In 1947 the state of Pakistan was founded. Pakistan was one state in two parts, east and west. In 1952 the rulers of Pakistan determined that Urdu, the language of West Pakistan, would be the state language of the whole state, leaving the Bangale East Pakistan without their language and culture. Following a civil war of almost 20 years East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh in 1971.
     The stamps issued in 2002 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Great Language Movement which led to independence. The stamps show the Bengali alphabet on the left stamp. On the right stamp are letters from a variety of alphabets.