Before the row over naming union councils after his two sons and a niece has even died down, a proposal has now been raised to name a secondary school after Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. A proposal to rename the historic Shibganj Pilot Girls’ High School in Shibganj upazila of Bogura as “Shibganj Mir Shahe Alam Pilot Girls’ High School” has been sent to the Education Ministry.
The proposal was recently submitted to the Non-Government Secondary-1 branch of the Education Ministry’s Secondary and Higher Education Division. The ministry then directed the Bogura deputy commissioner and the chairman of the Rajshahi Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board to verify the matter and give their opinion. In the letter, signed by Education Ministry Senior Secretary Shirin Akhter, it was said a proposal had been received to rename Shibganj Pilot Girls’ High School in Shibganj upazila of Bogura district as Shibganj Mir Shahe Alam Pilot Girls’ High School. The board and the deputy commissioner were asked to inspect the institution on the ground and send a complete proposal, with a clear opinion, a justification and recommendations.
Earlier, a controversy arose over the naming of several new unions in Bogura’s Shibganj and the newly formed Mokamtola upazila. It was alleged that the unions had been named to match the names of junior minister Mir Shahe Alam’s two sons and a niece. The matter sparked wide discussion, from political circles to social media.
The junior minister, Mir Shahe Alam, however, denied the allegation, claiming the unions had been named on the basis of local people’s opinion and the administrative process.
For the record, a government gazette has been issued forming four new unions in Bogura’s Shibganj and the newly declared Mokamtola upazila. In a notification signed by the Bogura deputy commissioner on 11 June, the administrative structure of five unions in Shibganj upazila and eight in Mokamtola upazila was reorganised. When the gazette was published, criticism began over the naming of three new unions.
The new union formed in Shibganj upazila has been named “Mirbari Union.” The three new unions formed in the newly declared Mokamtola upazila have been named “Simanta Union,” “Digonto Union” and “Swarnagram Union.”
It has been alleged that Mir Shahe Alam named the new union in Shibganj upazila after his ancestral home, “Mirbari.” His two sons, Mir Shakrul Alam Simanto and Mir Saklain Alam Digonto, are said to have given their names to two of the unions in Mokamtola upazila.
Locals also claim that a UK-based niece of the junior minister is called “Sworno” by family members, and that the new union formed by splitting Maydanhatta union in Mokamtola upazila was therefore named “Swarnagram Union.” Denying the allegations, however, Mir Shahe Alam claimed in parliament that he had not named any union council after his children and that it was a coincidence.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report