Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya: You moved that Resolution, and it is reported that you said that you would come here and have that Resolution supported by this Assembly.
Sardar Shaukat Hyat Khan: You are treading on his pet corn.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya: I know that. However, I had accepted that being the leader of the House in the East Bengal Assembly and having moved that Resolution, it would have been proper on his part himself to bring that Resolution before the House. I find, as he did not move the Resolution, nor has he said anything in support of the Resolution, that he may be against the Bengali language being made a State language. That is the second reason for my trepidation; so that it may not be said here after that there was a talk over the language question in the Assembly but it came more from the Hindu side and therefore it was only a Hindu agitation-and it may be circulated thereafter that it was merely a Hindu agitation-as I find, there is already the allegation that the language agitation in East Bengal was engineered by the Hindus-the dhotiwalas and others-and not by the Muslims and handy Safety Act was used against some of them. That is my difficulty. Then, Sir, my old friend, who was my colleague once-Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haq-in his old age is a very different man.
Mr.A.K. Fazlul Haq: You are senior to me.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya: Mr. Fazlul Haq has asked for time. Sir, he who once wanted the Britishers to leave the shores of India, not giving them even 24 hours to do that, today comes forward to say that, though he knows this is an urgent matter, still be silent now and some time may come-it may be after the doomsday-when Bengali will become a State language.
Now, who has nurtured this agitation; who was responsible for this agitation? There was an agitation in 1948. There was no agitation afterwards in Bengal, until there was speech-somebody may say you are misquoting-but there was a speech by some big man in which he said Urdu was to be the State language and no other language. I was not there, but that set the ball rolling and that brought together all Muslim Students-Students of Fazlul Haq Hall and Salimullah Hall-who came forward and started that agitation, it is stated that they were going on with this agitation months before the 21st February. If it was in their knowledge that they were agitating about the language issue, why did Mr. Nurul Amin rush to the House on the 22nd at nightfall to move his Resolution? If he had moved that Resolution on the 20th the whole agitation would have fizzled out. There would have been no provocation for that agitation...
Mr. President: Mr. Chattopadhyaya, which is not the issue before us. You can speak in respect of the resolution and the amendment.
Shri Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya: I am on the amendment. I do not agree with these words of the amendment, these words, “that there being no immediate necessity of taking a decision here and now.” I do not agree with that. I say it is a very urgent matter. Already people are in temper in East Bengal. Therefore, the sooner it is decided, one-way or the other, it is better at least for the people of East Bengal. Because in that case they
