Everything about The University Of Dhaka totally explained
The
University of Dhaka (commonly referred to as
Dhaka University or just
DU) (
Bengali: ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
Đhaka Bishshobiddalôe) is the oldest university in
Bangladesh. With more than 30,000 students and 1,300 teachers, the University of Dhaka is the largest
public university in
Bangladesh. It is a multi-disciplinary university and is among the top universities in the region. It is the only university in
Bangladesh to have been listed in
AsiaWeek's listing of top 100 Universities in
Asia (64th).
(External Link
).
Prologue
Initially, the university worked hard to build up an outstanding record of academic achievement, earning for itself the reputation for being the 'Oxford of the East'. The university contributed to the emergence of a generation of leaders who distinguished themselves in different occupations in
East Bengal.
Until the
Partition of Bengal in 1947, it maintained its unique character of being one of the few residential institutions of higher learning in Asia. In 1947, it assumed academic authority over all educational institutions above the secondary level falling within East Bengal. In the process, it became a teaching-cum-affiliating institution. This transformation, coupled with its unprecedented growth in the years that followed, put strains beyond reckoning on its human as well as material resources.
The university demonstrated an inherent strength in its activities during its eventful and often critical existence of over 80 years. Today, it provides about 70% of the trained human resources of
Bangladesh engaged in education, science and technology, administration, diplomacy, mass communication, politics, trade and commerce, and industrial enterprises in all sectors. Students and teachers of this university have played a major role in shaping the history of Bangladesh.
In 2007,
Webometrics ranked this university
2nd in Bangladesh and
56th in the Indian subcontinent in their
World Universities Ranking based on electronic publication, scientific results and international activities.
Foundation & early days
Established in 1921 under the Dacca University Act 1920 of the
Indian Legislative Council, it's modelled after British universities. Academic activities started on July 1, 1921 with 3 faculties, 12 teaching departments, 60 teachers, 847 students and 3 residential halls.
Background
It is believed that a combination of political, social and economic compulsions persuaded the government of India to establish a university at Dhaka 'as a splendid imperial compensation' to Muslims for the annulment of the partition of Bengal. The first vice-chancellor of the university, Dr. PJ Hartog, a former academic registrar of the
University of London for 17 years and a member of the
University of Calcutta Commission, described this phenomenon as the 'political origin' of the institution.
The
Partition of Bengal in 1905 provided the Muslim majority community of
East Bengal and
Assam with a sphere of influence of their own and raised new hopes for the development of the region and advancement of its people. But its annulment, barely six years later due to stiff opposition from the powerful Hindu leadership, was viewed by Muslims as 'a grievous wrong'. Muslims were late to realise that their educational backwardness was a root cause of their decline in other fields of life.
Viceroy
Lord Hardinge was quick to perceive the dissatisfaction of Muslims and decided to pay an official visit to Dhaka to assuage the aggrieved community. A deputation of high ranking Muslim leaders, including
Sir Nawab Khwaja Salimullah, Nawab Syed Nawab Ali Choudhury and
A. K. Fazlul Huq, met him on January 31, 1912 and expressed their fears that the annulment would retard the educational progress of their community. As compensation for the annulment of the Partition, the deputation made a vigorous demand for a university at Dhaka. In response, Lord Hardinge affirmed that education was the true salvation of Muslims and that the government would recommend the constitution of such a university to the Secretary of State.
Many Hindu leaders were not happy with the government's intention to set up a university at Dhaka. On February 16, 1912, a delegation headed by advocate Dr Rash Bihari Ghosh, met the viceroy and expressed the apprehension that the establishment of a separate university at Dhaka would promote 'an internal partition of Bengal'. They also contended, as was recorded in the Calcutta University Commission report later, that "Muslims of Eastern Bengal were in large majority cultivators and they'd benefit in no way by the foundation of a university". Lord Hardinge assured that the new university would be open to all and it would be a teaching and a residential university.
The opposition by Hindu intelligentsia wasn't the only hurdle in implementation of the plan for the new university. Many complex legal and material issues were to be examined. After obtaining the approval of the Secretary of State, the government of India invited the government of Bengal to submit a complete scheme for the university. Accordingly, in a resolution of May 27, 1912, the government of Bengal appointed a committee of 13 members headed by Mr Robert Nathan, a barrister from London, to draw up a scheme for Dhaka University.The committee acted with speed and with the thoroughness and wisdom of 25 special sub-committees, it submitted its report in autumn of the same year. The report contained plans of the proposed buildings and estimates of capital expenditure amounting to Rs 5.3 million (later raised to Rs 6.7 million by the Public Works and Development agency) and of recurring expenditure amounting to Rs 1.2 million. The report went into considerable details about the mission of the university and its courses of study. The committee recommended that the university should be a state institution with unitary teaching and residential form on the model of modern UK universities such as Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool, and that it should encompass seven colleges including
Dacca College and
Jagannath College. The entire teaching in science, law, medicine, and engineering at postgraduate level was to be conducted by the university itself. In fact, the Dhaka University model was highly appraised and was later, followed in establishing new universities at Allahabad, Benaras, Hyderabad, Aligarh, Lucknow and Annamalai.
The Nathan Committee suggested for the university a spectacular site of about forming part of the new civil station created at Ramna for the government of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The site housed
Curzon Hall, Dacca College, the new government house, the secretariat, the government press, a number of houses for officers, and other minor buildings. In due course, all this land with their buildings and other properties was made over to the university in a permanent lease on a nominal rent of Rs 1,000 a year. After the committee report was published in 1913, the Secretary of State approved it in December 1913. Then with the emergence of
First World War, acute financial stringency led the government to keep the decision in abeyance. This caused misgivings in the minds of Muslim leaders. When Nawab Syed Nawab Ali Choudhury raised the issue in the Indian Legislative Council on March 7, 1917, Shankaran Nair, the government spokesman, reaffirmed the government pledge to establish the university.
The decision to appoint a commission to enquire into the problems and needs of Calcutta University was announced by its chancellor Lord Chelmsford at convocation on January 6, 1917. Accordingly a commission was formed with
Dr. ME Sadler as its chairman. The Commission agreed with most parts of the Nathan Committee scheme and urged that the University of Dhaka should be established without further delay.
The commission made 13 recommendations, which were mostly adopted, in the Dacca University Act 1920. The Governor General of India appointed Dr. PJ Hartog as the first vice-chancellor for a term of 5 years beginning December 1, 1920. He assumed office on December 10, 1920.Hartog put the university on a firm footing in his 5-year tenure of dedicated service.The advancement of the young university in the direction of academic excellence diligently marked by Hartog was carried forward by able successors such as Prof Harry Langley, AF Rahman, Dr. RC Majumdar, Dr. Mahmood Hasan and others.
Historical Events
From its inception, the University of Dhaka has been a place for many great scholars and scientists. From 1926 - 1945 the renowned
physicist Satyendra Nath Bose served as a professor. It was during this period that he published his famous papers in collaboration with
Albert Einstein, most notably defining
Bose-Einstein condensate.
The university was witness to another historical event, as it was in the campus of Dhaka University that the original
Flag of Bangladesh was unfurled for the first time, at a time of national crisis with the
Bangladesh Liberation War looming closer. The University saw its share of the
genocide initiated by
Pakistani
dictatorship in 1971, as many pupils and professors were killed in
Operation Searchlight by the
Pakistan Army.
East Pakistan era
The
Partition of Bengal in 1947 considerably altered the character of Dhaka University. The East Bengal Educational Ordinance of 1947 added an affiliating character to its residential-cum-teaching model by calling upon it to assume the responsibilities of affiliation and supervision of 55 colleges, which were previously under the University of Calcutta. The university was relieved of this responsibility in 1992 when the National University was created to take over this task.
During
World War II the government of India requisitioned some buildings of the university for military use. After Partition, the new government of
East Pakistan requisitioned many more of them for offices and residences of government employees. This created an acute problem of accommodation to add to the problem of finance. The Pakistan government was indifferent to the university's needs and planned to move the university away from the city to keep its students out of politics. When General
Ayub Khan seized power in October 1958, teachers and students of the university were already in the forefront of protests against the government's attempts to suppress the demands of the East Pakistanis for autonomy and the rightful place for Bengali as a state language of the country. In 1952, during the
Bengali Language Movement effort, police killed some students agitating for a place of honour for their mother tongue. The government responded by replacing the Dacca University Act 1920 by an ordinance in 1961, totally depriving the university of its autonomy and democratic traditions. Termed a 'black law', the ordinance created a suffocating atmosphere in the university. The atmosphere of terror and oppression created in the whole country by successive military regimes led to mass upsurge, and ultimately, to the
War of Liberation waged by Bengalis in 1971. Teachers and students of the university were in the forefront of this war and paid a heavy price in blood.
War of Liberation
The
War of Liberation severely crippled Dhaka University's academics when a large number of its distinguished teachers and a considerable number of its students and employees were killed. The emergence of several new universities later did little to ease this burden.
The teachers, who were killed, include Dr. GC Dev, Dr. ANM Muniruzzaman, Santosh C Bhattacharya, Dr. Jyotirmoy Guha Thakurta, AN Munir Chowdhury, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, Dr. Abul Khair, Dr. Serajul Hoque Khan, Rashidul Hasan,
Anwar Pasha, Dr. Fazlur Rahman, Giasuddin Ahmed, Dr. Faizul Mohi, Abdul Muktadir, Sarafat Ali, Sadat Ali, AR Khan Khadim, and Anudippayan Bhattachariya. The university's chief medical officer, Dr. Mohammad Mortuza, and a teacher of the University Laboratory School, Mohammad Sadeq were also killed.
Academic divisions:Faculties & Institutions
Today, there are 10 faculties, 52 departments, 9 institutes, 34 research centres, 1,545 teachers, about 30,000 students, 18 residential halls and 2 hostels.
(External Link) Two-thirds of the present faculty possesses degrees from universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Many of them achieved international reputation for their scholarly works. Many also have the experience of teaching in well-known institutions of higher learning abroad.
Faculties
Faculty of Science
The science faculty was started with only three department in 1921 - Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics Department.Now there are about nine departments in faculty of science.
Faculty of Pharmacy
Established out of Faculty of Science in late 1960's, this faculty includes departments of Pharmacy, Pharmacology etc.
It was established on the
1 January 1974. Previously the departments of this faculty was associated with the
Faculty of Science.Soil Science, Microbiology, Botany & Zoology are the mentionworthy departments of the faculty.
It is one of the leading faculties of
University of Dhaka. In 1922, one year after the establishment of
University of Dhaka,Department of Commerce was founded under
Faculty of Arts. Later in 1970 it started its activities as a separate faculty.
Faculty of Social Science
Established in late 70's, this faculty includes leading departments like Economics, Public Administration, International Relations, Political Science and Sociology.
The oldest faculty of the University includes departments like, Philosophy,History,Mass Communication & Journalism,English, Bengali, Arabic etc.Information science & Library management is here.
Faculty of law
Institutions
Following are the academic institutes of the university:
Institute of Business Administration(IBA)
Institute of Fine Arts
Institute of Social Welfare
Institute of Education & Research
Institute of Information Technology
Institute of Statistical Research & Training(ISRT)(External Link)
Institute of Modern Languages
Institute of Nutrition
Facilities
Student dormitories
A dormitory is called a Hall in the university. At present, there are about 17 halls for the students.Of these, 13 are for the boys and rest 5 are for girls.
These Halls are:
Salimullah Muslim Hall
Shahidullah Hall
Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall
Jagannath Hall
Surjya Sen Hall
Haji Mohammad Muhsin Hall
Rokeya Hall
Shamsunnahar Hall
Sir A.F. Rahman Hall
Zahurul Haque Hall
Kabi Jasimuddin Hall
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall
Ziaur Rahman Hall
Bangladesh Kuwait Moitree Hall
Amar Ekushey Hall
Cafeteria
There are some cafeteria in the area of University of Dhaka. Some of them are historically important.The Madhur Canteen isn't only a cafeteria, but also a place of historical interest of Bangladesh.
Dhaka University Ground
The Dhaka University Ground is the official stadium of the University of Dhaka. It hosts many inter-collegiate sports tournaments at inter-city, provincial and national levels. It is located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Magazine by students
Monthly Din Badaler Katha
Monthly Din Badaler Katha is the first monthly magazine of University of Dhaka, published by the students since 1997 to 2000.
Prof. ATM Johurul Hoq, Prof. Mohabbat Ali Khan, Prof. A.M.S. Arefin Siddique and Dr. Mahbubur Rahman was the Advisor of the Magazine, Edited by Abdullah Harun.
Further Information
Get more info on 'University Of Dhaka'.
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