After burying beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, agitated students replaced ‘Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall’ with ‘Shaheed Osman Hadi Hall’ at Dhaka University (DU) on Saturday night.

On Saturday night around 9pm, leaders of the hall union brought a crane to the site and removed the existing name and wrote ‘Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi Hall’ in its place.

At the same time, the portrait of Sheikh Mujib on the upper wall of the old building at the hall’s entrance was disfigured.

Earlier on Thursday night, students of the dormitory pasted posters reading ‘Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi Hall’ over the hall’s nameplate. 

Earlier on Saturday, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) announced a programme to besiege the Vice-Chancellor’s office at 2:30pm on Sunday, demanding the renaming of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall.

According to a media release signed by the DUCSU Literary and Cultural Affairs Secretary, the central student union announced to enforce the programme to press their three demands, renaming Mujib Hall as Shaheed Osman Hadi Hall, Fazilatunnesa Hall as Felani Hall, and taking administrative action against teachers, officers, and staff who took position against the July uprising.

Speaking about the removal of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall’s name, the hall’s Vice President Muslimur Rahman said those responsible for Hadi’s killing are linked to the fallen fascist forces, and Sheikh Mujib is the ideological father of those fascists.

“By removing Sheikh Mujib’s name and renaming the hall after Osman Hadi, we are showing respect for Hadi,” he said.

Despite identifying the killers, the government has failed to arrest the killers, he alleged, saying that “From our position, this is what we can do renaming the hall after Hadi.”

Muslimur claimed that they conducted an opinion poll where the majority of students supported the renaming of the hall.

Earlier on 3 September, the university administration partially changed name of the hall by removing ‘Jatir Janak’ and ‘Bangabandhu’ and set Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall.