(Aerial view of Jagannath University’s historic campus in Old Dhaka, reflecting more than a century of educational legacy at the center of the current debate over renaming and historical identity. Image: Wikipedia | Edited by The Times of Jumland)
A demand has emerged to rename Jagannath University as “Hadi University.” Before trying to understand the hidden reasons behind this demand, it is necessary to know the history of Jagannath University. Without this history, the real meaning of the controversy cannot be understood. So let us briefly look at how this university came into existence.
The history of Jagannath University begins in the late nineteenth century, during British rule in Dhaka. In 1884, Jagannath School was established in the city. The key figure behind its establishment was Jagannath Das, a well-known education supporter and philanthropist of Dhaka. He was not a teacher. He was a social worker who spent his own money to promote education.
As time passed, the school grew. The number of students increased, academic subjects expanded, and eventually the school was upgraded into Jagannath College. During the British period, the Pakistan era, and even after the independence of Bangladesh, this college continued to exist as one of the country’s important centers of education.
After Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, Jagannath College was brought under the national education system. Over the years, it produced many teachers, researchers, administrators, journalists, and nationally important figures. However, for a long time, it officially remained only a college, even though its number of students, subject diversity, and academic scope were comparable to those of many universities.
Based on this reality, in 2005, the government of Bangladesh decided to upgrade Jagannath College into a full public university. As a result, Jagannath University was formally established. The name was not changed because preserving the institution’s historical identity and legacy was considered important.
After becoming a university, Jagannath University developed faculties in arts, science, business studies, social sciences, law, and other disciplines. Research activities began to grow, and opportunities for postgraduate and higher education expanded. Despite limited space and infrastructure constraints, the university quickly became one of the country’s important public universities.
Today, Jagannath University is a secular, state-run public university. Students from all religions, ethnic groups, and social classes study here. The name “Jagannath” does not represent religious dominance. It simply refers to the name of a historical donor and symbolizes more than a hundred years of educational tradition.
In simple terms, Jagannath University represents a long journey from school to college, and from college to university. It is an institution that grew out of old Dhaka, carrying a continuous, education-centered history.
Now the central question becomes clear. Education lies at the heart of this university. Yet the controversy is being created around the name. “Jagannath” is a Hindu name, and for this reason alone, some people in a country where more than 90 percent of the population is Muslim find the name unacceptable. This is where the real problem lies. Not education. Not history. Only the name. That is why the name “Hadi” is now being proposed. If not Hadi today, tomorrow it will be someone else’s name. There is no end to this process.
An even more important question must be asked. If there is truly a need to name a university after “Hadi,” then Bangladesh has many universities that are not associated with any individual’s name. One of those institutions could be renamed instead.
So why is only one historic institution repeatedly targeted? Why must the name of the only university founded in the name of a historical donor, with more than a century of legacy, be changed to “Hadi University”?
Changing names to erase history is an old strategy of fundamentalism. We have seen this many times in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Indigenous lands were taken, and their original place names were gradually replaced with new ones such as Shal Bagan, Comilla Tila, Fate Nagar, and Wadud Palli. As the names changed, history also disappeared. Future generations will no longer know that these places were once Indigenous lands.
The attempt to rename Jagannath University as “Hadi University” follows the same pattern. The goal is not to improve education. The goal is to erase memory, change identity, and slowly make history invisible.
