Students at Rajshahi University have organized a “July Feast” on August 15, slaughtering a cow they named “BAKSAL” — after the one-party system imposed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 — in what organizers called a celebration of the July uprising’s second anniversary and the “historic day of BAKSAL’s fall.”
RAKSU (Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union) general secretary Salauddin Ammar led the event, which took place on Saturday afternoon at the central mosque grounds of the university.
Ammar had announced the feast in a Facebook video on Friday night, revealing that the cow had been named “BAKSAL” and would be slaughtered to host students. He later confirmed the slaughter in a Facebook post.
Around 750 students registered for the feast via Google Forms, paying Tk 15 each. Beef was served to 650, with alternative meals for the rest. The food was prepared at the RAKSU building and distributed at the mosque grounds, where banners read: “July Feast on the occasion of the July uprising’s second anniversary and the historic day of BAKSAL’s fall.” The banners also carried slogans reading “Down with Mujibism” and “Long live revolution.”
Though initially promoted as a RAKSU event, Ammar later clarified that not all RAKSU members had agreed, and an individual had donated the cow. He said the event had no official RAKSU affiliation.
Female students were not seen at the mosque grounds but received food separately at the RAKSU building.
The event drew criticism from some students on social media, with some calling for attention to more pressing campus issues such as accommodation shortages, food quality and internet access.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report