DU authorities remove caricatures of Ghulam Azam, Quader Mollah, Nizami at Jagannath Hall, draw criticism
The three Jamaat stalwarts were convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War
The Dhaka University administration has removed the caricatures of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Ghulam Azam, Quader Mollah and Motiur Rahman Nizami, drawn on Jagannath Hall premises.
The artwork was made late Saturday night as part of a programme titled "Art Exhibition and Defiance through Brushstrokes," organised by the Jagannath Hall Students' Union on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day.
Asked about the matter at around 12:45pm today (14 December), Dhaka University Proctor Associate Professor Saifuddin Ahmed told The Business Standard, "I am in a meeting. I am not yet aware of the issue. I will speak with the hall provost and let you know."
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Regarding the matter, Jagannath Hall Provost Debashish Pal told TBS, "Various complaints were lodged with the Dhaka University administration. As a result, instructions were given to remove the depictions."
He added, "I do not know who made the complaints at the higher level of the university. I was ordered to remove them, so I did."
However, a slogan written above the caricatures – translated from Bangla as "Neither Razakar nor Al-Badr will remain; all collaborators will be swept away into the Bay of Bengal" – was not removed.
Jagannath Hall Students' Union Vice-President Pallab Barman told TBS, "We organised the programme on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day. We asked students to express, through colours and brushstrokes, the sense of defiance they carry in paying tribute on the day.
"The university administration removed the caricatures without informing us in any way. We are furious and ashamed at the removal of images of these razakars, and we strongly condemn the incident."
Ghulam Azam was sentenced to 90 years in jail by the International Crimes Tribunal in 2013 for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
Two other top Jamaat leaders, Quader Mollah and Nizami, were executed in 2013 and 2016 respectively after they were sentenced to death by the special tribunal for the 1971 crimes.
It may be noted that the dormitory bears the memory of one of the most brutal massacres of 1971.
