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DU unveils ‘Artanad’ memorial against guestroom abuse
Published : Wednesday, 7 October, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Observer Online Report
The Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) on Wednesday inaugurated a memorial titled “Artanad — Silent Cry” to commemorate students who faced physical and mental abuse under the university’s former political guestroom culture.
The memorial was inaugurated at the university’s Central Library premises on Wednesday (October 7), coinciding with the death anniversary of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Abrar Fahad. DUCSU Vice-President Abu Sadiq Kayem inaugurated it alongside Abrar’s father, Md Barkat Ullah.
According to the memorial’s design concept, “Artanad” was created as a reminder of reported abuse of junior students in residential halls, including intimidation, forced participation in political activities, verbal abuse and physical violence. The concept describes the memorial as a spatial testimony to students who experienced such abuse.
The memorial features a tall, triangular vertical slab representing the confined walls and restricted spaces associated with the guestroom culture. Its dark upper structure symbolises secrecy, darkness and psychological pressure, while white human hands emerging from beneath represent resistance, pleas and attempts at freedom.
Black hands incorporated into the design symbolise political power and dominance, while fragmented words, sentences and dialogues engraved on the surface represent the atmosphere of intimidation and control described in accounts of the guestroom sessions.
DUCSU General Secretary SM Farhad laid the foundation stone, while Assistant General Secretary Mahiuddin Khan named the memorial. Architect Nazmul and his team designed it, with DUCSU Science and Technology Secretary Md Iqbal Haider overseeing its overall construction and implementation.
Speaking at the inauguration, Abrar Fahad’s father Md Barkat Ullah said he could never forget the pain of losing his son, who was killed after expressing his views as a university student. He said the memorial would carry the memories of students who suffered political abuse and whose experiences often remained unspoken.
DUCSU Vice-President Abu Sadiq Kayem said the memorial was built to preserve the memory of students who suffered physical and mental abuse under the guestroom culture and to remind future generations of the need to protect students’ dignity, safety and rights.
The memorial bears the inscription: “The voice that was silenced now echoes through architecture.”
- MaT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
