A dispute over historical representation at the DUCSU museum escalated Monday when students put up a photograph of war criminal Ghulam Azam being beaten with shoes in protest against newly displayed portraits of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The move led by Student Federation's Dhaka University organising secretary Arka Barua came shortly after another student Abu Tayeb Habilder tore down three Jinnah photographs that DUCSU had installed following the museum's renovation.
"DUCSU belongs to no one's father. No one will accept history being presented one-sidedly" Arka told. "Ghulam Azam did what he did in 1971 and people beat him with shoes in 1981 as a result. We have preserved the history of this country's people."
Ghulam Azam then chief of Jamaat-e-Islami was famously beaten with shoes during a funeral prayer at Baitul Mukarram Mosque on January 1, 1981 an incident that became a lasting symbol of public anger toward opponents of Bangladesh's independence. During the 1971 Liberation War, he had led the formation of the Peace Committee, Razakar and Al-Badr forces which aided Pakistani troops in mass killings and torture and lobbied West Asian nations against Bangladesh's independence. The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to 90 years in 2013 for crimes against humanity and he died in custody the following year.
Critics say the museum's reopening which added Jinnah's portraits without a prominent solo image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman reflects a skewed historical narrative. Arka said if Jinnah's photos could be displayed also students had equal right to display Azam's. Students present applauded the move.
