Amid ongoing protests in Bangladesh, multiple videos (here, here, here, here, and here) are going viral on social media platforms, claiming that Hindu professors are being ‘forced to resign’ by Muslim students or protestors. In this article, let’s fact-check the accuracy of these claims.
Claim: Visuals of Hindu professors being ‘forced to resign’ by Muslim students in Bangladesh.
Fact: These videos do not show Hindu professors being ‘forced to resign’ in Bangladesh. Viral Video 1 depicts Professor Dr. Abdul Bashir, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Dhaka University, being forced to resign by students due to his alleged involvement in attacks on Dhaka University students and for previously attempting to punish those who participated in a Quran recitation program on campus during Ramzan. Viral Video 2 shows Taufiq Islam, a municipal executive engineer in Chapainawabganj district, being heckled by student protesters and later forced to resign after two packs of cigarettes were found in his office drawer. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Bangladesh has witnessed deadly protests that began in July 2024 as an anti-quota movement. Recently, these mass protests have evolved into a major anti-government uprising. The situation escalated when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Protesters forcefully entered her official residence in Dhaka, looting and vandalizing the premises (here & here).
Reports have emerged that protesters, including Bangladesh Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, compelled major officials to resign. Following the Chief Justice’s resignation, two Appellate Division judges, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Justice Kashefa Hussain, also stepped down. Amid these incidents, multiple videos are being shared claiming that Hindu professors are being ‘forced to resign’ by Muslim students or protestors. We fact-check some of these videos.
Video-1:
To learn more about this viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to the original video, shared on YouTube by a Bangladeshi satellite television channel named ‘Maasranga News’ on 19 August 2024. Upon observing the viral video, we also noticed the ‘Maasranga News’ logo. The title and description of the video state that it shows the resignation of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of Dhaka University.
Following this lead, we conducted a relevant keyword search to learn more about the incident. This search led us to several reports. A report by ‘Dhaka Post’, published on 19 August 2024, identifies the man as Abdul Bashir. This report also includes a video of the incident from a different angle, showing the same man reading the Quran and another man seated at a desk. According to this report, Dr. Bashir, the Dean of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Arts, resigned following student protests. The students had been protesting Bashir’s actions against those who recited the Quran during the month of Ramzan.
According to a report by Dhaka Tribune, students of Dhaka University forced Professor Dr Abdul Bashir to resign due to his alleged involvement in attacks on Dhaka University students and for previously attempting to punish those who participated in a Quran recitation program on campus during Ramzan. After his resignation, a recitation from the Quran took place, followed by a prayer for peace and discipline at Dhaka University and across the country. Additional news sources that identify the man in the video as Professor Dr Abdul Bashir, the Dean of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Arts, can be seen here & here. From this information, it is clear that the man in the video is Professor Dr. Abdul Bashir, the Dean of Dhaka University’s Faculty of Arts, a Muslim.
Video-2:
To learn more about this viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a news report published by the Bangladeshi media outlet bdnews24.com on 21 August 2024, featuring a screenshot from the viral clip. According to the report, a group of youths forced a government official at Chapainawabganj municipality to resign after finding two packs of cigarettes in his office drawer on 19 August 2024. The official was identified as Taufiq Islam, an executive engineer with the civic body. The action against him was led by Ismail Hossain Sirazi, a local leader and advisor to the organizers of the anti-discrimination student movement in Chapainawabganj. According to Municipal Executive Officer Mamun Aur Rashid, who spoke with bdnews24.com, Taufiq Islam became ‘unconscious’ during the event and was subsequently taken to the hospital by office staff.
Additional news reports about this incident can be seen here and here. These reports also identify the man in the video as Taufiq Islam, an executive engineer at Chapainawabganj Municipality.
To sum it up, these viral videos do not show Hindu professors being ‘forced to resign’ in Bangladesh.
