Dhaka University, now and then

I started the journey from my own home, where I spent five years till 2009. It was room no is 113, in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall. The room, and some adjacent rooms, was found locked.

Peeping through the broken window shield, I found some beds, tables, and chair strewn in the room. But the beds had no mattresses, no sheets, and no pillows. There were no books or notebooks on the tables. Dust had settled everywhere.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the gono rooms (large rooms crammed with predominantly freshers) on the ground floor of the main building of Bangabandhu Hall, including Room 113, are no longer in use. Another building has been built beside it, named the July Martyrs Memorial Building. As a result, there is no longer a housing crisis in the hall, and the gono-room system has been abolished. Now, four people live in a four-person room. Two people no longer have to share a single bed. The situation is similar in other halls as well.

I remembered, in our four-person room, eight of us used to sleep on four beds. Sometimes four, sometimes six others would sleep on the floor. Room 113 was known as a “gono room.” At the time, the hall was controlled by the ruling party’s student organisation, Chhatra Dal of the BNP (during the caretaker government it was Chhatra League’s hall, but they didn’t have full control).

For those who don’t know, a gono room was a room where many students lived crammed. First-year students were placed in the gono room by the leaders of the ruling party’s student organisation. Alongside them, some harmless seniors were also forced to stay there. In our room, there were two postgraduate students.

Each student in the hall was allotted a bed, 33 inches wide. Two of us had to sleep on that 33 inches space. The entire night, we had to lie on one side; there was no space to lie flat. Because of my higher GPA in SSC and HSC, my name was at the top of the merit list for seat allocation in the hall. I chose Room 203. But I never got to live there. That room was occupied by a Chhatra Dal leader and his close associates.

On the evening of the 2008 national election, Chhatra Dal’s leaders and activists left the hall. Control then passed into the hands of Chhatra League. Until the July student uprising last year, Chhatra League maintained its dominance in the hall. I have seen poor students from villages living on the hall’s staircases, roof, and mosque; I have seen how students were subjected to hours of mental torture in the guest room under the pretext of being taught discipline and etiquette, how they were beaten; how one friend was forced to attack another with machetes; how, late at night, first- and second-year students were sent out in groups to harass couples sitting together or outsiders.

This is not a distant past—it happened until just before last July. Now, those things are almost gone. I asked Hasibul Hasan, a postgraduate student in the Department of Banking and Insurance, what one word he would use to describe this change. He said, “Amazing.”

When Hasibul first came to the hall, there were 40–45 students in one room. He too had to go to the guest room, and late at night he was taken out in groups to harass others. He said, “I’ve been on campus for seven years. I’ve never seen an environment like this.”

Even though the gono room and guest room culture is gone, problems at Dhaka University have not ended. Halls still serve low-quality food; there are security issues, especially for female students; housing shortages for female students persist; students from poor families need part-time employment; transportation facilities need improvement. There are more problems.

Against this backdrop, today the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and hall union elections are being held. The previous election in 2019 was controversial. Before that, the last election had been in 1990.
In the 1980s, students played a major role in the movement against Ershad. But after Ershad’s fall and the return of democracy, DUCSU elections were never held again. Whichever party was in power, its student wing controlled the halls. The administration was largely a puppet. After the July student uprising, things changed. DUCSU elections were arranged again.

In this election, candidates from major student organisations are in strong positions, but independent candidates are also competing equally. What matters most in winning votes is not just organisational affiliation, but what role the candidates have played in defending students’ rights. In many cases, personal reputation has become more important than party identity. For this reason, even student organisations have nominated candidates who are known for their own activities.

Afroza Zaman Fahima, a fourth-year student of Economics at Dhaka University, told Prothom Alo that before looking at a candidate’s party identity, or whether they’re male or female, students must look at their competence.

Do they have political awareness? Do they protest injustice? Do they value free thought? We need to know what they have done for students’ welfare in the past.

The panels have promised solutions to almost all student problems in their manifestos. They have gone door-to-door to reach voters. Online campaigning has been intense (including smear campaigns). All of this is to attract voters.

A single vote is very valuable, and candidates are leaving no stone unturned to win it. Another significant aspect is that voters have regained their power—something not seen in the last 15 years under the Awami League government. Back then, in national and local elections, candidates would go to party leaders instead of voters, spending large sums of money. Once they got the nomination, victory was almost assured.
What happened in the 11 March, 2019 DUCSU election was reported in Prothom Alo on 12 March.

It said that before voting began at 8:00am, independent candidates of Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall had demanded that the non-transparent ballot boxes be opened and shown. But the hall provost refused. The students then declared they would not vote. Later, the university proctor arrived and, along with the provost, moved the ballot boxes to a “reading room” next to the polling station. From there, students later recovered sacks filled with pre-stamped ballots.

The same tactic the Awami League used in the 2018 national election—stuffing ballot boxes beforehand—was used by Chhatra League in the 2019 DUCSU election. In this way, they won 23 out of 25 posts. Only the VP (Vice President) post was won by Nurul Haque, and the Social Welfare Secretary post by Akhtar Hossain, both outside Chhatra League.

So far, there have been no major allegations against the administration in this election. Some candidates had complained that the number of polling booths was too few. The university administration increased it from 500 to 810. Initially, there were plans to give a seven-day holiday before and after the voting day, which raised concerns that many students would leave Dhaka. The administration later canceled that holiday. Only on voting day will there be no classes or exams. During the counting, alongside candidates’ representatives, journalists will also be present. The entire counting will be displayed on electronic screens.

Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan told this reporter in his office yesterday that he wants to set a milestone. “We have nothing to hide,” he said.

However, if today’s voting and results are not conducted fairly and neutrally, all these efforts will be meaningless. In the DUCSU election of 3 September, 1973, voting was peaceful during the day, but in the evening ballot boxes were snatched. There was gunfire on campus throughout the night. Later, the university administration canceled the election. In DUCSU’s history, that election is remembered as the “ballot box snatching” election.

I met Sheikh Tanvir Baree Hamim, the General Secretary (GS) candidate from the Chhatra Dal panel, in front of the central library yesterday. Asked if he has any complaints, he said that an adviser posted on Facebook in support of a candidate. He cannot take sides like this. Other candidates too have raised allegations of bias.

I spent five hours at Dhaka University yesterday, talking to many people. Everyone said that in this election, no single panel has a clear advantage. And it’s hard to predict who will win. One thing is certain that the students will win. They will finally be able to choose their representatives.

Students want DUCSU elections to be held regularly. As Anika Tamjid, a resident student of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall, said: “DUCSU elections should be held every year at a fixed time. If that’s too difficult, then in every two years. But it must be regular.”

Even student organisations linked to political parties are now saying they want regular DUCSU elections. After the July student uprising, this itself is surely a big change.