Abdul Matin (language activist)

Abdul Matin (Bengali: আবদুল মতিন; 3 December 1926 – 8 October 2014) was a language activist and student leader of the Bengali language movement that took place in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) which sought recognition of Bengali as one of the state languages of Pakistan. He was one of the organizers of the movement. His contribution to the movement has been hailed by the other activists and students, as he was popularly known as Bhasha Matin.^[2]

Matin was born on 3 December 1926 to Bengali Muslim parents, Abdul Jalil and Amena Khatun, in the village of Dubalia in Sirajganj, then part of Pabna District in the Bengal Presidency. Due to the Jamuna River floods, their home was destroyed, and the family resettled in Darjeeling. Matin was admitted to Maharani Boys' High School. He then enrolled at the Darjeeling Government High School in 1932 and completed his entrance exam in 1943. He then joined Rajshahi College, where he passed his Intermediate of Arts in 1945. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dacca in 1947 and subsequently a Master of Arts in International Relations. According to him, he had no political consciousness before getting into the college.^[3]

Matin was an active participant in the Bengali Language Movement. On 11 March 1948, he joined student protests against the government’s decision not to recognize Bengali as one of the state languages. On 24 March 1948, he attended the convocation ceremony at the University of Dhaka, where Mohammad Ali Jinnah repeated his position on language policy following his speech at Race Course Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan). Matin was also present at the ceremony to receive his degree. When Jinnah repeated his position about language policy, however, Matin stood up at the chair and shouted, No. It can not be. Other students also supported him during that time.^[4][5] In September 1951, at a meeting in the central building of Dhaka University, Matin stated that while there was no objection to Urdu, Bengali should be given equal status.^[6] On 11 March 1951, during a rally organized by the East Pakistan Chatra League (Student League) at Dhaka University, he was selected as convener of the Dhaka University Language Action Committee. Khaleque Nawaz Khan, then president of the Chatra League, presided over the meeting. On 30 January 1952, Matin attended another meeting and became a member of the Shorbodolio Rashtrabhasha Kormoporishod (All‑Party State Language Action Committee).^[7]

Matin participated in a procession organized by fourth‑class clerks, during which he was arrested and imprisoned for two months. Following his release, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dhaka asked him to sign a bond; when he refused, he was suspended for three years. In April 1952, he played a role in the formation of the Students Union and was elected the second president of its East Pakistan unit. In 1954, he was appointed secretary of the Communist Party’s Pabna district unit. Three years later, he joined Maulana Bhasani’s National Awami Party (NAP)

In 1958, Matin founded the East Pakistan Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist), adopting the ideology of Charu Majumdar, a communist revolutionary from India.

Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Matin fought against the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini and was arrested in 1972.

Matin died on 8 October 2014 at Bangladesh Medical University in Dhaka.^[2][8] He was undergoing treatment at the ICU after a stroke on 18 August and was on life support after his condition deteriorated on 3 October.

Matin received the Ekushey Padak in 2001 in recognition of his role in the Bengali Language Movement. In 2008, the University of Dhaka awarded him an honorary Doctor of Law degree for his contributions to the movement.^[9]