Archive · 15 Sep 2026
Dhaka University Probes Jinnah Photo Display After Student Backlash
Dhaka University has a museum about the history of Bangladesh and the region.
A student group helped reopen it with photographs of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Jinnah was Pakistan’s founder and once said that Urdu should be Pakistan’s only state language.
Many Bengali students strongly opposed that policy.
They said showing his photographs could make him look admired at a university tied to Bangladesh’s history.
One student removed some of the photographs.
Another student group put up a protest photograph of Ghulam Azam, a former Jamaat-e-Islami leader.
The university is now investigating how the display was approved and who was responsible.
The student union says the photographs were meant to explain history, not praise Jinnah.
Dhaka University opened a reorganized museum featuring photographs and archival material related to Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the subcontinent’s political history.
Students and organizations protested the display, with one student tearing down Jinnah photographs and the Bangladesh Chhatra Federation adding a protest image of Ghulam Azam.
The university formed a five-member committee to investigate how the photographs were displayed without administrative approval and who was responsible.
Critics said Jinnah’s opposition to Bengali as Pakistan’s state language made honoring him inappropriate at the university.
DUCSU leaders said the display documented historical events and included Jinnah’s opposition to Bengali rather than glorifying him.
- Who
- Dhaka University authorities, the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, student organizations, and protesting students.
- What
- The university launched an investigation into the display of Muhammad Ali Jinnah photographs and related historical materials at its reorganized museum.
- When
- The museum reopened on Sunday; protests occurred on Monday, and the investigation was announced on Tuesday.
- Where
- The reorganized museum at Dhaka University in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- Why
- The display triggered backlash because Jinnah opposed Bengali’s status and because the photographs were reportedly shown without university administrative approval.
Critics and Protesters
DUCSU Leadership
Meaning of the Jinnah display
Critics and Protesters
Critics said displaying Jinnah could glorify a figure who opposed the Bengali language and conflicted with the history of the Language Movement and Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
DUCSU Leadership
DUCSU leaders said the photographs were included to document historical events and that the display also referred to Jinnah’s opposition to Bengali, rather than praising him.
Administrative authorization
Critics and Protesters
The university said the photographs were controversial and unacceptable when displayed without administrative approval, and that those responsible could face action.
DUCSU Leadership
The DUCSU leadership defended the museum’s historical presentation, while the university committee is investigating how the material was displayed and who approved it.
Presentation of Bangladesh’s political history
Critics and Protesters
Critics focused on the apparent removal of prominent standalone photographs of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and objected to what they viewed as an inappropriate presentation of national history.
DUCSU Leadership
The reorganized museum retained images of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in family photographs and newspaper clippings, while DUCSU presented its materials as historical documentation.
- Institution
- University of Dhaka
- Student union
- The Dhaka University Central Students’ Union, whose council is dominated by Islami Chhatra Shibir
- Committee
- A five-member committee headed by Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Mohammed Almujaddade Alfasane
- Displayed material
- Photographs of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a Lahore Resolution group photograph, and a Dawn newspaper clipping about the 1970 general election
- Jinnah speech
- On March 21, 1948, Jinnah declared at Dhaka’s then Racecourse Maidan that Urdu would be Pakistan’s sole state language
- Protest action
- Fourth-year Urdu student Abu Tayeb Habildar tore down Jinnah photographs
- Related museum change
- Prominent standalone photographs of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were removed from some political-history sections, although other images of him remained