Leaders of the Chittagong University (CU) unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra Union have claimed that the decision to name a newly constructed residential hall at Chittagong University after Fazlul Quader Chowdhury contradicts the spirit of Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
They made this demand at a press conference on Wednesday at 4:30pm.
The event was held at the Sholashahar Railway Station in Chittagong, where the organization's General Secretary, Ifaz Uddin Ahmed, read out a written statement.
In the statement, he said that in the 559th syndicate meeting of the university on February 22, it was decided to name the newly constructed residential hall after Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, the father of war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, who was executed for crimes against humanity.
Fazlul Quader Chowdhury was accused of killing and torturing freedom fighters.
Both he and his son Salauddin Quader Chowdhury acted as key collaborators of the Pakistani military in Chittagong during the Liberation War.
He played a leading role in forming the Peace Committee, Razakar Force, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams forces in Chittagong.
The statement further said that on the night of March 25, 1971, when the Pakistani military began its mass killings, Fazlul Quader Chowdhury met with Governor Tikka Khan along with Muslim League leader Malik Mohammad Qasim.
They discussed ways to assist the Pakistani military and suppress the independence movement in then-East Pakistan.
Additionally, the statement alleged that Fazlul Quader Chowdhury’s residence, "Goods Hill," was used as a torture center for freedom fighters in Chittagong.
On December 18, 1971, while attempting to flee the country by boat, he was captured by freedom fighters at Gahira in Anwara Upazila.
He was later imprisoned in Dhaka Central Jail on charges of committing heinous crimes against humanity.
The student leaders demanded that instead of naming the hall after Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, it should be named after renowned scientist Jamal Nazrul Islam.
They said that naming a residential hall at Chittagong University after someone who opposed Bangladesh’s existence and was involved in killing freedom fighters contradicts the spirit of the Liberation War and should be changed immediately to honor scientist Jamal Nazrul Islam instead.
The press conference was attended by Sudipto Chakma, President of the Chittagong University unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra Union, General Secretary Ifaz Uddin Ahmed, Organizing Secretary Nayon Krishna Saha, Education and Research Secretary Sohel Rana, and General Secretary of the Chittagong District Committee Shubho Debnath, among others.
