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"When the fear of Hindu domination was removed after 1947, the Bengali educated proto-elite opposed Urdu more openly and forcefully. As the rulers of East Bengal were the ashraf and the Muslim League leadership in West Pakistan also considered Urdu a symbol of national integration, the Bengali language movement was suppressed, and on February 21, 1952, some activists were killed by the police in Dhaka. This date became a symbol of resistance against the Punjabi-dominated West Pakistani ruling elite. Bengali nationalism arose in response to perceived West Pakistani domination and internal colonialism and, in 1971, led to the birth of Bangladesh."