Published : 15 Sep 2026, 04:14 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
The Dhaka University (DU) administration has said it will take strict disciplinary action against those involved in displaying portraits of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah at the DUCSU museum, erecting an unauthorised monument, and launching an unapproved teacher evaluation website.
The university administration views these unilateral initiatives by the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) as an attempt to establish a "parallel administration" on campus.
The institutional backlash follows days of student protests and political condemnation sparked by the reopening of the revamped DUCSU museum on Sunday.
While portraits of Bangladesh’s independence leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were omitted or absent from prominent display, three photographs of Jinnah were exhibited.
One of the photographs was from an event held at the then Racecourse Maidan, now Suhrawardy Udyan, on Mar 21, 1948, where Jinnah had declared, “Urdu alone shall be the state language of Pakistan.”
Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal had condemned and protested the display of the “controversial” photographs of Jinnah at the DUCSU museum.
The organisation said on Monday morning, “This Shibir-controlled DUCSU is demonstrating its covert affinity and ‘love for Pakistan’, the defeated forces of 1971, by abandoning the democratic aspirations of students and the university’s spirit of liberation.”
On Monday afternoon, a student named Abu Taher Habildar entered the museum and tore down the three portraits of Jinnah in protest.
At the time, he said: “The administration and DUCSU leaders must answer why they have displayed photographs of Jinnah, the powerful leader of Pakistan, while leaving out the real heroes of this country’s Language Movement.
“How can they keep the (photos of) Jinnah who wanted to take away our mother language?”
Abu Tayeb Habildar is a fourth-year student of Dhaka University’s Urdu Department. He ran as an independent for the post of vice-president in the 2025 DUCSU election.
Attempts to reach DU Vice-Chancellor Prof ABM Obaidul Islam for comment over the timing of the administration's intervention were unsuccessful, as he did not answer phone calls.
Later, Forrukh Mahmud from the university’s public relations issued a statement clarifying the administration's stance on multiple recent developments involving DUCSU.
"Several reports concerning the DUCSU published in several media outlets have come to the attention of the Dhaka University authorities.
“These actions are inconsistent with the existing laws, rules, policies, and administrative framework of the university.
“The university authorities' position on this matter is clear and unequivocal."
The statement emphasised that the university administration fully honours the spirit of the July Uprising, noting that on Aug 5, the vice-chancellor, alongside university staff and families of slain July activists, laid the foundation stone for an official July Memorial at the Mall Chhatra.
Reminding the student body that under the university ordinance, supervision and control of university property rests solely with the syndicate, and that any student union decision requires the vice-chancellor's approval, the statement addressed the "Nirbhik July" (Fearless July) monument erected by DUCSU on Sept 2 near the Faculty of Arts and Central Library.
The administration declared the unauthorised construction an act "beyond DUCSU's jurisdiction”.
The statement further condemned the inclusion of portraits of Jinnah and former Chhatra Sangha leader Abdul Malek in the archive as "entirely unacceptable”.
Addressing the launch of an unauthorised teacher evaluation website by DUCSU, the administration warned that such acts violate institutional protocols.
"Teacher evaluation is a highly important academic and institutional matter. No individual, organisation, or student union can launch a separate evaluation system on their own initiative.
“This website exposed personal information of faculty members, which is a punishable offence under the law."
The authorities noted that an official teaching evaluation policy has already been approved at the highest administrative level and is currently being implemented.
"Any initiative to launch a separate evaluation system outside the approved framework is unacceptable and tarnishes the reputation of the university," the statement read, describing DUCSU's actions as "unwarranted, unexpected, and unacceptable."
Categorising these acts as an attempt to undermine institutional governance, the statement warned: "Although DUCSU is an important representative student body, all its activities must be conducted within the laws, rules, policies, and administrative framework of the university.
“Any attempt to establish a parallel structure or process by bypassing the administrative authority will be firmly resisted."
The statement concluded with a firm warning that the university will not compromise on institutional discipline or the dignity of Bangladesh's Language Movement and Liberation War history, reiterating that strict administrative action under existing rules will be taken against those responsible for such developments.
