Spirit of '71 still burning bright at DU

In 1971, students at Dhaka University would take to politics to serve the nation, risking their very lives. But the present generation of students is not so committed to the cause of the nation, regrets Arun Kumar Dey, owner of Madhu's Canteen.

"The liberation movement was driven by the hope for a new country--a free, secular land. Nowadays, students do not commit themselves in such ways to the nation," Arun points out, adding, "What we need now is another strong movement to unite the country."

Arun holds out to day the legacy of over 150 patriots killed on the campus during the Liberation War, including his mother and father Madhu, the founder of the canteen. Outside the canteen, a plaque names the martyrs to remind the students that the victory for the nation did not come easy.

"When people visit Madhu's Canteen, they realise its importance," he says pointing at the plaque.

Visitors at the canteen from other places show more interest about its history than students from Dhaka itself, Madhu observes, "There are two types of students--one is very serious and gathers information and the other just does not bother about our history."

"I have never belonged to a political party even though I love my country and strongly believe in politics," says the man who has been running the famous canteen for the past thirty years. "I cannot belong to any party, because I want to keep the spirit of Liberation War alive. Our ancestors' aims are not yet achieved. So, I keep on telling their stories and rely on the educated, aware section of the new generation."

But, it seems, the average students too dream of a prosperous Bangladesh. It is just the 'dirty politics' that is keeping them away from expressing their dreams politically, through joining the ever-fighting platforms, they say.

At the canteen, Smriti and Nadeem were enjoying tea and snacks yesterday. She is studying history and he is a civil engineer. None of them ever belonged to any political party or a student movement. But that does not make them apolitical.

Nadeem says, if he had a chance, he would fight poverty to change the society. "When people get at powerful positions, they often forget about the poor, even though every thing in this country is related to poverty. Should I once attain such power, I would not forget them," he vows.

With the slowly gathering crowds on the campus, mingles Kawsar Chowdhury, who has documented 1971 in his film--Sei Rater Kotha Bolte Eshechhi [I have come to tell you about that night].

Kawsar says, "At a candle-procession on March 25th in 1993, I met a young mother. She was there with her daughter to tell about her losses in 1971, when she was just a kid. She wanted to keep the memories and the knowledge alive. Then I realised what I could do with my camera."

He then started looking for eyewitnesses and surviving family members of the martyrs. Based on their interviews, he remodelled the war scenes, compiled tape recordings and filmed a prize-winning documentary on the killings at Dhaka University in 1971. He was screening that documentary on the campus yesterday evening.

Looking forward to the documentary and the concerts in the evening to celebrate the victory day, students like Munny, Borna, Shoma and Niti, beautifully attired in saris, were sitting on a pavement.

"If I had the power, I would fight for a better environment and make my country corruption-free," says Munny.

But politics, they add, is not yet in their minds. "We do not want to get involved," Borna notes, "There are students' organisations that fight with each other. We hate that."