Two posts from two different individuals appeared in response to the State Minister's comment on our country's oldest -- and, I argue, best -- educational institution, the University of Dhaka. While Prof M.A. Kawser argued against the Minister's argument, the other person threatened him, reiterating their same old saying -- we will protest and oust him if he, the minister, does not retract. I find this quite problematic.
Before I build my arguments and identify the fallacy of protesting, I should mention that I strongly oppose our Minister's speech. He holds a position in government, and a responsible statesman cannot say whatever he wishes without proper evidence or sources, especially when such a statement would unsettle the state's situation. That said, the Minister has since retracted his comments, calling them informal and spontaneous -- not policy or research-based. The retraction, I argue, was extracted through social pressure and threat, even his wife foresaw that during the Talk Show, not through an intellectual counter-argument. That distinction, and fear, is precisely what concerns me.
Working with BRAC University as a Research Assistant, I have seen firsthand the research rigor of one of the institutions that the Minister argued for. I cannot speak for the other, North South University, but BRAC University is doing splendidly in terms of publication. Their Quality Journal Publication Award recognised 145 published papers in 2025, of which 74 are ranked within the top 10% of Q1 journals, and the remaining 71 are in the top 15%. Mere numbers do injustice to the soft power of these works in policy implementation and the academic production of our country. In contrast, I could not find similar Q1 publication data from Dhaka University's end -- which they should have released somewhere that a quick Google search would enable us to find; one data point indicates that last year the university produced around 1,200 articles. It can therefore be concluded that both universities are doing great in the field of academia, and as a fellow Bangladeshi, I am proud of both institutions; the minister should be, too.
To add to that, honestly, these numbers can never truly explain the impact of these institutions on my country. I am who I am today because, and probably only because, one of my family members went to Dhaka University. University education changes the life of the whole family and brings about dramatic change. However, it can also instil a false sense of pride -- a pride that blinds us and inhibits our ability to acknowledge. The person who wanted to raise placards and call hartals against the Minister is, to me, a result of that pride. They diminish the trust and effort vested in them by us, the citizens of Bangladesh, and betray the very people they should have served with the FREE education they received.
I understand one may argue that big words do not serve in real life, and protest is the solution. Who would disagree that Dhaka University's rebellious mindset helped us establish justice in '52, '66, '69, '71, '90, and '24? One may even extend that further, claiming they are the reason Bangladesh exists. I wholeheartedly agree with that claim, goodwill, and love for justice the institution represents. But when someone -- a minister in the educational field -- questions your institution's academic rigor, a claim that has been raised before, the first response that came to mind was to threaten him with physical retaliation. This is not the same as fighting an authoritarian regime, economic injustice, or social oppression, is it? That is argumentum ad baculum -- an appeal to force -- substituting the scope for argument. These very people defending their institution, their pride, by threatening to protest, should also acknowledge their own hypocrisy -- for it is these people, in private, who are the first to say "eikhane kono porashuna nai, sir ra kono kaajer na, poraite pare na, undergrad e research scope nai bollei chole."
Fighting for national liberation and fighting against an academic critique levelled at your institution are entirely different things. At one, you hold the stick and raise your voice; at the other, you must hold the pen. But I argue - do you, yes, you, even know how to hold that? And how long will you keep blindfolding yourself?
