The day when the architect of Bangladesh, undisputed leader and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975) with the then President of Pakistan General Yahya Khan (1917-1980) in the midst of high political tensions, had a closed door meeting on forming a new government after the general election on December 7 in 1970; concurrently Jahangirnagar University (JU) on an area of 750 acres of land at Savar, 20 miles away from Dhaka city, was preparing for its opening ceremony.
The day was Tuesday, January 12, 1971; Poush 27, 1377; Zilqad 14, 1390, afternoon. Vice Admiral of the Pakistan Navy Syed Mohammad Ahsan (1920-1989) announced the inauguration of Jahangirnagar Muslim University as the Governor and Chancellor of East Pakistan. Renowned chemist and Dhaka University Professor Dr Mofiz Uddin Ahmed (1921-1996) was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor (VC).
He expressed disappointment in his inauguration speech as, "It is not possible for the provincial government of East Pakistan to bear the cost of this university. The central government of Pakistan should have borne the cost of construction of this university." Despite the financial constraints of the provincial government, two universities are under construction there [in West Pakistan] with the funding of the central government, he added further.
He emphasized in an interview on the occasion, "Not only will the number of students meet the need; the main objective of this university is to improve the quality of education without lowering it further. It is a matter of regret that the quality of education in our country is deteriorating day by day." Therefore, the university is a result of a Master Plan in an effort to improve the quality of education.
Prof Mafiz Uddin took the charge as Vice-Chancellor from the Project Director during the construction phase on September 24 in 1970 and the 'Jahangirnagar Muslim University Ordinance, 1970' was issued about a month earlier on 20 August 1970.
In his speech, Admiral Ahsan emphasized, "This university is being established not only to reduce the pressure on Dhaka University but also to enhance the quality of education. Instead of producing technical personnel from a technical training factory, the university will be run as a breeding ground for ideals, values, national pride and heritage." The plan was adopted by the provincial government in early 1964, and approved by the National Economic Council in June 1965.
Although the foundation stone was laid by the then President Field Marshal Ayub Khan (1906-1974) at Salna in Joydebpur, the university took about 750 acres of land in Savar Upazila to establish the university by shifting its location in order to protect it from the growing industrialization and pollution in the area.
Meanwhile, the activities of the Islamabad University (later renamed as Quaid-e-Azam University in 1976) in West Pakistan started on July 22 in 1967 in which the budget was three times more and the area of the university was two and half times more than Jahangirnagar University respectively. Renowned architect Mazharul Islam (1923-2012), graduated from US (1952) and UK (1958), was tasked with formulating the Master Plan of the Jahangirnagar University in 1967 and was involved in the project till 1970.
He put red brick eco-friendly plans in keeping with the rippling red landscape and wetlands where he designed 17 halls for students, divided into four sectors, including academic, administrative and residential buildings with aesthetic and artistic beauty of the campus. With a view to full implementation by 1980, the construction work of the campus was started at an estimated cost of around Tk 30 crore.
Disappointing but true, only a fraction of the construction progress was made by the day of the inauguration and the allocation of funds was very meager, that is taka 72 lacs (1965-1971)! The political situation began to change rapidly within just two months of the inauguration of the campus, and the construction and development activities came to a halt as the great Liberation War broke out. Many of the admitted students participated in the war of independence as valiant freedom fighters.
The Master Plan of the university includes the construction of spacious stadiums for the purpose of imparting knowledge to the students as well as for the improvement of sports in the country. The Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) is currently located on the site of this allotted sports complex.
Ignoring the massive movement and strong opposition of students and teachers, the then military junta acquired more than 50 acres of land from the university by issuing an unprecedented ordinance on April 28 in 1984. At the founding stage, it was decided to teach 27 subjects, including 17 science-based subjects under 5 faculties--- Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Basic Sciences, and Faculty of Applied Sciences.
The proposal to establish the university in the 3rd Five Year Plan of East Pakistan was approved keeping in view the need to ensure the quality of higher education by constructing a full-fledged residential university with a capacity of 4,200 students.
However, the university was started later with 4 Honours departments viz Economics, Geography, Statistics and Mathematics with 26 teachers and 150 students in these departments. No female student was admitted in this first batch due to lack of residential facilities. Deep grief was expressed in remembrance of the untimely death of millions of people in the devastating coastal cyclone and tidal wave in the coastal areas just two months ago at the commencement of the university's inaugural ceremony on 11 November in 1970.
All kinds of inaugural decorations and gorgeous programmes were avoided, leaving the overall campus atmosphere quite simple. The inaugural ceremony was held on the premises of the Faculty of Business Studies where the Vice-Chancellor's first office and the founding departments were situated.
Prof Dr Md Shahedur Rashid, Department of Geography
and Environment,
Jahangirnagar University
