Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) staged a protest on Sunday demanding the renaming of five campus buildings currently named after members of the Sheikh family.
The demonstration began around 2:45pm when Ducsu activists blocked the main gate of the vice-chancellor’s office. The protest then moved through key areas of the campus before concluding at the base of the Raju Memorial Sculpture near the Teachers-Students Centre (TSC) with a short rally.
Ducsu Vice President Abu Shadik Kayem said the five buildings include two halls and three staff quarters, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall, Sheikh Russel Tower, Bangabandhu Tower and Shahid Athlete Sultana Kamal Hostel.
Kayem said the students, through consensus, proposed renaming Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall as Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi Hall and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall as Bir Protik Captain Sitara Begum Hall. He noted an earlier proposal to Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall as Felani Khatun Hall had been opposed by the hall’s students.
The demonstrators also demanded administrative action against teachers, staff and officials accused of opposing the July uprising.
During the protest, students chanted slogans including “Fascist icons must fall”, “No place for fascism in this land”, “Eradicate all fascism”, and “Who is the father of Baksal – Sheikh Mujibur”.
Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall general secretary Miftahul Jannat Rifat said most of her hall’s students supported renaming it after a female freedom fighter, noting that the history of Bangladesh’s liberation has long been presented through a patriarchal lens.
Kayem added “The names of Sheikh Russel Tower, Bangabandhu Tower and Sultana Kamal Hostel would also be proposed for change to the administration.”
On references to the July uprising, Kayem said, “Those who opposed the movement continue to conspire from the registrar’s office. We will not allow it any longer.”
The protest concluded with Ducsu leaders submitting a memorandum to the university’s Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Sayema Haque Bidisha.
