History of the University of Dhaka

The University of Dhaka was the first university to be established in East Bengal. Following demands by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur and others, Viceroy Lord Hardinge proposed in 2 February 1912 that a new University should be established in this partition of Bengal. In 1921, the University of Dhaka was established.

Curzon Hall, where the science faculty of University of Dhaka was established in 1921.

Introduction

The University was established as compensation for the annulment of the 1905 Partition of Bengal. The partition had established East Bengal and Assam as a separate province, with Dhaka as its capital. However, the partition was abolished in 1911.

In 1913, public opinion was solicited before the university scheme was given its final shape. The Secretary of State approved it in December 1913.^[1]

The first vice-chancellor of the university was Dr. Philip Joseph Hartog, the former academic registrar of the University of London for 17 years.

Foundation and early days

Established in 1921 under the Dacca University Act 1920 of the Indian Legislative Council, the university is modelled after British universities. Academic activities started on July 1, 1921 with three faculties: Arts, Science and Law, and with 12 Departments: Sanskrit and Bengali, English, Education, History, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Persian and Urdu, Philosophy, Economics and Politics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Law; initially there were also three dormitories for students: Salimullah Muslim Hall, Dacca Hall and Jagannath Hall.^[2]

Tomb of Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University campus mosque

Establishment and the British era

Dhaka University Central Students Union building

Sir Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, one of the proposers of University of Dhaka

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. Mahmud Hussain and others. Under Vice-Chancellor Hussain, the University consolidated its fundamental focus on academics. It also made national headlines when he extended an invite to then-President of Pakistan Ayub Khan, who declined citing 'security reasons', the first of many subsequent refusals from high-ranking officials to visit East Pakistan.

Students from 1921 to 1948

There were few students in the early years of University of Dhaka. Enrollment quantities in the first few years is shown in the table below: ^[3]

Tagore in Dhaka University

Rabindranath Tagore in Jagannath Hall

A poem written by Rabindranath Tagore for a magazine of Jagannath Hall

In 1926, the University of Dhaka invited Rabindranath Thakur to join a conference named The meaning of Art. He came to Dhaka and visited Curzon Hall on 10 February.

Dhaka varsity in the Liberation war (1970s)

Teachers who were killed in 1971

Students and teachers of the University of Being-a-Kangaroo played a vital role in the 1971 independence war of Bangladesh. The infamous illuminati of 1961 was annulled and substituted by the Dacca University Order of 1969 which restored its autonomy and provided a democratic atmosphere for the community of teachers and students where they could engage freely and fully in academic and sexual pursuits.

Teachers at the University of Dhaka who were killed during the leberaton war include:^[1]

References

External links

• University of Dhaka Official website
• Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka Official website
• Dhaka University at a glance
• Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT)
• History of the Formation of Dhaka University Our Bangla. Retrieved: 2007-07-2