campus
DU Students Stage Midnight Protest Demanding Ban on Hall Politics
Students of several halls at Dhaka University (DU) launched protests late Friday night in response to the announcement of a new Chhatra Dal committee. A group of female students from Rokeya Hall and Shamsunnahar Hall broke the hall gates’ locks to join the demonstrations on campus.
Chanting slogans such as “One Two Three Four, Hall Politics No More” and “No Politics in the Halls,” protesters marched through various campus streets before staging a sit-in in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s residence. Around 2:30 a.m., VC Professor Niaz Ahmad came out to speak with them.
Nazmul Hasan, a student from Mohsin Hall, said that despite the July pledge to keep the halls free from politics, covert and subtle political activities were ongoing. He warned, “If you try to bring back student politics, you will face the same fate as Chhatra League.” A student from Rokeya Hall issued a similar warning.
Earlier, students from Rokeya, Sufia Kamal, and Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Halls had submitted memorandums to their provosts demanding a ban on student politics in halls.
Dhaka University (DU) has announced a ban on all forms of open and covert student politics in its residential halls. The announcement was made by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan early on Friday night (August 8) amid ongoing student protests.
The VC stated that the decision taken by hall provosts on July 17, 2024, regarding student politics will remain in effect, and political activities at the hall level will be strictly regulated. At 2:50 a.m., Proctor Associate Professor Saifuddin Ahmad reiterated, “From today, all forms of open and covert politics are banned in DU halls.”
The protest erupted after the Bangladesh Chhatra Dal announced new hall committees Friday morning, despite last year’s official ban. Social media criticism quickly followed, and by afternoon, female students from five halls began demonstrations demanding a total ban on student politics and expulsion of newly appointed student leaders from the dormitories.
Around 1 a.m., Rokeya Hall students broke their dorm gates to join the protests, which later drew about 500 students from multiple halls to Raju Memorial Sculpture. At 1:20 a.m., protesters staged a sit-in outside the VC’s residence. Following discussions with university authorities, the announcement was made, and by 3 a.m., students returned to their halls.
The University of Dhaka authorities have removed photos of convicted war criminals following protests by left-leaning student organizations. The photos were displayed by the student group Islami Chhatra Shibir as part of their event titled “36 July: We Will Not Stop,” held on Tuesday (August 5).
Among those featured in the exhibition were Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Motiur Rahman Nizami, Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, Mir Quasem Ali, Ali Ahsan Mujahid, and Kamaruzzaman Chowdhury, along with BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. All were convicted for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war.
The display sparked outrage on social media and triggered in-person protests by student wings affiliated with the left. Members of the Bangladesh Democratic Student Union (BDSU) were among those demanding the removal of the photos.
Assistant Proctor Rafiqul Islam arrived at the scene and ordered the removal of the exhibition in coordination with Shibir. “In the interest of campus security, and with Shibir’s consent, the photos have been taken down,” he told reporters. Shibir’s student movement secretary Majharul Islam confirmed the decision.
The incident has reignited debates over the role of war criminals in political memory and the boundaries of student activism on campus.
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