Kolkata: A group of 10 overseas Bangladeshis from Australia, Canada, the US, Greece and Malaysia celebrated former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 80th birth anniversary at Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s ancestral house in Bhowanipore on Monday. Hasina remains in exile in New Delhi after fleeing Bangladesh in Aug 2024 following a mass uprising.The event was organised by Sahid Rahaman, a Canada-based scriptwriter and lyricist, who travelled from Montreal to Kolkata on Sept 1 to plan it. “We were unable to celebrate Sheikh Hasina’s last two birthdays. Aug 5, 2024, was a black day for us,” Rahaman said, adding that Hasina “fled our country by helicopter to India due to weeks of massive student-led anti-govt protests”. He said, “We are thankful to Indian PM Narendra Modi for his timely intervention, otherwise she might have been killed.”Rahaman said he also fled Bangladesh that day, travelling by road from Noakhali to Kolkata through Petrapole. “It would not be possible without timely guidance of Agnimitra Paul,” he said. Rahaman has written and directed a telefilm on Hasina — ‘Ami Sheikh Mujibur Meye’ (’I am the daughter of Mujibur Rahman’) — which premiered on Sept 26 at Salt Lake’s Unnayan Bhawan.Md Nazmul Islam Babul, a Malaysia-based businessman associated with the film, said, “We are eagerly awaiting Sheikh Hasina’s return to Bangladesh this Dec, which she recently vowed during a virtual public address from exile in India on this Aug 5.”Bilkis Jahan, an Australian citizen working at Sydney Airport, said Bangladesh’s condition had worsened since Hasina’s ouster. “The economic condition of our country has been deteriorating day by day,” she said. “We want our former PM and The Awami League leader to return.”Md Solaiman Ali, a New York-based businessman, said: “India was always a great friend of Bangladesh but now the situation is completely different.”Molla Huq, a senior lecturer at Monash University, added: “We are scared of returning to my hometown in Chandpur as it could lead to illegal arrest and prosecution.”The hour-long programme included Tagore songs, recitations, a discussion on Hasina and cake-cutting. The attendees also condemned attacks on cultural sites in Bangladesh and expressed concern over the denial of bail to Iskcon monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.
