Members of the Bangladeshi community in Ipswich joined with civic leaders for a special ceremony to mark a crucial stage of their country’s independence struggle.

They gathered at the memorial in Alexandra Park to mark International Mother Language Day.

The UN-recognised day commemorates the day in 1952 when Pakistan troops opened fire on protestors demanding the right to use the Bengali language at the University of Dhaka which was then in East Pakistan.

Several were killed – but the movement they were representing grew and eventually led to the creation of Bangladesh 19 years later.

International Mother Language Day is now a national holiday in Bangladesh, and is marked around the world – it is the centrepiece of celebrations organised by the Suffolk Bangladeshi Society in Ipswich and was marked by guests including Ipswich mayor Jane Riley and Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore.