The first passport that expired on May 2014 mentions Khaleda Zia’s birthday as August 5, 1946. The second passport—a machine readable one—also mentions the same date as her birthday.
If these images are not fake then the total number of Khaleda’s birthday stands at five: August 5, 1944; August 5, 1946; August 19, 1947; September 5, 1946 and August 15, 19—(no mention of the year).
Khaleda Zia had been celebrating August 15 as her birthday since the mid-nineties. Before that, we never heard of her birthday celebration.
But her August 15 birthday “coincides” with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s death anniversary.
In the past, various media reports point to different dates of her birth. One report says in her matriculation examination form, Khaleda had mentioned September 5, 1946 as her birthday.
Her marriage certificate and in the record of her prime ministerial oath, Khaleda had used August 5, 1944 and August 19, 1947 as her birthdays.
When Sheikh Hasina came to power in 1996, she had declared August 15 as a national holiday with the status of a national mourning day. When Khaleda was elected to power in 2001, she scrapped August 15 as the status of the national mourning day and national holiday. This was restored after Hasina again came to power in 2009.
Celebration of her birthday on August 15 has always been
controversial as Khaleda had never celebrated this day as her birthday
before 1995 or 1996. Most people believe that this was being done to
undermine Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—the father of the nation.
It’s as if, Instead of condoling on that day, people should be
celebrating—because it is Khaleda Zia’s birthday.The BNP has however defended the celebration saying that it was indeed her birthday. They even question whether people cannot take birth on the day Bangabandhu was slain. Interestingly they never mentioned in which year she was born on August 15.
This week Khaleda Zia is going to London for about a week for medical check up. Her visit coincides with the observation of Bangabandhu’s 40th death anniversary on August 15. May be, after all these years she’s trying to avoid the controversy. We will know within a couple of days.
