A class V student yesterday expressed her intent that had she been there in 1952, she would have definitely joined the Language Movement to get Bangla recognised as the state language.

Mahmuda Akhter portrayed her determination to protect her mother language through a painting at an art competition at Alok Shikkhaloy, a non-government school for underprivileged children, at Agargaon in the capital.

The little girl painted a procession of demonstrators seeking Bangla's recognition. Her painting caught the judges' attention and was selected for the 2nd prize.

Like Mahmuda, around 300 students of the school from nursery to class V participated in different competitions involving recitation of poems, painting, acting and storytelling on the Language Movement of 1952 and Liberation War of 1971.

Mahmuda's classmate Sujon Mehedi recited a self-written poem, "Deshe Matir Dak", urging youths and children to work towards building a "Sonar Bangla".

Like the duo, all the participants expressed their patriotism and dedication to work for the country's betterment.

Light of Hope, a non-profit organisation, organised the competitions on the West Agargaon Eidgah premises to enlighten children about the spirit of the Language Movement and Liberation War.

The organisation started its journey in January last year aiming to facilitate education for underprivileged and rural children by providing books and other reading materials.

It has so far distributed around 4,500 books in 22 schools, eight in Dhaka and the rest in rural areas.