‘Installing Jinnah’s portrait is a grave insult to the Bengali nation’: University Teachers’ Network on Ducsu archive
The University Teachers’ Network today strongly condemned and protested against “unauthorised and unlawful renovations” at the Ducsu archive’s photo gallery.
According to media reports and on-site investigations, many valuable and historic photographs previously displayed on the archive walls have been taken down -- including images of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of independent Bangladesh and chief leader of the liberation struggle. At the same time, a portrait of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who oversaw repression of the people of East Pakistan, has been installed. A delegation of the University Teachers’ Network visited the museum and confirmed these changes.
“We believe such actions at a historic and representative platform like Ducsu are extremely alarming and raise several grave concerns. The Ducsu museum [archive] is a protected place of the Dhaka University,” the network said in statement today.
The statement noted that any alteration, modification, or renovation of university-protected infrastructure or museums requires prior approval from the administration and adherence to specific policies.
"Student leaders cannot arbitrarily impose changes based on personal whims, partisan motives, or extremist religious views," the statement said.
"Muhammad Ali Jinnah was not a citizen of independent Bangladesh. On the contrary, he directly undermined the Bengali nation’s right to self-determination by declaring 'Urdu will be the only state language of Pakistan' during the early phase of the Language Movement. Furthermore, Pakistan never formally apologised for the barbaric genocide carried out by its military in East Pakistan in 1971. Installing the portrait of such a controversial ruler in a memorial dedicated to the struggles of Dhaka University students is a grave insult to the Bengali nation," the statement explained.
"Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the central figure behind every movement that led to the birth of independent Bangladesh. Like any political leader, he is not beyond debate. However, removing his portrait from the Ducsu museum -- at a time when resentment toward his daughter, Sheikh Hasina, is being projected onto him -- is not only insensitive but also a deliberate attempt to erase the true heroes from history," the network said.
Equally disturbing, the network said, was the removal of photographs and documents related to the March 25, 1971 massacre and subsequent atrocities committed on the Dhaka University campus by the Pakistani military and their local collaborators (Razakar, Al-Badr, etc.).
"Such acts represent an attempt by certain extremist groups to advance an anti-liberation political agenda, which teachers and students of Dhaka University cannot accept. The Ducsu museum is not the private property of any group or party; it is a national historical monument. We, the University Teachers’ Network, strongly denounce and protest this blatant attempt to distort history," the statement said.
"Although the Dhaka University administration has reportedly formed a probe committee, we insist the entire incident of unauthorised changes and historical distortion be investigated neutrally. Individuals involved in unauthorised distortion of history and removal of key memorials must be identified and brought under specific administrative and legal action. A complete and transparent list of everything removed from the Ducsu museum must be submitted to the university, and all displaced historic photographs and memorials must be respectfully reinstated in their original place,” the University Teachers’ Network demanded.
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