Chhatra Dal gives DU 24-hour ultimatum to remove Jinnah picture from Ducsu archive

The Dhaka University unit of Chhatra Dal has given the university administration 24 hours to remove a picture of Muhammad Ali Jinnah from the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) archive, threatening programmes if it is not removed.

GC Roy Shahos, president of Dhaka University Chhatra Dal, announced the ultimatum at a press conference in front of the vice chancellor's office this afternoon (14 September).

Earlier, the organisation held a meeting with Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Professor Obaidul Islam over the display of the picture.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Shahos said they had asked the VC to ensure the pictures were removed as soon as possible.

"Although this Ducsu election was controversial, since the VC of Dhaka University is the ex-officio president of Ducsu, we have come to the Ducsu president so that those two pictures are taken down administratively within the shortest possible time. We have already given him a 24-hour ultimatum," he said.

"We told the VC that if these pictures are not removed within the next 24 hours, the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal will be forced to announce programmes at this VC office as well as that Ducsu archive," he added.

The organisation had earlier condemned the display of the picture, calling it an insult to the university's history and heritage.

In a statement issued this morning, Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam Rakibul and General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir alleged that the "Shibir-controlled Ducsu council" was disregarding students' aspirations and the spirit of the Liberation War through a series of actions, including an attempt to rename Madhur Canteen as "Ishrat Manzil" and the display of Jinnah's picture.

The organisation also alleged that the current Ducsu leadership had failed to address students' housing crisis, realise their basic rights and ensure a proper educational environment, instead using the council to advance a specific political and ideological agenda.

"Displaying Jinnah's picture in the archive of Ducsu, which is the centre of Bengal's movement for autonomy, is a direct insult to the heritage of the language and independence movements," the statement reads.

Chhatra Dal called for the immediate removal of Jinnah's picture, whom it described as a leader who opposed the Bengali language. It also said it would resist attempts to alter the history and heritage of Dhaka University, including that of Madhur Canteen.

At the press conference, Shahos said Chhatra Dal supported the democratic activities of political parties that were uncompromising on Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty.

"We believe in the democratic practices of those parties that are uncompromising on the question of Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty. We are interested in supporting any of their logical work," he said.

"But if anyone wants to destroy the environment, history, heritage, and glory of Dhaka University – which is one of the pillars of Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty – along with the educational environment of Dhaka University, then Chhatra Dal can flex its muscles when needed on the question of Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty," he added.

Shahos also alleged that a specific group had gained influence in campus politics after 5 August and said Chhatra Dal had tried to confront it democratically.

"But after 5 August, one after another of their (Shibir's) controversial activities has made students at the country's highest seat of learning exasperated," he said.

Dhaka University Chhatra Dal General Secretary Nahiduzzaman Shipon, along with leaders and activists of the organisation's hall and university units, was also present at the press conference.

The protest follows the re-inauguration of the historical Ducsu archive yesterday by Fatima Tasnim Zuma, Ducsu secretary for Liberation War and Democratic Movement, after its renovation. Ducsu Vice-President Abu Shadik Kayem and General Secretary SM Farhad were also present.

The archive displays a solo picture of Jinnah from an event at the then Racecourse Maidan, now Suhrawardy Udyan, on 21 March 1948, where he declared Urdu as the state language of Pakistan.

It also contains a group photograph related to the 1940 Lahore Resolution and a news report from Pakistan's Dawn newspaper featuring a picture of Jinnah in connection with the 1970 elections.