Radical’s name to replace Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's at Dhaka university hall

DHAKA: The Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall at Dhaka University has been renamed in the memory of radical leader and frontline figure of the ‘July Uprising’ Sharif Osman Hadi — marking the removal of Bangladesh’s founding father’s name from another place of importance since the uprising led to ouster of his daughter Shiekh Hasina as PM last year.

The nameplate bearing Mujibur Rahman’s name was removed using a crane and replaced with that having ‘Shaheed Osman Hadi Hall’ Saturday night following after a “demand from students”, said the Islami Chhatra Shibir-led Dhaka University Central Students’ Union cultural affairs secretary Musaddiq Ibn Ali Mohammad.


Several students, aligned with the Shibir, students’ wing of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami — were seen removing graffiti of Mujibur Rahman on walls of hall and replacing them with those paying tribute to Hadi, who died on Thursday, six days after he was shot at and critically injured. The work to rename the hall began around 9:45 pm, students said.

The hall, established in 1988, was named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, as it represents his close connection with the university, where he was an active student leader during the Language Movement and later political struggles, according to the university’s website.

Talking to reporters, Hall Council vice president Muslimur Rahman said, “The students demanded that this be removed, so we are removing it based on the students’ verdict.”