatch our language away from us."

Acknowledging the potential backlash over his remarks, the minister said, "Some may brand me as an agent of India for saying this, but I will still speak out because it is my life's conviction that took me to the Liberation War and eventually made me a minister."

Reflecting on history, the minister said the British caused immense damage to the country and the suppression of Bangla as a state language was a tool of exploitation. 

He added that those who sacrificed their lives in the Language Movement of 1952 and the subsequent movement of 1954 sowed the first seeds of an independent Bangladesh and Bengali homeland, which ultimately accelerated the Liberation War of 1971.

Addressing the younger generation, he warned, "You must think critically, otherwise this country will drift toward the extreme right."

The minister also stressed the importance of knowing one's own language, saying, "Nationalism has not grown among us because we never tried to learn our own language properly. We must build our own language and our own country. No one else will do it for us."

District Commissioner Md Aminul Islam presided over the event, which was attended by Superintendent of Police Saiful Islam Santu, district BNP General Secretary Saidur Rahman Bacchu and other dignitaries.