The current Dhaka University administration is exceeding even the Awami League era’s 15 years of university management policy, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) general secretary S M Forhad has said. He made the comment to reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with university administration officials over the DUCSU museum.
The recent controversy began over the display, at the DUCSU museum, of a photo and quote showing then Pakistan governor-general Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s remarks against the Bangla language, presented in the context of the language movement. Sharply criticising the administration’s statement on the matter, S M Forhad said he had never, in the university’s 50-year history, seen the administration issue a statement using language like “will be strictly countered” immediately after an incident. It was as though the administration had copied a party’s political post directly onto its own page, he said.
He further said: “We quoted, in the DUCSU museum, a photo and Jinnah’s remarks from that time — remarks in favour of Urdu and against the Bangla language, in the context of the language movement. We quoted it and included the photo. Today, the VC sir and the pro-VC sir are saying they are taking action against us for that ‘offence.'”
Noting that Jinnah’s anti-Bangla remarks appear in various textbooks, GS Forhad said this statement of Jinnah’s is included in the Bangla textbooks for classes four, five, six and eight, as well as in the “Bangladesh o Bishwaparichay” textbook. He asked: “So issue a statement against the education ministry, saying the education ministry will be countered. Or take action against the Dhaka University teachers who put in the labour to write the ‘Bangladesh o Bishwaparichay’ textbook — dismiss them from their jobs.”
Questioning the vice-chancellor’s role, he said the VC visited the DUCSU museum twice before its inauguration and saw the progress of the work. As DUCSU’s president, he could have raised the issue directly if he wished, but instead copied a party’s statement verbatim onto the university’s page based on one party’s remarks.
Comparing the university administration’s current position with past governments, S M Forhad said that in the university’s 50-year history — including under military and BNP rule, or the Awami League’s 15 years — the administration never issued an immediate statement using language like “will be strictly countered.” The current administration, he said, is exceeding even that policy, which is highly condemnable.
He also raised allegations of an attack on the DUCSU museum and vandalism of its property, demanding swift action against those involved.