THE decision of the Khulna University of Science and Technology to uphold the ban on student politics amid clashes allegedly between Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the Students Against Discrimination appears shortsighted and it carries the risk of curtailing students鈥� right to organise on campus. The clashes took place on February 18 over restrictions on student politics on the campus put in place since the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024. While the Chhatra Dal blames the activists of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, the latter squarely blames Chhatra Dal. Students keep holding protests demanding a strict enforcement of the ban on student politics, the resignation of the vice-chancellor and punishment for the people involved in the attacks. The demands of the students stem from their sense of insecurity rooted in the violence perpetrated by the ruling party student organisations, the reign of terror unleashed by the Chhatra League during the Awami League regime.
In addition to the ban on student politics, the university administration has also decided to penalise students for their involvement in any form of politics and to expel students for being involved in politics. The penalty criminalises student organisations. This is in direct conflict with the constitutional right to organise. The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology took a similar move when a student was beaten to death by Chattra League activists at a university hall in October 2019. The anti-ragging policy of the university immediately after the murder also imposed a ban on student politics. In all public universities, there are instances of physical assault on general students leading to loss of eyesight or even death. What is needed is not the criminalisation of student politics at large, but an effective step to dismantle the partisan administration that tolerates hooliganism and violence on the campus. The ban on student politics, therefore, shows the lack of political commitment of the university administration to ensure an academic environment in which students of various ideological orientations can organise and co-exist.
The demand of the students for a safe campus is justified but it should not come by curtailing the right to organise. The university administration everywhere should acknowledge the need to eliminate criminality from student politics, not to criminalise student politics per se. All stakeholders should recognise the glorious legacy of student politics from the language movement to the most recent uprising of 2024 and act to restore democratically oriented student politics on campus.
