DU student tears down two Jinnah pictures from Ducsu archive
Ducsu GS SM Farhad says Jinnah’s opposition to Bengali was mentioned alongside his picture to avoid concealing his historical position.
A Dhaka University student tore down two pictures of Muhammad Ali Jinnah displayed in the historical archive of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) today (14 September).
Abu Toiyob Habildar, a fourth-year student of the university's Urdu Department, tore down the pictures at around 2:30pm.
Later, on a visit to the Ducsu archive, the two pictures of Jinnah were found lying on the floor.
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Speaking to reporters, Abu Toiyob, who was a contender for the vice-president post in the last Ducsu election, said, "That Jinnah who took a stance against our mother tongue, that Jinnah who arrested students at Dhaka University's Curzon Hall in 1948 – that Jinnah cannot have a place in Ducsu.
"In this Ducsu, in this Dhaka University, in this Bangladesh, no villain like Jinnah, no villain like Ghulam Azam or Nizami can be our hero; we will not let them be heroes."
Ducsu GS defends inclusion of Jinnah pictures
About two hours after the pictures were torn down, Ducsu General Secretary SM Farhad addressed a press conference in front of the Ducsu building and explained the decision to display Jinnah's pictures in the archive.
He said Jinnah's picture had been displayed alongside a reference to his opposition to the Bengali language.
"If we did not display his picture, people would have said we were hiding his opposition to the Bengali language. Now that we have displayed the picture and mentioned his statement, people are saying the picture should be removed," Farhad said.
Regarding the incident, he said the student who tore down the pictures was from the Urdu Department and suggested that he might have done so out of a particular affinity for Jinnah.
"He may have done this because he wants people not to know about Jinnah's position on Urdu," Farhad said.
Farhad also said the Ducsu archive was inaugurated yesterday and the union had initially decided to allow a week for feedback on its contents.
"We had said that we would wait for a week. We asked everyone to send us any feedback or concerns about what has been added to or left out of the archive, and we would consider them and arrange it accordingly," he said.
He said many university teachers and students had subsequently contacted the Ducsu through messages, emails and letters, sharing their concerns and suggestions.
"Many of the suggestions have already been accepted," he said.
