Ershad’s birthday celebrated in DU Madhu's Canteen

Jatiya Chhatra Samaj, the student wing of the Jatiya Party, has celebrated the birthday of their leader HM Ershad at the Madhu’s canteen in Dhaka University campus which was a focal point of anti-Ershad movement in late 1990.

Other student groups like Chhatra League and the Chhatra Union were not aware of the celebration.

Eyewitnesses said the Chhatra Samaj activists cut a cake in the afternoon to celebrate the birthday of their parent organisation at a brief ceremony at the Madhu's Canteen, the epicentre of 1990 anti-autocracy movement.

When asked about the programme, acting Proctor of the University Prof Amjad Ali said: “Why other student organisations let it happen?”   

General Ershad is considered the longest serving ‘dictator’ against whom the movement began from the Dhaka University campus in 1983.

A caricature of Ershad by artist Quamrul Hassan.

 Director of the canteen Arun Dey told bdnews24.com that “since it was raining, students belonging to other organisations were not present at the canteen". "I was not there. They utilised this opportunity,” he said.

Abdur Rahman Rohan, convenor of the DU chapter of Chhatra Samaj, told bdnews24.com that they had celebrated the birthday of ‘Ershad sir’. He claimed they observed other programmes in the campus earlier.

DU Chattra Union President Tuhin Kanti Das said: “Chhatra Samaj is banned on the campus. But since Ershad is not a special envoy to the PM, they come to observe some programmes on the campus.”

Bangladesh Chattra League DU president Abid Al Hasan told bdnews24.com that he was at the Madhu’s Canteen until 2:30pm. He does not know what happened after that, he said.

While in power, Ershad took a firm stance against students' politics but being ousted in late 1990 he became silent about campus politics.