Dhaka University (DU) launched a three-day programme to restore and repaint the 'July graffiti' - art painted on walls during the July Uprising of 2024 - displayed on walls across the campus in an effort to preserve an important historical record.
DU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. A.B.M. Obaidul Islam inaugurated the restoration campaign at the main gate of the Vice-Chancellor's residence today.
Among others present at the inauguration were Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Dr. Mohammed Almujaddede Alfasane, Treasurer Prof. Dr. M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts Prof. Dr. Md. Azharul Islam Sheikh, Proctor Md. Israfil Prang, Director of the Arbory Culture Centre Prof. Dr. Mohammad Jasim Uddin, along with teachers and students.
The repainting and restoration work will continue from August 1 to 3, covering graffiti along the route from the Vice-Chancellor's residence to Rokeya Hall. According to the university, the initiative aims to preserve the original character, message and significance of the artworks. Registered students and artists are taking part in the programme.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Vice-Chancellor said the July graffiti bear testimony to the misrule of the ousted fascist government and are being preserved to keep alive public memories of its repression and persecution.
Recalling the events of July and August 2024, he said young people and ordinary citizens had taken to the streets in protest against the injustices and oppression of the then government. He alleged that the authorities responded with violent attacks on civilians in an attempt to silence their voices.
He further said the protests saw people from all political parties and different professions unite, with many carrying the bodies of their loved ones in demonstrations against the violence. Referring to the July mass uprising, he claimed that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country after the movement, but only after more than a thousand innocent people had lost their lives.
The Vice-Chancellor said patriotic students had expressed the brutality and repression of the then government through graffiti painted on walls across the country during the July-August movement, adding that those artworks now stand as a living chapter of Bangladesh's history.
"We may not remain, but Bangladesh will endure for centuries. Through these graffiti, future generations will remember those blood-stained days and carry forward the anti-fascist spirit of July," he said.
He urged everyone to remain vigilant so that fascism does not re-emerge in the country and called on citizens to support the current government's efforts to build a discrimination-free society from their respective positions.
The Vice-Chancellor also thanked all students and artists involved in creating the graffiti.
