Alphabet of Sun (রৌদ্রাক্ষর), by Shahnaz Parvin

They are the alphabet of sun, the giver of light of our nation. They are the alphabet of our language for which millions gave their lives. They carry the evidence of our right to write, our epic story of rise of our nation. They are the alphabet of our language Bangla. Our children from this land of Bengal got their first lesson from their mothers to write these alphabets.

Canon EOS Kiss X4 | Focal Length: 30mm | Exposure: f/1.4 @ 1/1250s | ISO 200
Alphabet of Sun (রৌদ্রাক্ষর), by Shahnaz Parvin

In the year 1948, the Governor General of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah came to Dhaka of the then East Pakistan, and decleared Urdu to be the only official language for both West and East Pakistan. From that very moment, people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), having Bangla as the mother language started protesting against this.

On 21st February 1952, students called in for a provincial strike, but the government invoked a limited curfew to prevent this and the protests were tamed down so as to not break the curfew. All the people wanted were the right to talk in their own language, the language of their motherland. On the contrary, the Pakistani police fired on the students despite these peaceful protests and Abdus Salam, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abul Barkat, Abdul Jabbar and many were killed.

Bangladesh got independence on 16th December 1971, following a nine month long liberation war where 3 million people were killed in the hand of Pakistani army, one of the biggest genocides in the history that was ever recorded. And November 1999, UNESCO’s declaration of 21st February as the International Mother Language Day has brought fresh glory and prestige to Bangladesh which is making significant strides towards peace, progress and prosperity around the world.

Award Winner: Photo of the Day | February 21
Award Score: 74 (Value 14.5, Clarity 14, Composition 18.5, Style 13, Skill 14)
Photo of the Day Award Category: Artistic Photography
Photograph Location: Dhaka | Bangladesh

Photographer: Shahnaz Parvin (Dhaka, Bangladesh) Registered
Shahnaz Parvin is an Award-Winning Photo Journalist. She is a passionate Bangalee, and resides in Bangladesh. Though she is doing a job as system admin in a PSI company, her real passion is in photography and learning it. Shahnaz mostly loves documentary photography, and loves to represent her country Bangladesh through her lens. With the highest number of Photo of the Month and Photo of the Day Awards, recently Shahnaz joined Light and Composition from March 2013. Covering upheaval, conflict, places, people, and culture, she is the new Media Head for Asia.

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