DU Mujib Hall’s gate renamed after Hadi

The student union of Dhaka University Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall has erased the Awami League leader’s name from the dormitory’s front gate and repainted the gate with the words: “Shahid Osman Hadi.”

The repainting work began with the use of a crane around 9:45pm and continued till 11pm on Saturday.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s graffiti on the dormitory’s wall will also be replaced with July Uprising participant Hadi’s graffiti, said the hall union’s General Secretary Ahmed Al Sabah.

The hall union’s Vice President Muslemur Rahman told reporters the students have decided to remove Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s name from the hall as a revenge for the killing of Hadi allegedly by Mujib’s present-day supporters.

The students have also vented their anger at the interim government’s failure to apprehend the killers and their supporters, Muslemur said.

There was no official announcement or action regarding the renaming, and students likely took the initiative themselves. DUCSU and hall unions are set to lay a siege at the vice-chancellor’s office on Sunday, demanding the renaming of all university halls currently named after Sheikh Mujib and his family, said a press release on Saturday.

‘80% students support the renaming’

Ahmed Al Sabah said student representatives previously approached the university authorities demanding the renaming of the hall in keeping with the trend of removing the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, “the ideological father of fascists,” from all the student dormitories across the country.

However, the authorities have not paid heed to the call, prompting students to take up the matter in their own hands, Ahmed Al Sabah told reporters.

He noted that around 80% of the dormitory’s students have signed up for renaming the hall and removing the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The students previously wished to use the name of rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

However, following the assassination of Hadi, students have picked his name instead.