BCL declares DU professor unwanted on campus

Ruling Awami League’s student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League has declared a teacher of Dhaka University unwanted on the campus for allegedly “distorting” the history.

The teacher is Morshed Hasan Khan, a professor of DU's Marketing department.

The student organisation has also given 24 hours ultimatum to the teacher to resign from his post.

BCL leaders and activists on Tuesday said Morshed Hasan Khan had written an article in a national daily titled Jotirmoy Zia (shining Zia) in which he claimed Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) founder Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh’s liberation war.  

The teacher reportedly wrote in his article that most of the ruling Awami League leaders including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman fled to India with their family members.

“The way he (the professor) lied about Bangabandhu, he has no right to remain as a teacher. If he does not resign within 24 hours, we along with all students will carry out a tough movement,” said BCL general secretary SM Jakir Hossain in a demonstration on the Dhaka University campus on Tuesday.

The student organisation demonstrated at the Madhur Canteen on Dhaka University campus on Tuesday. BCL activists also burned effigy of the teacher and declared that they would hand over a memorandum to the university’s vice-chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman.

Morshed Hasan Khan is the joint convener of the university’s pro-opposition BNP and Jamaat-backed White Panel.       

When contacted, he told Prothom Alo that he had withdrawn the article.

“I withdrew the article and so did the newspaper. The write-up has hurt many and I seek apology from them,” he said.

The daily has withdrawn the article from their online version and put a notice which said, The writer has withdrawn his words about Bangabandhu and apologises for his inadvertent mistake.

Meanwhile, Dhaka University Teachers’ Association president  ASM Maksud Kamal and secretary Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam in a statement also urged the government and the university authority to take legal action against the teacher. They said that this is a part of conspiracy against the liberation war.