The day some Dhaka Club members went to court to wear panjabi-pajama
One day in 1987, a group of young men decided to enter the Dhaka Club wearing panjabi-pajama, protesting against the club’s colonial dress code for its members
Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Sabbir Ahmed, the chief executive officer of Dhaka Club Limited, very politely rejected my queries, saying, "Ma'am, we cannot provide you with any information as we do not have any data regarding this."
This was in fact a message from the president of the club, Ashrafuzzaman Khan. I had asked for information about an incident that occurred more than 35 years ago. I thought one of the oldest British-origin clubs in the country might have the minutes from 1987. But what do I know of British clubs anyway?
With a 14-day deadline waiting to devour me, I decided to move on with information-hunting from the members of this elite club that might have a memory of that time.
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I finally met the two gentlemen, Sabbir Ahmed and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, but we will get back to it later.
1987 holds some of the major incidents in the history of Bangladesh. While politicians like Mohammad Toaha, former president Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, and musician Happy Akhand passed away that year, the national cricket team's two prominent members, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, were born.
It was the year when protests against military dictator General Hussain Muhammad Ershad shook the country. The same year, Activist Noor Hossain was killed by the police on 10 November.
While the country was going through the devastating flood of 1987 that occurred throughout July and August and affected 57,300 square kilometres, a somewhat pseudo-revolution was bubbling up inside the elite club of the capital city- Dhaka Club, in Ramna.
In his book Dhaka Club Chronicles, Waqar A Khan mentioned that it was in August 1911, when Sir Lancet Hare, the Lt Governor of Eastern Bengal and Assam, laid the foundation stone of Dhaka Club in the present land of Ramna. It was probably leased from the Nawab of Dhaka.
As I spoke with the author regarding the club and the particular incident, he said, "Unfortunately, not much has been written on the British club culture of this part of Bangladesh, especially after the 1947 partition. But if you visit Kolkata, you will find many papers and books." This meant I was on my own in finding out about this incident.
In brief, one day in 1987, a group of young men, aged 35 and above, decided to enter the club wearing panjabi and pajama (traditional long kurta and straight cotton trousers), which was a clear breach of the club dress code for members.
Of course, they were denied entry to the club. But the matter was taken all the way to the judge court, notices were sent to the club and eventually, the club allowed its male members to wear pajama-panjabi.
The number of men involved in this will vary depending on whom you are talking with. According to Shawkat Osman, one of the members involved in this rule-breaking, there were almost 30 men who took the step that year and it was him, Tareq Ahsan, and Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu who started the protest.
Shawkat Osman is a Bangladeshi author, and he writes on food, cooking, dining, and cultural history related to food.
But Mohammad Habibul Alam (Bir Pratik) thinks the number was not more than eight or nine. He believes the protest was started by the late Aly Zaker, Kazi Shahbuddin, and Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu.
Nasiruddin, a prominent filmmaker and freedom fighter, on the other hand, believes that there were 15 people involved in this, and it was he who first went inside the club wearing a white pajama and panjabi.
Let's pick the safest number of protesters - 10 to 12. Apart from Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, Mohammad Habibul Alam, and Shawkat Osman, several other names were mentioned.
That includes Aly Zaker (actor, businessman, director, and writer; passed away in 2020), Kazi Shahabuddin Shahjahan Baby (founder member of Dhaka Theatre; passed away in 2019), Shahudul Haque, Fateh Ali Chowdhury (decorated member of the Crack Platoon, freedom fighter of the 1971 Liberation War, director of Consolidated Services Limited), Kazi Shahajahan, Tareq Ahsan etc.
The people I spoke with - none of them could give me an exact date, time, or even the year. The only information Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu was able to provide me was that when the incident took place, Shamsur Rahman was the club president and Major (Retd) ABM Rahmatullah was the secretary.
This is where Sabbir Ahmed helped me get the information. In the 1987-88 book of the club, minutes from 9 September 1987 were found with some discussions on dress code.
It was Wednesday, and the executive committee meeting was held at 7:30 in the evening. And the minutes have a section titled finalisation of dress code for club members.
This piece of information confirmed one thing - that the protest happened in the second half of August.
As Nasiruddin mentioned, "I don't remember the month or date, but it was humid and hot," and "the decision on allowing pajama-panjabi came from the club within two to three weeks of the protest".
Now that we have a somewhat clear understanding of when, where, and who protested wearing pajama-panjabi inside this British-originated elite club, let's begin our story.
'I was stopped by the secretary for wearing pajama-panjabi'
One humid afternoon in August, 37 year old Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, a freedom fighter, organiser, and convener of the Shammilito Shangskritik Jote but not yet a film director, went to the Dhaka Club in the capital's Ramna area to spend some leisure time with his friends. He was wearing a white pajama and panjabi.
As he stepped inside the compound, he was stopped by the secretary of the club, Major Rahmatullah (Retired Major Abul Bashar Rahmatullah, husband of the late singer Shahnaz Rahmatullah).
He asked Nasir, "What are you wearing?" A startled Nasir couldn't really understand what was happening. "What you are wearing doesn't go with the dress code of the club," Rahmatullah further said.
It seemed strange to Nasir. This was just pajama-panjabi, a traditional attire for Bangalis, which has long been a part of our culture. What is wrong with this? "You cannot stop me from wearing this," he said.
"You have been a member of this club for so long that you should know the dress code. You will have to follow it," being a part of the authority, the retired major stated.
"I feel relaxed when I wear this comfortable dress. I visited the club to spend some time with my friends and relax. How was I supposed to relax in a structured formal attire? I didn't understand," between post-dinner burps and heavy breaths, a 64-year-old Nasir shared with me over the phone.
According to him, it was just a random thing; he had no intention of disobeying the club rules or protesting against them. Nevertheless, the incident upset him.
According to the memorandum and articles of association of the club, which is exclusive to the members only, the male members of the club have to avoid certain attire inside the club premises.
The list includes - Pakistani salwar kurta, round neck T-shirt, even when worn with a jacket (coat), pajama with a full or half sleeve shirt, dhuti, lungi, sleeveless or collarless shirt, fatua, half pants/shorts, panjabi/kurta with trousers, fabric shoes, sneakers (after 6:00 pm), strapless rubber sandals, shoes without socks, baseball caps, and, earrings.
And if anyone breaches this rule, he will be denied entry, in fact, he "could be suspended according to Article 34 of the constitution of the club," according to Shawkat Osman.
That night, Nasir shared the incident with his childhood friend Kazi Shahabuddin Shahjahan Baby. "I asked him if they would accompany me to the club the next day."
After that, he asked other friends and companions, Shahudul Haque, Bakhtiar, Mohammad Habibul Alam, Fateh Ali Chowdhury, Aly Zaker, Shawkat Osman, and others to accompany him to the club the next day.
"After two days, we, a team of 15 members of the club, dressed in pajama and panjabi, entered the club premises. And as expected, they stopped us", I sensed a slight excitement in his voice as he detailed the event.
That evening, the protesters received a letter from the club administration saying that they would have to appear before the EC committee of the club to explain their behaviour.
Shamsur Rahman, popularly known as Samson, was the president of the club back then. "He was a popular CSP (Civil Service Officer of Pakistan) who signed in Bangla, sitting in Pakistan in the late 1960s. He was a very nice man. As a member of the authority, he had to follow the constitution of the club," Nasir said.
The EC included Mahbub Hussein Khan, Chowdhury Dabir A Siddiky, Rashedul Ameen, ATM Hayatuzzaman, Md Shafiul Islam, Kamal Ahmed, Haider Ali, Selim Bhuiyan, and Towhid Samad.
"After a couple of days, when we went to meet the committee, they asked for our clarification and what we wanted to say. As Aly Zaker and I were leading the thing, I started speaking first," Nasir said.
Panjabis and pajamas are integral parts of every occasion or celebration in a Bangali household. Take the naming ceremony of a child, or the 'haatekhori' or the celebration where a child officially takes a pen to write in her/his hands, or weddings, the male members wear this attire. When anyone passes away, we wear this to mourn and pray for the deceased.
"Our entire life, from birth to death, this attire is related to our existence. It is a very normal gesture for our community, there is no other complex religious or other connotative meaning to this. Why can't it be the national attire for us?" he asked the EC committee.
To this, the EC committee replied that Bangladesh doesn't have any national attire in the constitution.
"We said, though there is nothing mentioned in the constitution of that sort, why not accept the conventional dress for everyone?"
This conversation didn't lead to any solutions, except for the team members, including Bacchu, Fateh Ali, and Habibul Alam, who were all suspended for three months from the club.
Tanveer Mazhar Tanna, who was the manager of the Shadhin Bangla football team during the war of independence, the founding vice-president of the Abahani Club, and also the general secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Control Board in 1987-91, was present at the club on that day.
He was not a part of this, but upon hearing that his friends were suspended from the club for wearing pajama-panjabi, he threw the glass in his hands towards the roof of the club building, shouting, "Who suspended you?"
This was also reported to the committee, and Tanveer Mazhar was suspended from the club for six months, the highest punishment among the friend group.
"It was a turbulent time for us, the protest against General Ershad was at its peak. I was leading the Shammilito Shangskritik Jote at that time. So, we decided to go to court with our plea. I lived in Purana Paltan at that time, and I went to Barrister Rafiq Ul Huq's (who was the attorney general from 1989-90) chamber in that same area," said Nasir.
Barrister Rafiq told him, "It is a case of the lower court, I cannot appear now. I could have sent you another lawyer, but we lawyers are on a strike against the military dictatorship, and we are currently not attending the court."
"I requested that he give me a written notice. He asked me to take Chotlu Bhai (Aly Zaker) to him who lived in Baily Road back then. I took him to his chamber. It was Chotlu Bhai, me, and Rafiq Sir's assistant inside the chamber. We all listened to the document but unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what was written there."
Barrister Rafiq advised the duo to appear before the court the next day. They agreed to this and the next day, they walked to the lower court in Sadarghat. However, according to Shawkat Osman and Habibul Alam, they also went to court that day.
As usual, the judge entered the court, and the procedure began. The judge asked them to speak. Nasir stood up and started his speech by saying 'Milord'. The judge looked at him and said, "The court is adjourned.'
"We got scared. Did I say anything wrong? What happened?" Nasir said.
Aly Zaker said, "I think they are going to arrest us now, Bachchu. What did you just do?"
After a while, the courtier or ardali came and said, "Sir (the judge) is calling you two inside."
"Chotlu bhai and I followed the man and entered the judge's room. Inside the chamber, the judge didn't have the white headgear on, and as I looked at him, the face seemed familiar. The judge stood up and said, "Did you recognise me, Bachchu bhai? You helped me get into the law profession after my BCS."
Habibul Alam has a different memory from this part of the story.
According to him, "I remember we had to walk to the court because of the strike against the military dictatorship of Ershad. The judge invited us to his chamber because Aly Zaker was with us and he was a famous actor back then. His drama was regularly aired on BTV."
"The judge asked what happened. I described the matter to him, and he said, "We fought for the country, and still all this? Who did this?"
The judge wrote an order and brought a man with them to carry it. It was 2:30 pm, and the 72 hours (or 68 hours, no one could confirm) of strike ended. They got in a car with the courtier towards Dhaka Club.
The man entered the club, and as the two (Aly Zaker and Nasir) were suspended, they stood outside the club gate.
The courtier went inside and spoke with the receptionist. "Suddenly we saw that cars were getting out of the club one by one, including the car of our president, member secretary, and EC committee, and everyone was fleeing."
The courtier came outside, and we asked what happened. The man said, "No one wanted to receive the court order, so I pasted the paper on the notice board and I put a stamp on it quite loudly."
By that time, the news spread inside the club that the court had summoned everyone and they were going to be arrested.
Zaker and Nasir went back home that day. In the afternoon, Nasir received a call from the club secretary. He said, "Can you come to the club today? The president wants to meet you."
"But you will have to withdraw the suspension; otherwise, if I enter the club, it would violate the order," Nasir said to him.
To this, the secretary assured him that he would get the withdrawal letter as soon as he entered. After that, Nasir called everyone, and "like a team of heroes, we entered the club, wearing pajama and panjabi."
And after that, the club finally accepted their members wearing pajama and panjabi.
The 9 September 1987 minutes say, "National dress of Bangladesh is allowed on all occasions. Pajamas and kurtas are allowed only on Fridays, holidays, and religious occasions, pajama with sherwani is allowed in the club on all days," among other rules.
"I wouldn't say everyone was super happy or clapped for us. There was certainly a group who were not happy with what was going on inside the club. But it's been a long time now," Habibul Alam said.
According to the trio, it is not something that had a significant mark on their lives. It was necessary to do so, and hence they did it.
"The only reason we felt offended was that, being in an independent Bangladesh, we would have to follow the rules made by the colonisers. If I am living in an independent country, if I am no longer a British subject, why do I have to follow some rules that the colonisers made hundreds of years ago?" Habibul Alam stated.
'Dhaka Club has always been less strict regarding dress codes'
Finally, I met the club president Ashrafuzzaman Khan. In his perfectly decorated office, Ashrafuzzaman said that even today, one cannot enter the restaurant of the Calcutta Club without buttoned-up collars.
Even the butlers in that club serve with gloves. Chittagong Club still doesn't allow breaching dress codes.
"If you observe the member category of the clubs, from the very beginning, the Chittagong Club, formerly known as the European Club, has been hosting members who are business owners. While the members of the Dhaka Club belong to the intellectual category- journalists, writers, professors, artists, politicians, etc. Have you ever seen a poet wearing a formal jacket and shoes?" he said.
Mainly because of the classes the members belong to, the dress code of this club is a bit more relaxed than other British clubs in the Indian subcontinent.
He continued by saying that the club has more than a hundred members who wear Mujib coats- the ministers, and MPs.
"Lungi, or dhuti, is also not allowed inside the club, and even when Jyoti Basu (longest serving Chief Minister of West Bengal, from 1977 to 2000) came, he didn't enter the club. Many rich people cannot be members of one of the most prestigious Tollygunge Club in West Bengal because they eat paan (betel leaf). Compared to that, Dhaka Club has been very flexible."
