9 Vice-Chancellors removed: When will Jahangirnagar’s ‘Gupto’ VC be removed?

BD Digest Report

After the change of Vice-Chancellors (VCs) in nine public universities of the country, a fierce debate has started over Jahangirnagar University (JU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan. After the removal of VCs known to be pro-Jamaat from nine institutions including Dhaka and Jagannath Universities, the focus is now on JU. It has been alleged that the current VC was an active member of the Islami Chhatra Shibir during his student life and is currently working as one of the party’s patrons.

Citing intelligence sources, there is a discussion going on in the JU campus and political circles that Professor Kamrul Ahsan was directly involved in Shibir politics at the beginning of his student life. A colleague and university teacher of his, who did not want to be named, said, “We came to know that Kamrul was a Shibir activist at the beginning of his student life. At that time, he apologized and promised not to join Shibir again. We considered him a follower of nationalist politics. But recently, after becoming the VC in the lobbying of Jamaat-Shibir, we have broken that mistake. For a long time, he actually hid himself through ‘secret politics’.”

Critics claim that Professor Kamrul Ahsan’s political stance has always been opportunistic. Depending on the situation, he sometimes worships Jamaat and sometimes BNP. He even created controversy by declaring one and a half year old Arafat Rahman Koko and three year old Tarique Rahman as ‘child freedom fighters’ in a fit of emotion. The recent incident of him returning after being ‘shoved in the throat’ by Ansar while meeting Tarique Rahman is also being widely discussed on campus.

Although Shibir politics is unwrittenly banned at Jahangirnagar University, there are allegations that the organization is becoming active again with the indirect support of the current VC. Using the context of the July Movement, he has started the process of canceling the charter of Chhatra League and expelling ordinary students, which many see as being against the country’s mainstream ideology and an expression of Jamaati sentiment. However, no official statement has been received from the VC’s office on these matters so far.

Nationalist teachers are also angry with the VC’s actions. BNP-supporting teachers said that the JU VC’s controversial actions and the matter of appeasing Jamaat-Shibir will be informed to the party high command, especially Mr. Tarique Rahman. They are hopeful that he will take the final decision on this matter.

Renowned journalist and columnist Anis Alamgir comments, “The post of university vice-chancellor should not be a political prize. When a party comes to power, they want to install their obedient people. But it must be remembered that when teachers are blinded by the fascination of politics, both the autonomy of the university and the learning environment are damaged. Especially those who hide their identities or ‘change their colors’ and take up the post, their moral foundation is always shaky.”