DUCSU leaders walk out of Dhaka University Senate over name change row

Five leaders of the Dhaka University Students' Union (DUCSU) walked out of a Senate session on Monday, after the authorities decided to send back a proposal to rename five university establishments named after the Sheikh family.

Vice-Chancellor Prof BM Obaidul Islam requested the student leaders not to leave the session, but DUCSU Vice-President Sadeq Kayem, General Secretary SM Farhad, Assistant General Secretary Muhammad Mohiuddin, Transport Secretary Asif Abdullah, and member Sabikunnahar Tamanna staged the walkout at around 10:15pm.

The DU Syndicate, the highest policy-making body of the university, had previously decided on 8 January to place the student-backed renaming issue before the Senate. The establishments under consideration are Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall, Sheikh Russell Tower, Bangabandhu Tower, and Shaheed Athlete Sultana Kamal Hostel of the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology.

Prof Obaidul Islam raised the matter as an agenda item at around 9:30pm, which triggered mixed reactions from the Senate members. Senate member Prof Md Lutfar Rahman demanded that the university maintain proper procedures and refer the issue back to the Syndicate. Another member, Prof Samina Lutfa, openly objected to the renaming proposal. 

Defending the change, the DUCSU representatives argued that the current names cause suffering for ordinary students. They claimed that students faced harassment when they visited the National Memorial carrying banners featuring the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall. Furthermore, they noted that hall clubs fail to secure sponsors due to these names, a claim they said hall teachers also support. 

DUCSU General Secretary SM Farhad demanded that if the Senate sends the issue back to the Syndicate, it must do so with specific feedback.

"The government has changed the names of more than 800 institutions of the Sheikh family after the July Revolution," DUCSU Vice-President Sadiq Kayem said, adding that ample precedents exist and authorities could consider alternative names, including those of national heroes like the Bir Shrestha. 

During the session, Senate member Fazlul Haque Milan, representing the Gazipur 5 constituency, proposed renaming Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall after the national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. 

Following the intense debate, Vice-Chancellor Prof Obaidul Islam ordered the matter to be sent back to the Syndicate for further review.