Pakistan ghost haunts the BCL anniversary!

A commemorative stamp is being criticised on social media for saying, "73rd founding anniversary of the East Pakistan Muslim Chhatra League".

The Department of Posts and Telecommunications issued the postage stamp on Monday on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).

The stamp should have simply mentioned Bangladesh Chhatra League, said many former members of the organisation and academicians.

The words East Pakistan were gradually shunned by the Chhatra League in 1970, and in 1971, they were completely erased, said Zafar Wazed, Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh [PIB].

"Will the Bangladesh Awami League observe the 72nd anniversary of East Pakistan Awami League in June? Then what will happen in the 50th anniversary of the Liberation War?" he asked.

"It sounds puzzling," said the former BCL leader.

Another former BCL leader, Golam Isteja Chowdhury Moni, wrote, "It's an unforgivable crime."

Asked, postal department acting director general Siraj Uddin said, "A committee decided to unveil 100 commemorative stamps in Mujib Borsho and it is one of them. We issued this with the name of the time of the establishment."

On June 23, last year, the department unveiled a commemorative stamp on the 71st founding anniversary of Bangladesh Awami League. But that stamp didn't mention Bangladesh Awami Muslim League.

About this, Siraj said, "This is Mujib year's stamp where our plan is to focus on Bangabandhu. Bangabandhu himself is the history; we want to focus on how he established what."

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Zabbar unveiled the commemorative stamp on January 4 and uploaded a photo of the stamp on social media.

Replying to a comment, he wrote, "postage stamps contain history. Imagine if we write Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded Bangladesh Chhatra League on January 4, 1948 -- what truth would you present to your new generation then?"