JCD condemns display of Jinnah's picture in DUCSU archive

Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) has strongly condemned the display of a 1948 photograph of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the historical archive of Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU).

In a joint statement issued on Monday, Chhatra Dal President Rakibul Islam Rakib and General Secretary Nasir Uddin Nasir claimed that displaying the portrait of Jinnah–a figure widely criticised for his anti-language movement stance insults the heritage of the university's historical language movement and freedom struggle.

The student organisation alleged that a series of recent actions, starting from a malicious attempt to rename Madhur Canteen to “Ishrat Manzil” to installing Jinnah's picture in the DUCSU archive, demonstrate that the current DUCSU Parishad is abandoning the mass aspirations and freedom-seeking spirit of Dhaka University students.

The leaders asserted that these activities reveal a hidden affection for the defeated forces of 1971 and an underlying “love for Pakistan.”

Chhatra Dal leaders stated that displaying a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the archive of DUCSU one of the central workshops of Bengal's freedom movement is entirely unacceptable and directly undermines the historical spirit of the language movement and liberation war.

"In 1948, the student community of Dhaka University roared in protest against Jinnah's declaration imposing Urdu as the state language of the then Pakistan," the statement noted, adding that the language movement subsequently paved the way for the struggle for Bengali independence.

They emphasised that displaying Jinnah's picture in the archive sharply contradicts the history and tradition of the university.

Meanwhile, Chhatra Dal further alleged that the present leadership of DUCSU has failed to resolve the fundamental problems of students. The organisation claimed that the leadership has played no effective role in resolving the housing crisis, securing student rights, or ensuring a proper educational environment on campus.

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The statement added that the current authorities are using DUCSU as a tool to implement their own party and ideological agendas while ignoring legitimate student interests, thereby undermining DUCSU's primary role as a representative body for the student community.

Chhatra Dal demanded the immediate removal of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's picture from the DUCSU archive and urged authorities to stop using the student union premises to promote any specific political ideology.

The organisation also demanded an immediate end to any attempt to distort the historical structures, monuments, and spirit of Dhaka University, including the historic Madhur Canteen.