Lesson 3/44 min
DU firsts and vice-chancellors
Firsts of Dhaka University
| What | Who / when |
|---|---|
| First Vice-Chancellor | Sir Philip Joseph (P. J.) Hartog |
| First Muslim and first Bengali Vice-Chancellor | Sir A. F. Rahman (the third VC, per Zubair) |
| First VC who was a student of DU | Dr. Syed Moazzem Hossain |
| First Pro-VC | Mafizullah Kabir |
| First woman Pro-VC | Jinnatun Nesa Tahmida Begum |
| Pro-VC post created | 1976 |
| First Registrar | Khan Bahadur Nazir Uddin |
| First woman student | Lila Nag (English department; enrolled in the M.A. in 1921, degree in 1923) |
| First Muslim woman student | Fazilatunnesa (Zoha), Mathematics |
| First woman teacher | Karunakana Gupta, History |
| First woman dean | Begum Azizunnesa (Bangla department) |
| First head of Sanskrit and Bangla | Haraprasad Shastri |
| First woman doctorate from DU | Dr. Nilima Ibrahim |
| First academic calendar | 1993 |
Did you know?: Fazilatunnesa was the first Bengali Muslim woman to go abroad for higher studies; Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote the poem ‘Barsha Bidai’ on her departure. Lila Nag received the ‘Padmabati’ prize.
Some notable vice-chancellors
| Vice-Chancellor | Note |
|---|---|
| P. J. Hartog | The first; earlier Academic Registrar of London University |
| G. H. Langley | The second; served the longest |
| Sir A. F. Rahman | The third; the first Bengali and first Muslim |
| R. C. Majumdar | The fourth; a historian; an auditorium at DU bears his name |
| Syed Moazzem Hossain | VC during the Language Movement |
| Dr. Mahmud Hossain | His brother Dr. Zakir Husain was India's first Muslim President |
| Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury | VC during the Liberation War and the 1969 uprising; later the first constitutional President; wrote ‘Probashe Muktijuddher Dinguli’ (1990) |
| Moniruzzaman Miah | VC during the 1990 uprising (Zubair) |
Watch out: Zubair's ‘current VC’ is Dr. Akhtaruzzaman (the 28th). Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan became VC on 26 August 2024; after his resignation, physics professor ABM Obaidul Islam took charge in March 2026 (news reports). Office-holders change, so this is not in the quiz.
First chancellor and convocation speaker
- Both books give Lord Dundas as the first chancellor; he also received the first Doctor of Law (Zubair, 1922)
- The first convocation speaker was George R. Bulwer Lytton
Watch out: Some sources call Lord Lytton the first chancellor; he addressed the first convocation in 1923 as chancellor. So this point is not in the quiz.
Liberation and free thought
- The VC during the Language Movement was Syed Moazzem Hossain (Zubair says he was also VC when Bangabandhu was expelled)
- Govinda Chandra Dev of the Philosophy department was martyred in the Liberation War
- On the night of 25 March, massacres were carried out at Jagannath Hall and Iqbal Hall (now Zahurul Haque Hall)
- The education movement began on 17 September 1962
- The Muslim Sahitya Samaj began in 1926 in the Muslim Hall Union room; its organ was ‘Shikha’ and its motto ‘freedom of the intellect’
Check yourself
Who was the first VC of DU, and who the first Muslim VC?
At a glance
- 1
First VC: P. J. Hartog; first Muslim and Bengali VC: Sir A. F. Rahman.
- 2
First woman student Lila Nag; first Muslim woman student Fazilatunnesa; first woman teacher Karunakana Gupta.
- 3
The first VC who was a DU student: Syed Moazzem Hossain (the VC during the Language Movement).
- 4
The VC during the Liberation War was Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury.
- 5
The Pro-VC post was created in 1976; first Pro-VC Mafizullah Kabir.