Student camp suddenly opened in Dhaka University, anti-discrimination student movement 'discomforted'
September 23, 20249 Mins Read
Jumbangla Desk: After a long time, Jamaat-e-Islami's student organization 'Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir' has come to light in Bangladesh's Dhaka University. In particular, a leader of the anti-discrimination student movement made his debut as the president of the student camp.

Abu Sadiq Qayyem introduced himself as the president of the Dhaka University branch student camp last Saturday.

At such a time Mr. Kayem revealed his political identity while the university was in talks to end student and faculty politics indefinitely. There are even proposals to permanently ban student politics.

In the meantime, bringing forward the identity of the leader of the student camp. Kayem has exchanged views with Dhaka University authorities, which is seen to be discussed and criticized in various quarters including social media Facebook.

Student organizations of other political parties active in Dhaka University, including BNP's student organization Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, have already condemned and protested the fact that the student camp came to the public and participated in the meeting with the university administration.

On the other hand, the general students Mr. Kayem was known as an active leader of the anti-discrimination student movement.

As a result, many of those who protested in the field following his leadership, now feel "cheated". Mr. again. Other leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement were "disturbed" after Qaim's identity was revealed.

"We were already there," said Mr. Kayem tells the BBC that he has been forced to keep his political identity a secret for so long due to circumstances.

But the question is, so far why the students' camp could not carry out the activities openly in Dhaka University? And now - or suddenly why they want to conduct public activities?

Politics was stopped As
political observers say, the open politics of the student camp in Dhaka University was stopped three decades ago.

"After the mass uprising of the 1990s, all teacher-student organizations came together to stop student camp politics in Dhaka University," author and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmad told BBC Bangla.

At that time, along with Chhatra Shibir, Jatiya Party's student organization 'Chhatra Samaj' was also declared closed.

"In the 1980s, all the students and teachers unanimously decided to ban their politics in the Dhaka University campus against the students and teachers due to the terrorist activities of the dictator Ershad's allies National Students' Society," Nahiduzzaman Shipon, general secretary of the Dhaka University branch of the Chhatra Dal, told BBC Bangla.

Analysts say that till 1971, Jamaat-e-Islami's student organization was called 'Islami Chhatra Sangh'. Jamaat and Chhatra Sangh also stopped politics because of the controversial role in the independence war of Bangladesh.

Then in 1977, in the changed political context, the student organization re-emerged under the name 'Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir'.

"Then in the eighties, they became active in universities in such a way that the rest of the student organizations began to see them as a threat," said researcher Mr. Ahmad

During that time several incidents of violence and killings also took place. Among them, a Chhatra Dal leader was killed in a 1989 attack at Jahangirnagar University, which was blamed on Chhatra Shibir.

Due to that incident, the authorities later banned the activities of student camps in Jahangirnagar University.

After that, Dhaka University also followed the same path. Although the Dhaka University authorities did not officially announce the ban on student camp activities like in Jahangirnagar.

"I have not heard that the university authorities have given a written order. As far as I know, the teachers and students sat together and decided not to allow the camp and student society to do politics in the Dhaka University campus," writer and researcher Mr. told BBC Bangla. Ahmad

What are the student organizations saying?
Although no written order has been given by the Dhaka University authorities, the student camp has not been seen to carry out much activity in the Dhaka University campus in the last thirty years.

"They couldn't do it because the rest of the student organizations were still united against them," said Mohiuddin Ahmad.

Although Shibir politics was stopped in the Dhaka University campus, later both Awami League and BNP political parties together with Jamaat-e-Islami, the student organization of their political party, were seen.

Jamaat leaders were even seen becoming ministers in 2001 as part of the BNP-led alliance.

Chhatra Dal leaders said that the leaders and activists of Chhatra Shibir could not spread influence on the campus.

But now their position has changed?

“The decision, which was taken by everyone on campus, remains unchanged. So, our position is the same as before," General Secretary of Dhaka University Branch Chhatra Dal said to BBC Bangla. the ship

And that's why the student organization of BNT condemned and protested about the coming of the student camp.

"We do not support the way the university administration has suddenly called the camp for an exchange meeting without discussing with the teachers and students. That's why I condemned and protested it clearly," said Mr. the ship

Similarly, student organizations of other parties, including the Left, have also protested.

"We didn't know that they called the camp to take their opinion. The camp met in the morning, we met in the afternoon,” Main Ahmed, General Secretary of the Dhaka University Branch Students' Union told BBC Bangla.

"Since there is a decision about them, they (student camps) cannot suddenly do open politics like this on the campus," he said.

If you want to do politics openly, first you have to make your situation clear about the issues that have been criticized and debated about their role, including the 1971, said Mr. Ahmed.

"Then the students will take the final decision whether Shibir can do politics on the campus or not," said the leader of the left-wing student body.

Leaders of two other left-wing organizations, Chhatra Front and Chhatra Federation, expressed similar views.

"With the protest, we also asked the Vice-Chancellor that how do they know the camp leaders when none of us know them on campus? But I didn't get a reply," Mozammel Haque, organizing secretary of the Samajtantrik Chhatra Front (Marxist), told BBC Bangla.

During the last one and a half decade rule of Awami League, Chhatra League took a strict stand against the politics of student camp in Dhaka University campus.

They also tortured the students on different occasions on 'camp suspicion'.

But after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in the face of mass agitation, the leaders and activists of the student organization are now known to have gone into 'secret'.

Bringing to the fore the controversial role of the organization's leaders and activists in the recent student movement, the rest of the student organizations have now demanded the closure of BCL politics in Dhaka University.

Attempts to contact several leaders of the central and Dhaka University branches of the Awami League student organization on the matter were unsuccessful.

This leader, one of the top leaders of Chhatra Shibir, said that even though 'we were already there'
, the organizational activities of the Chhatra Shibir did not stop in the campus.

“We were already there. Even after so much oppression and persecution by the fascist Awami League government, we are not finished," said Abu Sadiq Kayem, President of Dhaka University Student Camp, to BBC Bangla.

Mr. admitted to the university in the academic year 2016-17. Kayem recently completed his Masters in Political Science.

For the past five years, he has studied from the hall, and secretly carried out organizational activities.

"When Sheikh Hasina was in power, the culture of fear was created by torturing our leaders and activists in the Chhatra League campus, because of which we could not come out until now," said Mr. stay

Mr. Khagrachari, a resident of the campus before the start of the quota reform movement. Kayem was known to many as the former president of Chittagong Hill Tracts Students' Union and the founder of the Hill Society.

However, he himself said that he has been associated with student camp politics since his school days.

Then at the beginning of this year, he got the responsibility of president of Dhaka University branch.

"Now that the fascist Awami League has fallen, we want to do healthy politics on the campus based on consensus with all other organizations except them," the camp leader said to BBC Bangla. stay

Stating that the list of the full committee of the university branch of the student camp has already been finalized, he further said that the names will be published very soon.

Anti-discrimination students in 'discomfort'?
Camp leader Mr. Leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement say that Kayem has been 'uneasy' since revealing his political identity last Saturday.

"I had no idea about the camp politics he was associated with," Arif Sohail, one of the coordinators of the platform, told BBC Bangla.

He said that the other coordinators also did not know about this.

“After receiving the news, I also contacted the central coordinators. They also said they didn't know anything," said the coordinator.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement Platform, which spearheaded the recent mass movement in Bangladesh, became known to the general public as a non-political student organization.

The platform itself made the same claim when it debuted last July.

"That's why I think it's not right to hide the political identity here," said Mr. Sohail.

Camp leader Mr. What is the reaction of the rest of the coordinators of the organization after learning about Qaim? BBC Bangla wanted to know from him.

"We are all very uncomfortable about it, a bit embarrassed you can say," said the leader of the anti-discrimination student movement.

So now Mr. What is the decision regarding Qaim? Can he be associated with the anti-discrimination student movement?

“It will be very soon that we will sit the rest of the coordinators. After that, whatever decision is taken, everyone will be informed," said Mr. Sohail.

On the other hand, during the quota and anti-discrimination student movement, Mr. As the leadership has come to the fore, many of them now feel "cheated".

"Sadiq Kayem Bhai is the President of Dhaka University Student Camp, I feel cheated after knowing this," wrote a student named Mustafa Sunny on the social media Facebook.

Another student named Rekha Islam, expressing almost the same feeling, wrote, "As days go by, I am more and more surprised. I don't know how much more to see!"

In this regard, the president of the Dhaka University student camp. When Qaim was asked for his reaction, he told BBC Bangla, "I kept it a secret so that the unity of the anti-discrimination student movement would not be threatened due to the disclosure of the identity."

What are the university authorities saying?
In response to the demands of one side of the students, the University Syndicate decided to stop all kinds of party political activities of students, teachers and officials on the Dhaka University campus for an indefinite period on September 20. However, the university administration said that no final decision has been taken yet.

After that, the authorities called the leaders of the student organizations active in the university to get their opinion on the demand that student politics should be completely banned.

"Basically, we called the student organizations that played an active role in this mass uprising to get their views," Dhaka University Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed told BBC Bangla.

Among the ten student organizations that participated in last Saturday's meeting, only the student camp has not been seen to carry out its activities publicly.

So how to contact the leaders of the organization?

"We already had some information," said Mr. Ahmed.

If you want to know about this, however, the camp leader Mr. Kayem told BBC Bangla that he personally contacted the university administration immediately after the exchange meeting was announced.

"I met the new VC sir when I was working on the list of those killed in the movement and treating the injured," said Mr. stay

He also said, "After knowing that he will discuss with the student leaders, I went on my own to present my political identity, then he also invited me."

But what is the university administration saying about the objections of the rest about the student organization which has not been in public politics for a long time.

"The first thing is, we have not found any written document regarding the banning of student camps on the campus," Proctor said to BBC Bangla. Ahmed.

He further said, "So they should not be able to say that we discriminated against them for no reason." That is why the camp has been invited.”

However, the objection raised by the rest of the student organizations regarding the student camp is also being looked into by the authorities, the university informed.

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"We will not impose any decision on anyone. The final decision will be taken after discussing with everyone," said the proctor of Dhaka University.

In addition, the proctor told BBC Bangla that no decision will be taken to destroy the peace and order of the campus and the learning environment. Ahmed. Source: BBC Bangla