Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister and President of
the Awami League (AL), was a Dhaka University (DU) student. After completing
her undergraduate degree at Eden College, she enrolled in the Master's program
in the Bengali department at DU in 1968. At the university, she served as the
General Secretary of the Ruqayyah Hall branch of the Chhatra League.
Obaidul Quader is serving as the General Secretary of the
AL. He has held this position for a third consecutive term. Before the party
was ousted from power, he was in charge of the Ministry of Road Transport and
Bridges for a long time. He faced widespread criticism and condemnation for
instructing the Chhatra League to attack general students during the
anti-discrimination movement. There are also allegations against this former
Department of Political Science student at DU for corrupting the country's
political culture while holding the position of General Secretary in a party
like the AL.
Most of the key ministers in the AL government over the
past fifteen years have been former students of DU. A significant number of
politicians, bureaucrats, and judges who played a role in establishing and
consolidating Sheikh Hasina's authoritarian structure are also alumni of this
university. Some of them have even served as teachers here. Additionally, a
large portion of the business oligarchs are former students of DU as well.
During the party's rule, the late Hossain Toufique Imam
(HT Imam) played a significant role in politicizing and using the
administrative system for political purposes. Under his supervision, the
administration was politicized without any reservations. This politicized
administration was then used as a tool to secure electoral victories. HT Imam,
the first Cabinet Secretary of independent Bangladesh, obtained his Master's
degree from the Economics Department of Dhaka University in 1958.
After the government came to power in 2009, the late Abul
Maal Abdul Muhith took charge of the Ministry of Finance. Abul Maal Abdul
Muhith, who served as Finance Minister for 10 years, was also a student of
Dhaka University. He graduated in English Literature in 1954 and earned his
Master's degree from the same department the following year.
During Sheikh Hasina's government, AHM Mustafa Kamal
(Lotus Kamal) was a key architect of fabricated statistics. He served as the
Minister of Planning after 2014 disputed election. The country's statistical
discrepancies became prominent after Lotus Kamal took office as minister. A
syndicate became involved in processing various vital data, including
inflation. Allegations arose that economic indicators were inflated.
Statistical discrepancies also increased about various international
organizations. This trend continued in subsequent terms of the AL government.
World Bank data shows growth was overstated by 3.5 percent between 2015 and
2019 alone. After returning to power through another controversial election in
2018, Sheikh Hasina appointed AHM Mustafa Kamal as Finance Minister in 2019 as
a reward for creating false information. Following this, the country's banking
and financial sectors deteriorated further. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Financial
Management from Dhaka University in 1967 and
a Master's in Accounting in 1968.
Former Law Minister Anisul Huq played a significant role
in providing legal protection to Sheikh Hasina's fascist regime. He served as
the Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs from 2014 until he was
ousted in a popular uprising. Anisul Huq was also a student of English
Literature at Dhaka University. After completing his Bachelor's and Master's
degrees in that department, he enrolled in the Law Department and earned his
LLB degree.
Like Anisul Huq, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal held the record
for the longest tenure as Home Minister in the country's history. He has
utilized law enforcement agencies to suppress opposition parties and dissenting
views, treating them as party workers. He, too, was a former student of Dhaka
University.
From 2009 to 2019, Nurul Islam Nahid, a former student of
DU, served as the Minister of Education for an entire decade. He is considered
one of the key figures responsible for the country's current dire education
sector. During his tenure, incidents of question leaks in various public
examinations, university admission tests, and job exams became routine.
Throughout the AL's rule, the party's 'fraternal
organization,' the Chhatra League, has been in the spotlight for various activities.
Over the past fifteen years, Sheikh Hasina has chosen all central presidents
and general secretaries of the Chhatra League from among the students of DU.
The country's economy and financial sector are now
severely precarious. During the previous government's tenure, there were
unprecedented incidents of plundering and scandals in the banking sector. By
manipulating, at least BDT 1 trillion has been siphoned off from the capital
market. Regulatory bodies such as the Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh
Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) have also been used as tools by the
corrupt. Several teachers from Dhaka University are held accountable for the
dire condition of the country's financial sector.
Dr. Atiur Rahman served as the Governor of the Bangladesh
Bank from May 1, 2009, to March 15, 2016. Significant scandals occurred in the
banking sector during his tenure, including the Basic Bank embezzlement and the
Sonali Bank Hallmark scam. Following the 2016 incident of Bangladesh Bank's
reserve theft, he was compelled to resign. Dr. Atiur Rahman was a former
student of the Economics Department at Dhaka University and later joined the
Development Studies Department as a teacher.
Two professors from Dhaka University have served as
Chairmen of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for over a
decade. They are Dr. M. Khairul Hossain from the Finance Department and
Professor Shibli Rubayat-ul-Islam from the Banking and Insurance Department.
Allegations suggest that their controversial actions and favoritism as chairmen
have pushed the capital market to the brink of disaster. Over the past 15
years, more than BDT 1 trillion has been looted from the capital market through
fraud, manipulation, placement shares, and deception. In this regard, these two
former students of Dhaka University have played a supportive role.
Over the past fifteen years, various allegations have
emerged against the vice-chancellors of Dhaka University. AAMS Arefin Siddique
was appointed as the 27th vice-chancellor of the university, serving from 2009
to 2017. During his tenure, allegations of politicization and widespread
irregularities in faculty recruitment surfaced. Over a hundred teachers were
hired without minimum qualifications, and educational standards were relaxed.
Several departments did not issue job advertisements, and an excessive number
of teachers were appointed for certain positions. Additionally, while
previously, students who ranked on merit lists were prioritized for teaching
positions, during his tenure, allegations arose that members of the Chhatra
League were appointed, sidelining those who had qualified based on merit.
Former Dhaka University students who teach at other
universities have also been the subject of discussion and controversy. In 2023,
various textbooks were revised under the government's new education policy. Dr.
Muhammed Zafar Iqbal was a co-author and chief editor of several new books,
including the seventh-grade textbook. However, after the publication of the
science textbook, allegations of copy-pasting from foreign blogs and mechanical
translation emerged. Subsequently, Zafar Iqbal admitted his mistakes regarding
the book. He graduated from Dhaka University in 1975 and obtained his Master's
degree with second-class honors in 1976. However, due to controversies
surrounding slogans during the recent quota reform movement, he has vowed not
to return to Dhaka University for the rest of his life. This decision has drawn
widespread criticism from protesting students, and Shahjalal University of
Science and Technology students have declared him unwelcome on campus.
Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui, former chairperson of the
Department of Political Science at Dhaka University, believes that “Dhaka
University was supposed to be a moral place. Teacher recruitment should always
have been based on merit. However, it has become completely politicized. The
university's administrative system is the same. There has been no opportunity
for pure politics at Dhaka University. If those who adorn the university's positions
come based on merit, then it will be possible to improve the quality of the
students. Students often do not respect their teachers because their positions
have no value in terms of qualifications. It all comes down to connections.
On the other hand, during student life, people do not
have greed or attachments. At that time, they sought liberation through
movements and struggles. However, it becomes impossible to maintain that once
they enter professional life. This is because democracy and accountability have
not been institutionalized in our country’s political system, nor have they
been allowed to be. Those who have come to power have advanced their interests.
In this process, undisputed student leaders like Rashed Khan Menon and Matia
Chowdhury have used their names and reputations to establish undemocratic
systems as they have grown older. They have not been able to establish
democracy.”
In 2011, a ruling by the Appellate Division, led by then
Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, paved the way for abolishing the caretaker
government through the Fifteenth Amendment Bill to the Constitution. This
reinstated the practice of holding elections under a partisan government,
laying the groundwork for a one-party rule. The highly criticized Chief Justice
was also a graduate of the Law Department at DU. After Khairul Haque, Mohammad
Muzammel Hossain assumed the role of Chief Justice on May 18, 2011. He was also
a former student of the Law Department at Dhaka University, serving as the head
of the country's judiciary until January 16, 2015.
Tofazzel Hossain Miah, the Principal
Secretary to the PM, has gained recognition
as a trusted bureaucrat of the AL. He was appointed to this position on
December 7, 2022. He played a significant role in maintaining control over the
field administration to bring the AL government back to power for the fourth
time during the twelfth national elections. As a key associate of Sheikh
Hasina, he took on a policymaking role in the recent student and public
movements, which involved suppression and violence against students. He also
graduated with a degree in English from Dhaka University in 1985 and later
obtained a Master's degree.
Abdur Rouf Talukdar, the first fugitive governor and
former finance secretary in the country's history, was also a student at Dhaka
University, completing his Master's in Business Administration. Due to his
political role in formulating and making fundamental economic policy decisions,
he went into hiding after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in the students'
uprising.
The past three Election Commissions have faced
allegations of facilitating the current government led by Sheikh Hasina to
remain in power through controversial elections. The heads of these three
commissions were Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, KM Nurul Huda, and Kazi Habibul Awal.
Among them, Rakibuddin Ahmad was a student of the Chemistry Department at Dhaka
University. KM Nurul Huda obtained both his bachelor's and master's degrees
from the Statistics Department of Dhaka University. Kazi Habibul Awal was a
former student in the law department at Dhaka University. They were appointed
as Chief Election Commissioners as a reward for passing the test of party
loyalty in their careers.
The current distress in the country's energy sector is
largely attributed to two former bureaucrats, Md. Abul Kalam Azad and Ahmed
Kaykobad. During the tenure of the ousted Awami League government, their roles,
particularly that of the Power Secretary, were held responsible for the
mismanagement and financial strain in the electricity sector. Both of these
bureaucrats were also former students of Dhaka University.
During the Awami League's tenure, a subservient foreign
policy has been adopted to cling to power, granting special privileges to
neighboring countries through various agreements and agendas. A key figure in
this approach was former Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, a student of
the International Relations Department at Dhaka University. He took on the role
of Foreign Secretary in 2010. This subservient foreign policy was implemented
by Md Shahidul Haque, who joined as Foreign Secretary in 2013; he was also a
student of the Department of Social Work at Dhaka University. Following him,
Masud Bin Momen assumed the position of Foreign Secretary on December 31, 2019.
This diplomat, who completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in Economics
from Dhaka University, was known for his unwavering loyalty to Sheikh Hasina.
Before the elections on January 7, he played a significant role in efforts to
restore the image of the questioned government in the international arena,
established goodwill with the neighboring country in the government's election
strategy, and managed the presentation of the quota reform movement's situation
according to the government's preferences in the international domain.
Economist Professor Dr. Mahbub Ullah believes that
teachers and students of Dhaka University have played a significant role in the
establishment of fascism in the country. The former professor told Bonik Barta,
“Students of Dhaka University have historically led revolts and revolutions
against injustice. However, many have succumbed to temptations, promotions, and
power in their professional lives. It is unrealistic to expect all students of
an institution to be of high quality and character. From the same institution,
one person can become a scholar, while another can become a tyrant. If the
former students of this university had remained steadfast in their principles,
the country would not look like this. In the upcoming mass uprising in 2024, it
will be evident that not everyone has gone there with the same purpose. There
has been a convergence of diverse opinions and paths. However, to build a new
Bangladesh for the future, it cannot revolve solely around a few students from
Dhaka University.”
Sheikh Hasina's governance has also been significantly
influenced by the business community's transformation into fascism. Many of the
oligarchs who have grown under state patronage were former students of Dhaka
University. Salman Fazlur Rahman (Salman F. Rahman) is often blamed for
unethical behavior in business, the destruction of norms, and the culture of
domination within business organizations. He served as an advisor to the ousted
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on private industry and investment. Salman F.
Rahman, the Vice Chairman of the Beximco Group, was a student of the Physics
Department at Dhaka University.
Muhammad Aziz Khan, the chairman of Summit Group, is
considered the largest oligarch in Bangladesh's electricity sector. He controls
nearly 20 percent of private electricity production in Bangladesh. This
businessman, who has made a place among Singapore's wealthiest, is also a
former student of Dhaka University, having obtained his master's degree from
the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in 1980.
The police force has played a significant role in
transforming Bangladesh into a repressive state. All five individuals who
served as Inspector General of Police (IGP) from 2007 to 2022 were students of
Dhaka University. During this period, the police chiefs were Nur Mohammad,
Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, AKM Shahidul Haque, Mohammad Javed Patwary, and Benazir
Ahmed. Additionally, many senior officials in important positions within the
police force were also former students of Dhaka University. Among them is
Harun-or-Rashid (DB Harun), a police officer who gained significant attention
in recent years and obtained both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the
Sociology Department of this university.
Former Dhaka University student and convener of the
National Citizens’ Committee, Nasir Uddin Patwary, told Bonik Barta, “When
there is no question of ethics among people, from individuals to families, from
families to society, and from society to the state, it becomes easy to perpetrate
oppression. Fascism emerges from the space of oppression. The mentality of
oppression has developed from the various instances of oppression that have
occurred in places like our guest room, and the lack of an environment and
mentality for free speech at the university reflects this practice in state
institutions. A student gains more from the surrounding environment than from
the curriculum. When one student kills another, that ethics is lost. I believe
we should bring ethics into every sphere. There should be a revival of empathy
towards one another.”