University of Rajshahi was established in 1953, the second largest Public University of Bangladesh. Rajshahi University or University of Rajshahi (Bengali: āĻ°āĻžāĻāĻļāĻžāĻšā§ āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻŦāĻŦāĻŋāĻĻā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ˛āĻ¯āĻŧ Raajshaahi Bish-shobid-daloy) is a public university located in Rajshahi, a city in north-western Bangladesh. Rajshahi University was established in 1953, the second university to be established in what was then East Pakistan. The university's 59 departments are organised into nine faculties. Rajshahi University is located in a 753 acres (3 km2) campus in Motihar, 3 kilometres (2 mi) from the Rajshahi city centre. With 25,000 students and close to 1000 academic staff, it is one of the largest universities in Bangladesh. In addition to hosting programs in the Engineering, arts, sciences, agriculture, social sciences, business studies and medical sciences, the university houses a number of institutes of higher studies. This is the premier university in Bangladesh to have online subscription of world renowned journals. Contents
1 History
2 Emblem
3 Campus
3.1 Main campus
3.2 Other facilities
4 Art and architecture
5 Organisation and administration
6 Academics
7 Faculties
8 Departments with related Faculties at a Glance
8.1 Education and research
8.2 Institutes, library and press
9 Student life
9.1 Housing
9.2 Activities
10 Alumni and notable staff
11 Incidents and controversies
12 Notes
13 References
14 External links
History
Zuberi Guest house is named after the university's first vice-chancellor
The description on the memorial says,"Rajshahi University: Those who were martyred during the Liberation war". The first proposal to establish a university came in 1917, when Calcutta University created the Sadler Commission to assess the university system in Bengal. However, the recommendations of the report had no immediate consequences. Following the Partition of India in 1947, what is now Bangladesh became East Pakistan. University of Dhaka, established in 1921, was the only university in East Pakistan at the time. Demand for a university in the northern part of East Pakistan gained momentum when two universities were established in West Pakistan without the establishment of any in the east. Students of Rajshahi College were at the forefront of the movement demanding a new university.[4] Finally, Rajshahi was selected as the home for the second university in East Pakistan and the Rajshahi University Act of 1953 (East Bengal Act XV of 1953) was passed by the East Pakistan provincial Assembly on 31 March 1953.[5] Itrat Hossain Zuberi, the Principal of Rajshahi College was appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of the university. Initially, the university was housed in temporary locations, such as the local Circuit House and Bara Kuthi, an 18th-century Dutch establishment. B B Hindu Academy, a local school, housed the library, teachers' lounge and the medical centre of the university. The university started out with 20 professors, 161 students (of which 5 were female) and six departmentsâBengali, English, History, Law, Philosophy and Economics. In 1964, the offices moved to the permanent campus. The 1960s was a turbulent period in the history of Bangladesh, when demands for East Pakistani autonomy became stronger. The students and staff of the university started playing an increasing role in politics during this period. On 18 February 1969, Shamsuzzoha, a professor of the university was killed by the police when he tried to prevent them from shooting student demonstrators.[6] This date is now commemorated as Zoha Day.[7] During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the university campus was used as a base by the Pakistan Army. A number of professors, students and officers of the university were killed by the Pakistan army during this period. After independence, a new act regarding the administration of the university came into beingâthe Rajshahi University Act of 1973. The post-independence years saw the university grow steadily in student enrollment and size of the academic staff. However, the 1980s were turbulent years for the university, as the students agitated with other institutions of the country against the military rule of Hossain Muhammad Ershad. Since early 1990s, the university have seen relative calm and lowering of session backlogs, though active student politics remains a contentious issue to date. Emblem
The current emblem of the university was also selected. The circle of the emblem represents the world. An open book is shown in red and gold, red representing one of the colors of the national flag, and gold the value of education. The body of the book is blue, the color of the sky, and at the centre is a shapla flower (Nymphaeaceae), the national flower of Bangladesh. Campus
Main campus
The administrative building dominates the main entrance to the university
Shabash Bangladesh commemorates the Bangladesh Liberation War
The Shaheed Minar is perhaps the most well known landmark in the University
The university's main campus is located in Motihar, on the eastern side of the city of Rajshahi and a mile from the river Padma.[5] The campus area is nearly 753 acres (3.05 km2). Access to the walled-off university campus is controlled through three security gates. The campus houses eleven large academic buildingsâfive for the arts, business studies and social sciences, four for the sciences and two for agricultural studies. The central part of the university, accessible by the main gate, is dominated by the administrative building, where the offices of the Vice-Chancellor and other officials are located. This is flanked by the senate building and the residence of the Vice-Chancellor on one side (also featuring the famous Shabash Bangladesh sculpture) and the university mosque and Shaheed Minar complex on the other.[8] Behind the administrative building is the central library, around which the four science buildings and three main arts buildings are located. The science buildings are named numerically as the "First Science Building" and so on. The arts buildings are named respectively after Muhammad Shahidullah, Momtazuddin Ahmed and Rabindranath Tagore. More towards the east lie the stadium, the new teacher-student centre and the main auditorium. The Kazla gate provides access to the south-western part of the campus. The Juberi international guest-house, Rajshahi University School and the main residential facilities for the academic staff and university officers are located here.[8] Near the residential areas are all five dorms (known as residential halls) for female students. The eastern part of the campus houses the Institute of Bangladesh Studies, the medical and sports facilities and more residential facilities for the university staffâbut is dominated by the eleven large dormitories for male students. From the Binodpur gate, the residential halls named after Nawab Abdul Latif, Shamsuzzoha and Madarbux are located to the north, while Sher-e-Bangla hall and the oldest dorm Motihar Hall[10] lie to the west.[11] The second largest mass graves in Bangladesh from the 1971 war era is located behind Shamsuzzoha Hall. The campus contains a quite a few mango orchards. The Rajshahi area is regarded as one of the best mangoe producing areas in the country,[13] and these orchards are leased out to professional farmers during the summer, when the fruits grow. The campus also reflects the region's silk industry, fields of mulberry trees are to be seen in the campus, both for agricultural and research needs. The northern part of the campus houses a botanical garden, which has a good collection of rare plants.
