New Delhi: In another move to erase the legacy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s largest public university has proposed to rename its famous hall after slain student-activist Osman Hadi.
According to a Dhaka Tribune report, Dhaka University’s highest policy-making forum, the Syndicate, moved forward with the renaming decision and has sent it for approval to the Senate. Hadi, a vocal critic of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot dead in December, a day after the poll dates were announced in Bangladesh.
The 34-year-old, who founded a platform called Inquilab Moncho, was set to contest elections as an independent candidate in Dhaka. His killing triggered protests, especially targeting Indian diplomatic missions after alleged, widespread claims that the killers fled to the neighbouring country.
Since the past year after Hasina’s ouster in August, Bangladesh has removed references to Mujibur from highways, expressways, student halls and even textbook curriculums.
The report, meanwhile, also stated that the Syndicate framed charges against four teachers, who were all known as “teacher leaders of the Awami League.” The Senate is likely to approve it. They have been given a show-cause notice. The report did not mention the reason for the same.
“Charges have been framed against them and they will be asked to show cause as to why these charges have been brought against them and why they should not be dismissed,” Dhaka university proctor Saifuddin Ahmed was quoted in The Daily Star.
“They will respond to the show-cause notice, and based on that, an investigation will proceed. They have not been dismissed yet, but charges have been framed for their dismissal.”
In September last year, Dhaka University held its student council election—the first after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in July—that the Jamaat-backed Chhatra Shibir swept through. The previous elections were held in 2019.
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The renaming spree
In January itself, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government renamed four highways and eight bridges named after Mujib.
The Dhaka-Mawa Highway, previously called ‘Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Expressway,’ was renamed ‘Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway’. The ‘Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Highway’ in Sylhet was renamed to ‘Airport Bypass Intersection-Lalbagh-Salutikar-Companiganj-Bholaganj National Highway.’
In June last year, the interim government amended legislation to remove the title ‘Father of the Nation’ for Mujibur Rahman. This followed removal of Mujibur’s image from banknotes, where it was replaced with depictions of landscapes and landmarks.
Under the revised law, all references to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have been removed, including the use of the title ‘Father of the Nation.’ The definition of the Liberation War has also been revised to describe it as an armed struggle to establish a sovereign democratic state, without reference to Mujibur.
In addition, members of the national and provincial assemblies associated with the Mujib government were reclassified as associates of the Liberation War rather than freedom fighters, marking a significant shift in how the war’s legacy is defined in law.
Then in December, the country made changes to its National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) and uploaded revised textbooks online with references to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman removed in secondary-level Bangladesh and Global Studies and Bengali textbooks.
Among them were Class VIII Bengali textbook Sahitya Kanika, where Mujibur’s 7 March speech, previously included under the title ‘Ebarer Sangram Swadhinatar Sangram’, was removed. Instead, there was a new chapter titled ‘Gana Obbhuthyan’ (Mass Uprising).
Similar revisions have been introduced in textbooks for Classes VI to VIII. At the higher secondary level, a lesson related to Mujibur’s speech has also been removed from the English textbook.
The changes followed instructions from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education to remove what it described as “exaggerated information” related to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, local reports stated.
However, while the 7 March speech has largely been deleted, three lines referencing it remain in the Class VIII Bangladesh and Global Studies textbook under a separate heading, where Mujibur is named without the honorific ‘Bangabandhu.’
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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