Published : 13 Aug 2026, 07:25 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:32 AM
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) has reached a fresh decision on Gulshan's Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Smriti Park after coming under fire for erasing its name.
Under the new arrangement, the park's open section will be named “Tajuddin Park” and its sports section Gulshan Sports Complex, though RAJUK has given no firm date for when the new signboard will go up, saying only that it will be installed “shortly”.
RAJUK Chairman Md Reazul Islam told bdnews24.com in an interview on Wednesday that the decision had already been made, following several rounds of meetings.
"One part will be named Gulshan Sports Complex, and the rest of the open area will be Tajuddin Park," he said.
On the old signboard, Islam said the plate bearing the name Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Smriti Park still stood. "I've instructed that it not be removed. More signboards will go up soon.”
Owning up to the earlier removal, the chairman said: "I had information that this was Gulshan Central Park, that's how it was allotted.
“But it later turned out the ministry had approved naming it Tajuddin Park, and I didn't have that information.
“Had I known, this mistake probably wouldn't have happened."
This is not the first time Islam has described the episode as a “misunderstanding”.
In May this year, he told bdnews24.com that departmental records still listed the park as Gulshan Central Park, and that he had not been informed of any name change.
Calling it a sensitive matter tied to a national leader, he said at the time that he did not wish to blow it out of proportion and that it would be resolved with all parties involved.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) records show similar inconsistency.
A 2020 government gazette saw DNCC formally name the park Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Smriti Park, yet its recent press releases refer to the same site as Gulshan Central Park.
DNCC's public relations wing said it issues releases based on the information it receives.
The dispute began after RAJUK and the management authority, Gulshan Youth Club, replaced the park’s signboards without prior announcement, removing the name of Bangladesh’s first prime minister.
The move drew criticism from Tajuddin Ahmad’s son and former state minister for home affairs, Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj.
He said his father’s name “could not be erased from history” and criticised the removal as a failure to preserve the country’s history and the legacy of the Liberation War.
He said the responsibility lay with the state, not any political party.
"A nation unaware of its own identity, history and roots faces a bleak future. The Liberation War was our pride, our inspiration, but we have forgotten it. That is Bangladesh's tragedy.”
On May 19, 23 prominent citizens, including Sultana Kamal, Khushi Kabir and Dr Iftekharuzzaman, issued a joint statement calling RAJUK’s move “unethical”.
They demanded that the previous name be restored immediately and the park be opened to everyone.
The 3.59-hectare park, owned by RAJUK, had been handed to DNCC for modernisation.
It was named Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Smriti Park in 2020 on the recommendation of DNCC's naming committee and with approval from the local government ministry.
RAJUK later reclaimed control, citing a breach of contract terms, and handed maintenance duties to Gulshan Youth Club under a fresh agreement, after which the first prime minister's name disappeared from the park's signboard.
