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University of Dhaka : ‘The Oxford of the East’

The University of Dhaka (commonly referred to as Dhaka University or just DU) is a public research university in Bangladeshi Established in 1921, University of Dhaka is the first university of the Bangladeshi nation. Given the political history of Bangladesh, it is believed that had the University of Dhaka not been established in 1921, there would not have been today's Independent and sovereign Bangladesh. With more than 32,000 students and 1600 teachers, it is the largest university in the country, and popularly known as 'the Oxford of the East'. Almost ninety percent members of the country's public service come from the University of Dhaka,while the university enjoys the highest allocation of the government's education fund. The University of Dhaka was created to provide an alternative to University of Calcutta for the people of the then East Bengal as most of the colleges were located along Calcutta. The formation of University of Dhaka is largely credited to Nawab Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, himself a student of the hallowed St. Xavier's College, Calcutta affiliated to University of Calcutta. Thus in 1921 under the aegis of Nawab Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, The University of Dhaka opened its doors on July 1, 1921 under three faculties : Arts, Law and Science. Since then University of Dhaka has played a major role in defining education in Bangladesh and during its prime years was known as 'Oxford of the East'. Although the University of Dhaka has lost its global recognition it once commanded but by far continues to remain most popular university in Bangladesh as it bagged the best service/education sector brand in the country. According the 2010 QS World University Rankings, University of Dhaka remains outside the top 500 universities of the world. However in the same ranking, University of Dhaka is placed among the top 100 Asian universities in engineering. The last time University of Dhaka made into the top 500 was in the 2006 edition of QS Rankings. University of Dhaka is one of the leading research institutes in Bangladesh as, according to WoS (Web of Science), research in Bangladesh is dominated by two institutes: the University of Dhaka and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) publishing 18% and 17% of all Bangladesh's publications, respectively. Curzon Hall - House of Science Faculties The University of Dhaka was established in 1921 under the Dacca University Act 1920 of the Indian Legislative Council, it is modelled after British universities. Academic activities started on July 1, 1921 with 3 faculties, 12 teaching departments, 60 teachers, 847 students and 3 residential halls. It is believed that a combination of political, social and economic compulsions persuaded the government of India to establish a University at Dhaka 'as a splendid imperial compensation' to Muslims for the annulment of the partition of Bengal. The first vice-chancellor of the university, Dr., later Sir, Philip Joseph Hartog, a former academic registrar of the University of London for 17 years and a member of the University of Calcutta Commission, described this phenomenon as the 'political origin' of the institution. The Partition of Bengal in 1905 provided the Muslim majority community of East Bengal and Assam with a sphere of influence of their own and raised new hopes for the development of the region and advancement of its people. But its annulment, barely six years later due to stiff opposition from the powerful Hindu leadership, was viewed by Muslims as 'a grievous wrong'. A deputation of high ranking Muslim leaders, including Sir Nawab Khwaja Salimullah, Khan Bahadur Chowdhury Kazimuddin Ahmed Siddiky, Nawab Syed Nawab Ali Choudhury and A. K. Fazlul Huq, met Lord Hardinge, the then Viceroy of India, on January 31, 1912 and expressed their fears that the annulment would retard the educational progress of their community. As compensation for the annulment of the Partition, as well as protest against the general antipathy of Calcutta University towards Muslims, the deputation made a vigorous demand for a university at Dhaka. In response, Lord Hardinge acknowledged that education was the true salvation of Muslims and that the government would recommend the constitution of such a university to the Secretary of State. This was confirmed in an official communiqué on February 2, 1912. Initially, the university under the British administration worked hard to build up an outstanding record of academic achievement, earning for itself the reputation for being the 'Oxford of the East'. The university contributed to the emergence of a generation of leaders who distinguished themselves in different occupations in East Bengal. Until the Partition of India in 1947, it maintained its unique character of being one of the few residential institutions of higher learning in Asia. In 1947, it assumed academic authority over all educational institutions above the secondary level falling within East Bengal. In the process, it became a teaching-cum-affiliating institution. This transformation, coupled with its unprecedented growth in the years that followed, put strains beyond reckoning on its human as well as material resources. A new phase began in the history of the University with the emergence of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in 1971. This has been a phase of development, expansion and consolidation of earlier gains. The University assumed a central role in the academic pursuits of the region including this new nation. Today, there are 13 faculties, 66 departments, 9 institutes, 34 research centres, 1,600 teachers, about 30,000 students, 18 residential halls and 2 hostels. Two-thirds of the present faculty possesses degrees from universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Many of them achieved international reputation for their scholarly works. Many also have the experience of teaching in well-known institutions of higher learnin