Shah Md Nuruddin Ahmed: Just a century back, today, a journey towards an epoch-making chapter took place. Yes, the very start of Dhaka University on 1st July in 1921 ushered a new era in this sub-continent in the context of the socio-political spectrum. Victor Hugo's legendary saying "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come" is rightly applicable for the role the university has played to bring about in the socio-political mindset of this sub-continent since its inception. The age of enlightenment this region entered into, was due to Dhaka University to a greater extent. Hence it is called the 'Oxford of the East.

Today, the valuable history behind the establishment of this sacred footrest is not known to a significant portion of our new generation.
During its establishment, Bangladesh was known as the East Bengal province of the then British-ruled Indian subcontinent. The First Partition of Bengal took place on 16th October 1905 by an order of Viceroy Lord Curzon.

The Partition of Bengal led to the formation of the provinces of Assam and East Bengal. As a result of the partition, opportunities for education and employment increased in the region as Dhaka emerged as the capital.

Between 1905 and 1910, student enrolment continued to rise sharply. As a result, the revenue of the education sector began to increase. New schools and colleges were built. From 1908 to 1909, the work of establishing 819 girl's schools was started with government funding. Muslim hostels were arranged in every school and colleges went under government management. But the Partition of Bengal was canceled in 1911 through huge movement and struggle. As a result, the people of East Bengal got worried and thought that there would be a stalemate in education in this region.

A few days after the partition, Lord Harding visited East Bengal and Assam in 1912. He declared, The Government of India is pleased with the progress made in education in East Bengal in the last few years and directed the Secretary of state for India to establish a university in Dhaka to improve education in East Bengal. Soon after Lord Harding's return to Kolkata, Dr. Rasbihari Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pandit, Surendra Nath Samajpati, Surendra Nath Benerjee, Barrister Bomkesh Chakraborty, Peyari Mohon Mukherjee, and Ambikacharan Majumdar were among those who opposed the establishment.

It is said that poet Rabindranath Tagore also opposed the establishment of Dhaka University, and Lord Harding promised them that the university to be established in Dhaka would be an open general university for people belonging to all castes.

A Sub-Committee was formed and the "Nathan Commission" formed in December of that year submitted the report. The report recommended the establishment of a residential university in Dhaka on the lines of Oxford and Cambridge universities.

About Tk 53 lakh was earmarked for the establishment of the university and about taka 12 lakh for the annual expenditure. The report of that committee was scrutinized to be approved in 1913. A few days after the publication of the Nathan Commission's report, 1stWorld War broke out across Europe. The dream of establishing Dhaka University got buried in a pile of paper.

The reason for saying so much is, how the establishment of Dhaka University was started. The area of land required for the establishment of this university was donated by Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Khwaza Salimullah. He donated 650 acres of land from his personal estate and pressured the British administration in various ways to establish the University of Dhaka. It is said that during a meeting with the British administration in Kolkata about the establishment of the university, Nawab Khwaja Salimullah, died of cardiac arrest in 1914.

Later Nawab Ali Chowdhury of Tangail took over the task. Chowdhury was assisted by leaders like Nawab Sirazul Islam, Sir Syed Shamsul Huda, Abdul Karim, Sher-E-Bangla AKM Fazlul Haque. Ashutosh Mukherjee, the then Vice-Chancellor of Kolkata University, had been opposing the establishment of a University in Dhaka from the very beginning. But with this Ashutosh Mukherjee, the Kolkata University Commission was formed. According to the recommendations of this commission, different residential halls were considered as individual units of the university.

It also made 13 more recommendations about Dhaka University. With some modifications, the Dhaka University Act of 1920 was adopted in the Indian Legislative Assembly in 1920 and the Governor-General agreed to it.

The journey of Dhaka University started with 178 students in Muslim Hall, 386 students in Dhaka Hall, and 313 students in Jagannath Hall. But officially it started its journey on 1st July 1921 and that is why this day is called "Dhaka University Day". It is this university from where the Language Movement of 1952, the Mass Movement of 69, and the great Liberation War of 1971 gained moral strength. The role of Dhaka University in the anti-Ershad movement of 1990 is equally significant.

The century-long history of Dhaka University will never be forgotten. But it is a pity that the person who donated 650 acres of property for Dhaka University is not remembered with respect. No one knows how his next generation will spend their days.

The University of Dhaka has contributed to the formation of a conscious middle-class Muslim society in independent Bangladesh. Today's Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Shaheed Minar, one-time Ahsanullah Engineering College, which is now Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, are all located on 650 acres of property.

Finally, I would like to say to the authorities of Dhaka University and the leaders of Dhaka University Alumni that the diamond jubilee celebration of Dhaka University will be meaningful only if those who contributed to the establishment of this university including Nawab Salimullah are properly evaluated.

The writer is a freelance contributor

Dhaka, 01 July (campuslive24.com)//BSC