A storm of criticism has erupted over the renaming of three residential halls at Government Edward College in Pabna, particularly over the decision to rename the "Suchitra Sen Female Dormitory" to "July 36 Female Dormitory."
Various social and cultural organizations in Pabna have also expressed outrage over the matter.
Dr Naresh Madhu, general secretary of the Suchitra Sen Memorial Preservation Council in Pabna, said: “This is not a political issue. Suchitra Sen is a renowned actress of the subcontinent and a matter of pride for the people of Pabna. Since she stood above all kinds of politics, there is no need to change the name that was given in her honor.”
"This is shameful for the people of Pabna and will have a negative impact on the cultural sphere. We want the dormitory to be renamed after Suchitra Sen once again.”
Gopal Sanyal, a former president of one of the district's leading cultural organizations, Pabna Drama Circle, and a US-based cultural activist, wrote on his Facebook page: “I strongly condemn and protest the renaming of the Suchitra Sen Female Dormitory at Pabna Edward College. I believe the culturally-minded citizens of Pabna will reject this decision.”
Jakir Hossain, president of the Ekushey Book Fair Celebration Council of Pabna and the Suchitra Sen Film Society, said: “The dormitory was named based on cultural and historical significance. Replacing that name with someone else's is highly disgraceful. I believe it is an insult to art and culture.”
In response, the principal of Government Edward College, Professor Md Abdul Awal said: “When the dormitory was originally named, most members of the academic council were against naming it after Suchitra Sen. The principal at the time had said the naming was done under diplomatic pressure from a neighboring country. That political group was a pressure group at the time and introduced this name into Edward College as part of their political agenda.”
He further added: “No educational institution in Bangladesh has ever named a student dormitory or hall after an actress. Suchitra Sen was not even a citizen of our country. So why should the dormitory for Edward College’s female students be named after her? There was strong opposition to this in the academic council back then, but their protest did not hold. The then-principal had reportedly proposed the name under pressure.”
Professor Abdul Awal further said: “Now that the academic council had the opportunity, they proposed to change the name, stating that their earlier demands had not been met. In light of the new administration and a new Bangladesh, we made the demand to change the name. The decision was made unanimously by all teachers and members of the academic council.
"In a subsequent meeting, the new name, July 36 Female Dormitory, was proposed and unanimously agreed upon.”
He said: “This new name was decided based on the consent of stakeholders, student organizations, and the residents of the dormitory. Those who are now speaking out under the banner of cultural organizations seem to reflect a specific ideological alignment.”
It should be noted that recently, three residential halls of Government Edward College have been renamed.
The former Sheikh Russell Male Dormitory has been renamed to Bijoy 24 Hall, Begum Fazilatunnesa Female Dormitory has been renamed to Ayesha Siddiqa (RA) Female Dormitory, and Suchitra Sen Female Dormitory has been renamed to July 36 Female Dormitory.
On Tuesday afternoon, the new name plaques were unveiled by the college principal, Professor Md Abdul Awal.
