This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject.(June 2015) |
The Student politics of Bangladesh encompasses the activities and culture among Bangladeshi students, mostly from the tertiary level of education, as part of the support they demonstrate for political parties at the national level.
Student politics in Bangladesh is reactive, confrontational, and violent. Student organizations act as armaments of the political parties they are part of. [1] So every now and then there are affrays and commotions. [2] Over the years, political clashes and factional feuds in universities killed many, seriously interfering with academics. [3] Women harassment is also a major problem of student politics. To relieve tensions, universities often must resort to lengthy closures, resulting in truncated and overcrowded classes.
The student wings of ruling parties run campuses and residence halls through crime and violence. They control access to amenities in residence halls, favoring fellow party members and loyal pupils; eat for free from nearby restaurants, and help themselves to products from shops nearby; practice extortion; and take money from freshmen. Further, they put pressure on teachers for payment in exchange for supporting to school administration their hiring and retention. [4] [5]
0n 23 October, 2024, The Ministry of Home Affairs' Public Security Division issued a gazette notification announcing a ban on the Bangladesh Chhatra League, invoking provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009, with specific reference to the student wing of Bangladesh Awami Leagues role in the July massacre. [6]
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a major political party in Bangladesh. Founded on 1 September 1978 by Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman with a view of uniting people with a nationalist ideology, BNP later became one of the two dominant parties in Bangladesh, along with its archrival Awami League. Initially a big tent centrist party, it later moved towards more right-wing politics.
The Islami Oikya Jote is a political party in Bangladesh and allied with the former Four Party Alliance.
Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir, popularly known as Chhatrashibir or Shibir, is an Islamist student organisation based in Bangladesh. It was established on 6 February 1977. The organisation functions as the de facto student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, with numerous former leaders advancing to hold prominent leadership roles within the party.
Bangladesh Chhatra League ; abbr.BSL/BCL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, simply called the Chhatra League, is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and designated as a terrorist organisation by the Interim Government of Bangladesh.
Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU) is the 12th oldest public university and second science and technology specialized PhD granting public university in Bangladesh. It is named after the political leader Mawlana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. The medium of instruction is English. Every year, 925 students are enrolled in undergraduate programs at the university, and there are around 243 teachers. In 2021, MBSTU was ranked as the top research university in Bangladesh by Scopus-SCImago institution ranking. In 2020, MBSTU was ranked first among all the universities of Bangladesh by Scimago Institutions Rankings.
The history of Bangladesh (1971–present) refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
The Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, formerly Rangpur University, is a public research university in Rangpur, Bangladesh. Founded in 2008, it is the only generally categorized university in Rangpur Division and the second public university in the region. It was named after the feminist writer and social worker Begum Rokeya.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, is the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatradal, popularly known as Chatradal or Chatra Dal, is a Bangladeshi student organisation affiliated with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Many of the top BNP leaders and policy-makers today were once closely associated with JCD and developed as student leaders.
On 5 February 2013, protests ignited in Shahbagh, Bangladesh, fueled by the call for the execution of the convicted war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah. Previously sentenced to life imprisonment, Mollah was convicted on five of six counts of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. Mollah supported the West Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and played a crucial role in the murder of numerous Bengali nationalists and intellectuals. The demonstrations also sought the government's ban on the radical right-wing and conservative-Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami from participating in politics, including elections, and a boycott of institutions supporting or affiliated with the group.
The 2013 Bangladesh Quota Reform Movement was a movement against incumbent government policies regarding jobs in the government sector in the country. The movement began in the same location that saw the 2013 Shahbag protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although initially confined to the locality of Shahbag and Dhaka University campus, it eventually spread to other parts of Bangladesh. It attained popularity as students of different universities in various parts of the country brought out processions of their own while demonstrating in solidarity with the main protest movement and pressing forward with similar demands.
Raufun Basunia, former Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, and the General Secretary of its University of Dhaka branch was a prominent student leader who led anti-dictatorship movement in Bangladesh and was killed by pro-junta activists. He was shot dead during a clash between Chhatra Sangram Parishad and Chhatra Samaj, the ruling Jatiyo Party-backed student wing in front of Mohsin Hall at University of Dhaka on 13 February 1985. His death provoked the anti-junta student activists, and the movement for restoration of democracy became even more radicalised and consolidated. It became so violent that the dictator Hussein Muhammad Ershad had to resign shortly afterwards.
The 1990 Mass Uprising, popularly known as '90's Anti-Authoritarian Movement, was a democratic movement that took place on 4 December and led to the fall of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in Bangladesh. The uprising was the result of a series of popular protests that started from 10 October 1990 to topple General Ershad who came to power in 1982 by imposing martial law and replaced a democratically elected President through a bloodless coup.
Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, commonly known as Nowfel, is a Bangladeshi politician. He was a member of the Awami League and one of the key cabinet ministers during the riot/uprising in Bangladesh known as July massacre as a result of month long violent clash between security and police forces and protesters including radicals from islamic and other parties during Sheikh Hasina's toppled regime. Following politically motivated cases filed by the interim government of Bangladesh during the Student–People's uprising of 2024 he is in exile for his safety.
1999 JU Anti-Rape Movement was a series of student protests against the culture of rape and sexual harassment in the Jahangirnagar University of Bangladesh. The movement initiated in 1998, when Bangladesh Chhatra League activists celebrated the 100th rape of women by their leader Jasimuddin Manik, who was the General Secretary of Jahangirnagar University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League. After a year-long protests dominated by female students, on August 2, 1999, Jasimuddin Manik and his armed cadres, accused of numerous rape and sexual harassments inside the campus were ousted from the university.
Mamunul Haque is a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and the Joint Secretary-General of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, emerged as an Islamist leader in the late 2010s, particularly following the deadliest events of the Siege of Dhaka. With an ancestral heritage of religious scholarship and political leadership from his father, Azizul Haque, he succeeded his father both as a Sheikh al-Hadith at Jamia Rahmania and as the Secretary-General of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis. He is best known for his oratory skills and his advocacy for the establishment of an Islamic state and the integration of Islamic principles into government policies. In 2020 and 2021, he led opposition to the construction of a sculpture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and organized anti-Modi protests, which made him the undisputed Hefazat leader overnight. He faced legal challenges, including 41 cases, one of which was a treason charge, and has been imprisoned three times under the Sheikh Hasina regime. Following the fall of this regime, he participated in discussions with the President and the Chief of Army Staff, which eventually led to the formation of the Yunus ministry, which included a member from Hefazat, A F M Khalid Hossain. In addition to his political and religious activities, he has served as an adjunct professor at Asian University of Bangladesh and is the editor of Rahmani Paigam, a monthly magazine published in Dhaka.
A series of rallies, demonstrations, and blockades opposing the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were held in Bangladesh from 19 to 29 March, on the celebration of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. Accusing Narendra Modi of committing crimes against humanity during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the protesters agitated against what they alleged were India's anti-Muslim policies and India's interference in Bangladeshi politics. Protesters demanded the cancellation of the Bangladesh government's invitation to the Indian Prime Minister. The otherwise peaceful protests turned violent when the protesters were attacked by the supporters of the ruling Awami League party along with a crackdown by the law-enforcement agencies, causing the deaths of several protesters throughout the last week of March 2021 in Bangladesh. Initially launched by progressive student organizations including the Bangladesh Students Union, Bangladesh Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad, and the Socialist Students' Front, the demonstrations were later joined by the Islamic group Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Chhatra League, formerly known as East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' political organisation in Bangladesh, which was banned by the government on 23 October 2024. The student wing of the Bangladesh Awami League has been repeatedly accused of using torture, extortion, violence, forced prostitution and killings to instill fear.
The 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement was a series of anti-government and pro-democracy protests in Bangladesh, spearheaded primarily by university students. Initially focused on restructuring quota-based systems for government job recruitment, the movement expanded against what many perceive as an authoritarian government when they carried out the July massacre of protestors and civilians, most of whom were students. Started as a student movement, the movement later escalated into a fully-fledged mass uprising known as the Student–People's uprising.
On February 19, 2013, Shah Ahmad Shafi, leader of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, published an open letter to the public and the government on the front page of Amar Desh. In the letter, he condemned the ongoing Shahbag protests, claiming they were tied to anti-Islamic activities. He accused the Ahmadiyya community and an anti-Islamic online group of involvement, naming individuals such as Shahriar Kabir, Muntassir Mamoon, Zafar Iqbal, Gholam Rabbani, and Ajoy Roy as responsible. Shafi called on the government to take action against these activities and urged the public to speak out against them. This letter marked Hefazat-e-Islam's entry into the political landscape, initiating the Islamist response to the Shahbag protests and leading to the development of its 13-point demand.