Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrobhasha Kormi Porishod

Following Khwaja Nazimuddin's remarks on the language question on 27 January 1952, protests erupted all over the province, especially among intellectuals and students. The Jubo League contacted the Awami Muslim League and arranged an all-party conference to discuss the issue.

Thus, on 30 January 1952, a secret meeting was called by the Awami League, which was attended by a number of communist front as well as other organizations. It was agreed that the language fight couldn't be successfully carried out by the students alone. To mobilize full political and student support, and to direct the agitation, it was decided that the leadership of the movement should be assumed by the Awami League under Maulana Bhashani.

The following day - just four days after the Prime Minister's address on the Paltan Maidan - Maulana Bhashani supervised over an all-party convention in Dhaka which was attended by prominent leaders and politicians like Abul Hashim, Hamidul Haq Choudhury, Shamsul Haq and Khaleq Nawaz Khan who condemned the government over its insensitivity to Bengali feelings on the language question. The meeting was also attended by representatives from influential and diverse organisations such as Tamaddun Majlish, Islamic Brotherhood, Jubo League, All East Pakistan Students' League, Dhaka University State Language Committee of Action, East Pakistan Chhatro Muslim League, East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, and Khilafate-Rabbani Party. The upshot of the meeting was the formation of a 40-member strong body to be known as the 'Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrobhasha Kormi Porishod' (All-Party Central State Language Action Committee). The new (third) Language Action Committee was formed in a meeting at the Dhaka District Bar Library Hall of the University of Dhaka with Kazi Golam Mahboob, general secretary of the East Pakistan Students League and a practising lawyer, as Convener and Maulana Bhashani as its Chairman. This Committee had much broad-based representation from political parties, students, and concerned organizations and individuals, and included two representatives from the Awami League, Chhatro League, Jubo League, Khilafate-Rabbani Party, and the Dhaka University State Language Committee of Action.

A number of resolutions were adopted at the meeting, including supporting the general strike called for on 4 February 1952. The Bengal government's proposal of writing the Bengali language in Arabic script was strongly opposed at the meeting, and demand was made to release all political prisoners including a dynamic, young, fast-rising Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The Committee also notified the press that it would stage a mammoth exhibition of its strength and observe general strike on 21st February. The date was the scheduled day for the budget session of East Bengal and coincided with the meeting of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly as well as the Provincial Muslim League Council. As such it was thought opportune to reactivate the language issue at that time.

Thus, 21st February - or Ekushey February in Bangla - was designated as 'Bhasha Dibosh' (State Language Day). During this day a whole day hartal would be observed, and meetings and processions would be conducted. The Committee and its supporters had three weeks to prepare for this protest.