This year marks the 106th founding anniversary of the University of Dhaka, once known as the Oxford of the East. In this connection, Dhaka University Day-2026 was observed on July 1 with the theme 'Restoration of Democracy and Dhaka University in Higher Education.' On that day in 1921, the university began with three faculties: arts, science, and law, along with 12 departments: Sanskrit and Bengali, English, Education, History, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Persian and Urdu, Philosophy, Economics and Politics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Law. Three student dormitories were also launched simultaneously: Salimullah Muslim Hall, Dacca Hall and Jagannath Hall. Sir PJ Hartog was the founding vice-chancellor.
In its century-long journey, the country's top university has experienced many ups and downs. Unlike many other universities worldwide, the DU has been closely linked to key political movements and changes since its inception. The university itself is partly an outcome of a political movement. In 1911, the annulment of the first partition of Bengal, known as Banga-Vanga in 1905, provoked the establishment of a university in Dhaka, especially for Muslims of eastern Bengal. After British colonial rule ended in 1947, two sovereign countries emerged: India and Pakistan. East Bengal became part of Pakistan. From the start, the discriminatory attitude of Pakistan's rulers sparked discontent in the eastern wing. This led to the language movement in 1952, led by DU students. During the anti-Pakistan movement over the next two decades, which culminated in the 1971 war of independence, DU students and teachers played a significant role. The university was again the epicentre of a decade-long protest and resistance in the 1980s that led to the fall of the autocratic Ershad regime in 1990. Finally, DU emerged as the centre of the bloody July mass uprising that forced tyrant Hasina to step down and flee to New Delhi for shelter in 2024.
Though these historical movements were critical turning points in the nation's advancement, DU's contribution is not limited to them. The university also has a strong academic record over the century, though it has yet to reach an optimal level for various reasons. The key reason is an over-focus on national political movements and the politicisation of the academic environment at the country's top institute. In the name of student politics, the student wings of ruling parties dominated the university's administrative structure. The situation worsened in the last decade of the Hasina regime, when the now-banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) terrorised the campus through intimidation, torture, and illegal toll collection. Pro-regime teachers also contributed to making the campus toxic, with many serving as party activists. Their only goal was to justify all the misdeeds of the ousted regime and help establish a cult. The ultimate result of these misdeeds is a downgrade of the university, where academic and research activities were severely undermined, open debates and discussions were marginalised, and cooperation to enhance learning and teaching quality was ignored.
After the July mass uprising, a window of opportunity opened for rectification of accumulated wrongs through necessary reforms. Unfortunately, little progress could be made in the last two years. This does not mean there is no room to move forward. It is the responsibility of the newly elected government to support the DU authorities in this regard. The good news is that a 20-year academic development plan has been devised with the vision of establishing DU as an institution of inclusive innovation and ethical leadership. The incumbent DU vice-chancellor unveiled it formally last week, adding that the plan has been prepared through extensive research, national and international experience, and consultations with teachers, students, alumni, industry, and policymakers. The plan document is the first step. Objective identification of the university's weaknesses and time-bound steps to address those are truly important. Only blaming previous regimes and rhetoric will not solve the problems or improve the status of the so-called Oxford of the East.
asjadulk@gmail.com
