Students of Jagannath University (JnU) distributed beef and khichuri on campus on Friday (16 October) in protest against an administration notice restricting animal slaughter.
Goat meat was also arranged for students from other religious backgrounds.
Food distribution began at 3:30pm at the university cafeteria and continued for an hour through six booths. Organisers said around 1,200 students had registered online to participate.
The previous evening, students bought a cow for Tk1.25 lakh and held a procession with the animal on campus.
On Wednesday, the university’s proctor’s office issued a notice banning all animal slaughter on campus, citing public health, cleanliness and hygiene concerns. It warned that violations could invite action under a Dhaka South City Corporation public notice. Students protested the decision that night.
The dispute followed an incident on 12 October, when students of the 2021-22 academic session of the Department of Islamic History and Culture arranged to cook beef khichuri near the campus open stage to celebrate completing their honours degrees. The university’s central temple is nearby.
Some Hindu students objected, alleging that cooking beef in front of the temple hurt their religious sentiments and that bricks from the temple had been used to build the cooking stove. They staged a protest on campus.
The organisers said they had initially planned to cook in the cafeteria but switched to a wood-fired stove because of low gas pressure. After learning that the bricks used belonged to the temple, they removed them and brought an iron stove from the cafeteria. They also apologised for the unintended mistake.
The university administration said the proctor intervened to resolve the matter immediately, followed by discussions between the parties the next day.
Proctor (additional charge) Professor Azam Khan told TBS, “To maintain peace and order, we published the city corporation’s notice on animal slaughter as a university notice. Later, the students completed the programme in a decent and orderly manner, with the administration’s permission. with the administration’s permission.”
He added, “We had a meeting with the concerned parties the previous day. Decisions were made there on the next course of action. When the students sought permission from us, we gave verbal consent.”
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