Another beef feast at JnU

A beef feast was organised at Jagannath University for a second consecutive day yesterday, with the university unit of Bangladesh Khelafat Chhatra Majlis hosting the event under the banner of a “harmony feast”.

Organisers slaughtered a cow on the road between the vice-chancellor’s building and the mathematics department in the morning. Beef tehari was distributed in front of the Central Shaheed Minar from 3:30pm to 5:30pm, alongside a scheduled evening qawwali programme.

Students paid Tk 40 each to register for the feast. The organisers said they had bought the cow for Tk 85,000 and made arrangements to serve around 600 students.

Obaidul Islam, member secretary of the JnU unit of Bangladesh Khelafat Chhatra Majlis, said disagreements among students over a recent campus incident, along with “misleading information”, had created a negative impression of the university.

“Bangladesh Khelafat Chhatra Majlis organised this harmony feast to maintain goodwill and harmony among students of all religions and beliefs at the university,” he said.

Obaidul also described the event as a protest against what he called a communal decision imposed by the university administration.

University Proctor Prof Azam Khan said students had organised a beef feast on Friday as well, which took place peacefully despite objections from the administration.

“The Khelafat Chhatra Majlis also wanted to organise a beef feast. We initially did not want to grant permission. However, a leader of the organisation called the vice-chancellor and requested permission. It was later granted subject to certain conditions,” he said.

The back-to-back feasts followed a dispute over restrictions on cooking beef khichuri on campus. On Friday, leaders of the Shibir-dominated Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) and several other student organisations slaughtered a cow and distributed beef and khichuri in protest against the university’s restrictions.

The dispute began on the night of October 12, when students of the 2021-22 academic session of the Department of Islamic History and Culture arranged to cook near the campus open stage to celebrate completing their honours degrees.

As the site was close to the university’s central temple, several Hindu students objected. Allegations also emerged that bricks from the temple had been used to build the cooking stove.

The organisers later removed the bricks, built an alternative stove and apologised for the “unintended mistake”. The incident nevertheless prompted protests by Hindu students.

On October 14, the proctor’s office issued a notice directing students not to slaughter animals on campus, citing public health, cleanliness and the need to maintain a hygienic environment.

In protest, JnUCSU leaders and other students held a procession and rally that night. The following day, the university administration said students could organise activities on campus as long as they did not disrupt others’ activities.