Most of the student organisations on Sunday opposed the ‘clandestine politics’ of Islami Chhatra Shibir on the Dhaka University campus.
The leaders of the student organisations expressed their views about Shibir’s activities at a meeting between the administration and the leaders of active student organisations on the issue of the existing ban on hall-level politics.
The organisations’ leaders shared the information after coming out of the meeting.
After the meeting, Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad’s DU unit convener Abdul Qader wrote on Facebook that his organisation opposed both open and covert student organisation activities in halls and academic areas.
While open politics could be stopped, he said covert activities were harder to curb, requiring disclosure and dissolution of such groups’ committees and members.
Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan on Sunday said that there was fear and apprehension among students about student politics in the university’s residential halls.
In his opening statement, the VC referred to tensions that arose among students early Saturday morning centering DU JCD’s hall committee announcement, saying the administration’s first priority was to resolve the matter through dialogue with all political organisations and general students.
The meeting saw a walkout by the leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League, a faction of Bagladesh Chhatra Union, and Chhatra Front as Shibir was present in the meeting without giving any statements, said Jabir Ahmed Jubel, the general secretary of Revolutionary Students’ Unity.
Besides, another faction of Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Biplabi Chhatra Moitree and Democratic Students’ Council walked out of the meeting after delivering their speeches.
After the meeting, DU unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir president SM Forhad said that they proposed framing a guideline for hall-level student politics based on the general students’ opinions.
A draft can be prepared, and if students agree, hall committees can be formed, he said.
Responding to questions on the walkouts, he said that they were not concerned about the departure of a few organisations from the meeting.
After the meeting, Chhatra Dal president Rakibul Islam Rakib said that general students had been traumatised by the activities of Chhatra League activists.
He claimed that his organisation had refrained from any untoward political activities over the past year.
He said that the university administration had acknowledged it.
He said that they had requested the authorities to take opinions from the general students over the issue.
Bangladesh Chhatra Adhikar Parishad also opposed hall politics, while most other organisations supported allowing it.
Shibir suggested that the decision should be based on students’ opinion, saying that most of the students might support hall politics, but the nature of activities should be decided through discussions.
The student organisations that attended the program include Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Bangladesh Gantantrik Chhatra Sangshad, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, Somajotantrik Chhatra Front, Chhatra Federation, among others.
The situation occurred after the announcement of Chhatra Dal’s committees in 18 halls of the university on Friday.
