21st February commemorates one of the most glorious struggles and sacrifices in the history of Bangladesh. Even though our struggle for freedom made a breakthrough in 1971. On 21st February 1952 the students and masses of our land came out onto the streets and demanded that Bangla be the state language.
Subsequently, the recognition of 21st February as ‘International Mother Language Day’ by UNESCO in 1999 brought our nation to the world stage. The Shaheed Minar still stands with its head held high as a symbol of the language movement, in memory of those killed in the indiscriminate firing on unarmed students and civilians who were protesting that day. Every year, we remember their sacrifices, and pay our respects to the language martyrs through flowers and songs.
With that said, Fresh Cement has taken a unique initiative to celebrate this special day. For the first time in Bangladesh, they have built a one-of-a-kind Shaheed Minar with the needs of the blind in mind. Due to the lack of special arrangements for the visually impaired, they have been unable to visit the Shaheed Minar on this day despite their wishes.
However, thanks to this initiative by Fresh Cement, their wish has come true through a special Shaheed Minar for the visually impaired, built at Kalyani Inclusive School in Mirpur. Hence forth, they too will be able to safely pay homage to the language martyrs. Mr. Mohammad Khorshed Alam, Honorable Executive Director, MGI, Mr. Kazi Md. Mohiuddin, Senior General Manager (Brand) and Mr. Anisul Haque, Distinguished Fiction Writer on behalf of Fresh Cement paid tribute to the language martyrs and inaugurated the structure. Under the supervision of Mr. Jahangir Alam, Headmaster of the school, and with the sincere cooperation of the teachers, the program was smoothly carried out while maintaining strict Covid-19 guidelines. The construction of this special Shaheed Minar was carried out based on the advice of a renowned architect and couldn’t have been possible without the sincere efforts of the teachers at Kalyani Inclusive School. The walls of the Shaheed Minar are engraved in Braille, a brief history of the language movement and parts of the song ‘My brother’s blood painted 21st February ‘.
MGI, being a responsible corporate entity, continuously strives to be informed of the needs of people from all walks of life. The construction of a Shaheed Minar exclusively for the blind, is just a small part of MGI’s responsibility towards our society.
