A group of students from Dhaka University's Salimullah Muslim Hall (SM Hall) has demanded the construction of a new building for the hall.
On Wednesday they staged a human chain at the VC Square.
They also called for the immediate allocation of rooms for new students in SM Hall starting from the 2024-2025 academic session. The demonstration was followed by the submission of a memorandum to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof Saima Haque Bidisha, in the absence of VC Prof Dr Niaz Ahmed Khan.
This memorandum of the agitating students mentioned three basic demands to save and restore Salimullah Muslim Hall. The first demand is about an official announcement regarding room allotments for the newly admitted students in the academic year 2024-2025. The second demand is for taking the initiative to construct of another building to give proper accommodation to the students as well as assurance in terms of security. The third demand highlights the urgent need for renovating the existing building to make it habitable for students.
The memorandum rebukes the administration of the university for inaction towards constructing a new hall for SM Hall, at a time when there was ample space and building new halls elsewhere, and also notes that future decay of the hall would wipe away from memories one of the previous important legacies that form part of the heritage history of Bangladesh. Even posterity will not be able to comprehend that all-important chunk of their history. It even attributes the present administration to the continuing conspiracy by which the hall is now entangled, although the autocratic Hasina regime has been dismantled following the July uprising.
Sadman Abdullah, a resident of SM Hall stated, "Salimullah Muslim Hall is the only monument against Indian aggression. To close it would be to erase the legacy of Nawab Sir Salimullah from Dhaka University. If the hall is erased, so too would be his contributions. The fascist Hasina government attempted this, but we resisted."
He added, "To conserve the most ancient hall of Dhaka University, room allotments for the students commencing from the next academic session must begin as soon as possible. Furthermore, the construction of a new building to replace the old hall should begin right away so that the structure can be renovated to ensure its continuity."
Salimullah Muslim Hall, which happens to be one of the founding halls of the university, has been serving long as an essential residence and space for academic activities.
