Shibir exhibition at DU continues defying proctorial orders

Defying proctorial instructions, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir continued its three-day exhibition today at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) premises of Dhaka University.

The event, titled " July 36: Amra Thambo Na", sparked outrage after photographs of convicted war criminals were displayed, drawing strong condemnation from students and various organisations.

Protesters labelled the display "an affront to the spirit of the Liberation War." Following growing pressure, the controversial images were reportedly removed yesterday, the first day of the event.

A coalition of left-leaning student bodies, including the Bangladesh Democratic Student Council, yesterday submitted a four-point demand to the university administration. Among their demands were the immediate termination of the programme and a permanent ban on such displays.

Talking to The Daily Star, DU Proctor Prof Saifuddin Ahmed said, "I have been speaking with the Shibir leaders, including SM Farhad and Sadik Kayem, several times since last night. I have strongly urged them to shut down the programme."

He added, "The leaders said that today's programme is solely academic and seminar-based, with many invited guests, so they would be in a difficult position if they had to cancel it. It was not possible to evict them by force, and they might be allowed to continue today's programme."

However, SM Forhad, president of the DU unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir, claimed the event had been organised with proper permission.

"If the DU authorities want us to shut it down, they need to present a rational reason. Otherwise, the programme will continue," he told The Daily Star.

Regarding the controversial photos, he said, "When they complained about the photos, we took them down."

In a Facebook post, Maeen Ahmed, general secretary of the DU unit of Bangladesh Chhatra Union, said the proctor had assured them that the matter would be placed before the university's administrative body and confirmed that Shibir had been asked to end the programme.

Tensions between Shibir activists and protesting student organisations escalated throughout the day and continued until 10:00pm yesterday.