Protest at midnight after Chhatra Shibir comes out on JU campus
A group of progressive students brought out a procession on Tuesday midnight to register a protest after Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, made its Jahangirnagar University (JU) unit public
The procession began from Botala area at 1:30 am on Wednesday, paraded across the campus and ended at the Shaheed Minar, followed by a brief rally. Nur-E-Tamim, a student of Anthropology department, moderated the rally.
Addressing the rally, Faiza Mehzabin, a student of Urban and Regional Planning department, said, “Jamaat-Shibir is the collaborators of the genocide in 1971. The hands of Jamaat-Shibir are blooded with the genocide of 1971 like the hands of Sheikh Hasina are blooded with the killings of the 2024 student-people mass uprising. They cannot deny the responsibility of this genocide. Chhatra Shibir as a terrorist organisation unleashed a reign of terror in the 1980s. Like in the past Chhatra Shibir tried to suppress and resist the general progressive-minded people on the campus, they dared rehabilitate again now.”
Saying that Chhatra Shibir has no rights to do politics in independent Bangladesh, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front’s JU unit organiser Shohagi Samia said, “We want to clarify that we hold responsible the organisations that went against the spirit of the 1971 liberation war more than the individuals who would do so. Today, you have come to do politics upholding that ideology in 2024; the organisations that never want independence and Bangladesh have no right to do politics in Bangladesh. The constitution states secularism. So, a student organisation in no way can do politics with religion in a secular state.”
Chhatra Union’s JU Sangsad (faction) president Amartya Roy said, “We never saw Chhatra Shibir to protest the issues like price hikes and killing of workers. They are busy in sharing Shahbag and Shapla Chattar. The political party that has blood in hands must come to politics through a trial, and that can be social or legal trial. For this, they must apologise to 14,000 students before coming to the campus.”
Emphasising to ensure an atmosphere conducive to healthy politics with participation from all parties in Jahangirnagar University, three leaders of Chhatra Shibir disclosed their political affiliations around 11:30 pm on Thursday.
A statement, signed by publicity secretary Abdullah Al Mamun, also known as Saki, introduced Harunur Rashid, also known as Rafi, as president, and Mohibur Rahman, also known as Muhib, as general secretary of the university unit.