24-hr ultimatum demanding RU VC's apology over 'jai hind' remark

At least three student alliances at the Rajshahi University placed a 24-hour ultimatum, demanding an unconditional apology from the university's Vice-Chancellor Prof M Abdus Sobhan for chanting  ‘Jai Hind’ at a university program recently.

The student bodies, known for their reactionary political views, also insisted the vice-chancellor to rescind his controversial remarks, that drew severe criticism in the country's  mass media.

In a joint statement, the Bangladesh General Students' Rights Protection Council, Rucsu Andolon Mancha, and RU Students Federation have issued the 24-hour ultimatum yesterday.

In the protest statement, they also condemned the incident of chanting ‘Jai Hind’, a slogan that denotes ‘Victory to India’ or ‘Long live India’ and was widely used during ‘Undivided India’s freedom movement from the British rule.

“Such behaviour by the vice-chancellor constitutes an element of  treason, and disloyalty to the nation-state. He [Prof M Abdus Sobhan] has undermined the office of the vice-chancellor and apparently lost the moral grounds of holding his post. Therefore, we demand unconditional apology to the nation from him,” the statement said.

Condemning the VC's controversial remark, the students of Rajshahi University lodged their protest in the strongest possible terms, and demanded immediate and unreserved apology to the nation.

Otherwise, emphasizing their time-bound ultimatum, the students threatened to wage wider movement against the vice-chancellor

RU  Vice-Chancellor Prof M Abdus Sobhan has concluded his speech with the catchphrase ‘jai hind’ at a program held at the Senate Bhaban of the university. He pitched the slogan Jai Hind following the utterance of Jai Bangla, Jai Bangabandhu.