Jagannath University: Questions raised over back-to-back ‘Beef Feasts’

Jagannath University students have organised another ‘beef feast’, this time arranged by the university unit of Bangladesh Khelafat Chhatra Majlis.

Earlier on Saturday (17 October) morning, a cow was slaughtered on the road between the vice-chancellor's residence and the Mathematics Department.

Later at around 3:30 pm, beef tehari was distributed in front of the Central Shaheed Minar. The student organisation also arranged a qawwali programme on campus for the evening.

However, questions have been raised about the rationale for organising two consecutive, large-scale ‘beef feasts’, particularly during Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community.

The organisers said students were charged Tk 40 each as a registration fee to participate in the programme. They bought a cow for Tk 85,000 and distributed food from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm on Saturday. They also claimed to have arranged mutton kacchi biryani for Hindu students.

Before that, on Friday (16 October) morning, a cow was slaughtered as part of a programme titled ‘Beef Feast for Jagannath University Students’. Khichuri and beef were later distributed among students. The event was organised by the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU).

A day later, the student wing of the Islamist party Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis organised another beef feast on campus.

It is worth noting that most members of JnUCSU’s elected committee, including its vice-president and general secretary, are leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Obaidul Islam, member secretary of the Jagannath University unit of Khelafat Chhatra Majlis, told Prothom Alo that food had been arranged for more than 600 people on Saturday.

He described the programme as a protest movement, saying the beef feast and qawwali event had been organised to maintain goodwill and harmony among students of all religions and viewpoints at the university.

University proctor Professor Azam Khan told Prothom Alo that although there had been objections to Friday’s programme, the event passed peacefully.

The administration was initially reluctant to permit Saturday's event organised by Khelafat Chhatra Majlis, but eventually granted approval under specific conditions.

On Saturday morning, after Friday’s beef feast, writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmad published a satirical post on Facebook.

“The significance of slaughtering a cow with such fanfare at Jagannath University is immense. The nation will soon understand it,” he wrote.

In the post, he sarcastically listed what he said had been achieved through the event. “We have once again proved that we are an independent country by slaughtering a cow. Until now, we had not experienced the taste of true independence. If we cannot slaughter a cow at a university, what kind of independence is that?” he wrote.

Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, a professor in the Department of International Relations at the University of Dhaka, sees an expression of religious hostility in the organisation of beef feasts at Jagannath University.

“The values of students need to be clear. An event that creates fear among people from another community should not be organised,” he told Prothom Alo.

He noted that the true intent behind such actions is to perpetuate a culture of fear and assert dominance on campus, adding that whether acts creating fear in others belong on a university campus must be questioned.

Shamsul Arefin, member secretary of the Jagannath University unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, told Prothom Alo that the situation should be brought under control through consensus and cooperation from everyone, without any provocation.

“Everyone should have thought about this before organising such an event during the biggest festival of the Hindu community. Ensuring the safety of minorities is everyone’s responsibility,” he said.

Ivan Tahseeb, president of the Jagannath University unit of Socialist Students’ Front, told Prothom Alo that cows were slaughtered during Eid, but slaughtering a cow during another religion’s festival had put the organisers in a difficult position.

Using an issue such as personal freedom to create communal tension on campus is unacceptable, he added.

On the night of 12 October, students from the 2021–22 academic session of the university’s Department of Islamic History and Culture arranged to cook beef khichuri near the campus’s Muktamancha. The university’s central temple is located close to the site.

Several Hindu students objected to the cooking arrangement. They alleged that cooking beef in front of the temple had hurt their religious sentiments. There were also allegations that bricks from the temple had been used to build the makeshift cooking stoves. Hindu students subsequently staged protests on campus over the incident.

On 14 October, the university’s proctor’s office issued a notice asking people to refrain from slaughtering animals on campus. The notice cited the need to protect public health and maintain cleanliness and a hygienic environment. It also said action could be taken in accordance with a public notice issued by Dhaka South City Corporation if the directive was violated.

JnUCSU strongly opposed the directive, holding a protest march and rally on Wednesday night. They put forward a four-point charter of demands—withdrawing the notice, issuing a public apology, investigating the incident, serving beef and mutton in the university cafeteria and ensuring religious harmony.

The university administration later issued an official statement saying everyone had the right to slaughter animals and organise events on campus. However, it said all concerned should ensure that no event disrupted another person’s programme or activities.

The statement added that the proctor had requested people to refrain from slaughtering animals to prevent unwanted tension and a deterioration in religious harmony amid the recent situation.

The administration expressed regret that the request had led to misunderstandings.