The last month of 1963 and most of 1964 found me working in Mehar industries. The duties and responsibilities of an executive their left no scope for me to be involved in politics. Nevertheless, links with students' politics died hard. Several of my class friends continued as student of Law after our MA examination, those among them who were of the Chhattra Shakti (Student Force) often consulted me with politics in general and affairs of the party. It was this link that brought me in touch with the course of events which led to the pandemonium in Dhaka University Convocation of the 21st March 1964.
Days before the scheduled date of the convocation, the air was heavy with advanced information that the students would resist the coming of Governor Monem Khan, the then ex-officio Chancellor, Dhaka University. Dr Kamal Siddiqui, later a Civil Servant and Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office was a then student of second year B. Sc (Hons.) in Chemistry in the Dhaka University.
He recollects, "We had learnt that Monem Khan, the Governor of East Pakistan, in his capacity as the Chancellor of Dhaka University would be awarding the degrees in the forthcoming convocation on March 21. We were determined to resist this with all our might. How could we allow this creature of dictator Ayub Khan to pollute the sanctity of our alma mater? So many of our friends were languishing in jail, and the NSF goons let loose on us were making our lives miserable" (Kamal Siddiqui, In One Life, Academic Press and Publishers Library (APPL), Dhaka, 2015, p-138). Kamal faithfully captures the mood of the students' community at that point of time.
A few days before the scheduled date of the convocation in which we of the 1962 BA (Hons.) class were to receive our degrees, there was emergency meeting of major students parties in the Madhu's canteen. It was in the late evening of mature March that senior student leaders and elected office bearers of Halls and DUCSU assembled in the canteen. Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni and Abdur Razzak represented the Chhattra League, while Mohammad Farhad, Kazi Zafar and Jainal represented the Chhatra Union. Ataur Rahman Khan Kaiser and I were present on behalf of the Chhattra Shakti.
Although I was not student anymore, I was present as President of the party. The NSF representatives were there and tried to soften the attitude of other parties who were determent to prevent the unpopular Governor Monem Khan from coming to the University. There they unanimously declared that arrangements for the convocation would not go unchallenged when NSF students' leaders argued quoting University authorities that since the Governor was also the Chancellor his presence was indispensible for the convocation. Sheikh Moni suggested a polite way out.
He said, "the Governor should become indisposed and that would justify his absence in the ceremony". As expected the suggestion was not accepted by the government and the University authorities went ahead with the preparations. A large pandal was erected on the lawns of Curzon Hall. Convocation gowns were issued to the teachers and the students. Since we were to receive our degrees my classmate and wife Sufia and class friends, husband and wife Mahbub Talukder and Nilufar went to the venue dressed in the ceremonial gowns and caps.
The dissolve of the vast majority of the students to resist Governor Monem Khan conferring degrees on graduates ended in disorder and chaos. Those students who organized resistance from outside the pandal shouted slogans and threw brick bats at thousands of policemen who were cordoning the pandal. As Kamal Siddiqui remembers, "The police soon retaliated by turning on hosepipes, firing bullets and tear gas, the shells of the latter landing on the roof of Dhaka Hall. �. inside work more ghastly than outside work. �. hundreds of pairs of shoes and folding chairs were thrown as brick bats and many of these landed right on the main dais, where the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and other dignitaries', including the diplomatic corps were seated" (Kamal Siddiqui, Ibid, p-142,143).
Along with my class friends, I was eyewitness to what happened within the pandal. The actions of the agitated students' graduates were spontaneous and not engineered. Emotions were running high and sentiments intensely bitter. The activities were more moved by impulsive and youthful anger than anything else. As the proceedings began with Registrar outlining the programme to follow, I found my intimate class fellow Aga Kohinoor Alam, an active member of the Chhattra League lifting a folding chair and throwing it towards the dais. This was an act repeated by other irate graduates.
The net result was rampant disorder verging on chaos. Mahbub and I rushed to get close to our respective wives and escort them to safety outside the pandal and the Curzon hall. We of the B A (Hons) class of 1962 could not ceremonially receive our degrees in the ill fated and messed-up convocation of 1964. We had to collect our Charters from the registrar's office on a later date.
Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelley, founder Chairman of Centre for Development Research (CDRB), and former technocrat Cabinet Minister of Bangladesh, died on August 12, 2019. He contributed his writeups to the Daily Observer which are being published regularly as "The Symphony of Our Times".
