Interview: Syed Manzoorul Islam
The opportunity for state repairs has come again
Syed Manzoorul Islam is an educationist and emeritus professor of Dhaka University. In an interview with Prothom Alo’s AKM Zakaria he talks about why the ongoing quota reform movement transformed into a mass movement, about the crisis in student politics and teacher politics, the failure of the political parties over the past three decades and other issues.
How would you explain the events taking place in the country over the past few days?
It is difficult to even believe what has happened. The students’ movement for quota reforms had been centered on a few universities was peaceful. Their demands were justified and I had felt that since they had been demanding quota reforms, not abolition, the demands would certainly be met. But from the very outset the students were viewed as opponents and force was used in an attempt to suppress the movement. This simply served to exacerbate the movement. The ruling party leadership failed to understand the anger and the emotions of the students. They also failed to understand that the movement could take on such proportions. The court ruling finally was passed quickly, but there had been delay in the beginning. As a result, the movement grew more intense and at one point went out of the hands of the students. What happened next was shocking. It is difficult to come up with a logical explanation for this.
The conscious sections of society feel that the quota reform situation could have easily been resolved. The movement had been peaceful. Such a consequence hadn’t been expected. Who is responsible?
Syed Manzoorul Islam: The situation certainly could have been tackled very easily. The movement was not just about jobs in government service to be based on meritocracy. It was a matter of long pent up anger and frustration. We have had economic development, but inequality has increased. There is widespread poverty at the marginal level. The channels for free thinking have been blocked for the students in the universities. They have no way to express any dissenting views. The instinctive qualities and expressions that make youth indomitable were neglected. And so there were all indications that their agitation could go out of hand at one point, but the government leadership made no effort to read that correctly. So, primarily the fault lies with the government.
But the blame for the destruction that took place also lies with the political parties that used the protests of the youth as a shield in their fight against the government. But it was inevitable that these parties would grab such an opportunity. Why did the government fail to grasp that?
But the blame for the destruction that took place also lies with the political parties that used the protests of the youth as a shield in their fight against the government. But it was inevitable that these parties would grab such an opportunity. Why did the government fail to grasp that?
I certainly agree that there have not been so many lives lost, so much bloodshed in any mass movement. One reason is that the politics continuing on for three and a half decades has become detached from the people. Our elections are questionable, there is no multiparty participation and so no active parliament. Transparency and accountability are absent from such politics. The blames lies on each and every political party, but most of all upon those who run the government. There is no participation of the youth in our politics. It is the older persons who rule politics. This politics is unable to understand the youth.
On top of that, unreined corruption, lack of justice, widespread looting, syndicates’ control of the market, excessive centralization and vested interests derail politics. Such politics place the law enforcement in confrontation with the people.
You are a teacher. Dhaka University basically was at the centre of the Students against Discrimination movement. The students have no end of complaints against the administration and the teachers. There are complaints that they failed to protect the agitating students from the onslaught of the police and Chhatra League. Under such circumstances, how much liability does a university teacher or the university administration have?
Amidst so much despair, I place my hope in the youth. The complaints being made by the students are correct, but there are also many young and vigilant teachers by their side too. But overall, the space for university’s teacher community and the administration to support their demands was destroyed with the “restoration of democracy” when everything began to go under government control. Appointments to senior positions were made on political consideration. This was reflected in the recruitment of teachers too. The vice chancellors began to simply acquiesce to all decisions taken by the government. The teacher associations lost their independence and vigilant character. The ruling party student fronts established control in all the halls. DUCSU-CUCSU all went into cold storage. No one any longer expects the administration or the teachers association to take any decision that will displease the government.
Dhaka University teachers had begun a movement from 1 July with certain demands. The students’ movement against discrimination began at the same time. Had the teachers stood by the students’ side, lent their support, the movement would have been resolved long ago. The teachers would have regained their lost honour to a great degree.
As a senior teacher I too bear the liability for these allegations.
At one point of time the agitating students ousted Chhatra League from the various halls and wrecked their rooms. Was this a reaction to the absolute control of Chhatra League in the halls, the gono (mass) rooms and the torture cells? The university administration must take responsibility for allowing all this to happen. Do you think this administration has lost the moral right to carry on with its duties?
When the students took up the quota reform movement, there were many more reasons behind it, such as their lack of rights, the steady shrinking of their political space and the domination over them in the all, as well as all that you mentioned. These are long-standing problems. When government changes, the ruling party’s student wing takes up the same role. This has gradually grown and become impenetrable. For as long as the government takes no action, no administration will be able to take control of things. Much has been said and written about the inhuman sufferings the students have to undergo, but no steps were taken to address the issue. The day from when we teachers became involved in politics, we lost our independence and our moral standing. But I have hope. This situation will change.
You were outside of the country during this movement. The government blocked internet and cut the country off from the rest of the world. Countries like North Korea or Myanmar act in such a manner. What were you thinking, outside of the country? How did the people there view this?
Communications were completely cut off and so it was a suffocating time, alarming and fearful. I understood the government will try to control this movement and so it would take a violent turn, but I could never imagine it would be so suicidal, that so many lives would be lost.
How could this Bangladesh of which we are so proud, become so youth-unfriendly? I was in the US at the time. The people there know very little about Bangladesh. There news media is busy with all sorts of breaking news. Whatever little news of Bangladesh I noticed was mainly about the violence.
The quota has been reformed and so ostensibly the demands of the students have been met. But many say that after so many deaths, the matter is no longer restricted to that. What do you say?
It is now clear that many demands have been added to the basic demand of the students and as time passes, the list of demands will grow longer. But it is not as if the movement was simply about reforms from the very outset. It included various demands of the youth pertaining to their rights as students, as citizens. The students have taken to the streets to retrieve their lost political identity, their self-identity. This was clear and there was no reason for this not to be understood.
So what will the government do? Do you thing the government will accept all the demands of the students now?
I do not think they will accept all the demands. But the government should understand, these students are not their opponents. They are the voice of youth, the future of the country. Confidence must be placed in them, discussions must be held with them. Acquiescing to their demands will take Bangladesh ahead, make it more democratic and humanitarian. I hope that the government is sincere in initiating dialogue, but it must be on a level playing field. All those behind bars must be released. The cases against them must be withdrawn. The actual criminals responsible for the arson and terror must be caught and tried, but the students must not be tortured at any cost. That must be ensured.
The government is assuring that there will be investigations into all these deaths and that justice will be done. But we seen on the contrary, more cases are being filed against the demonstrators. Everyone saw how Abu Sayeed died, yet a young boy was detained for 12 days in that killing case. Do you really think that the government will investigate these killings and carry out justice?
I do not think the government is taking the movement lightly any more, as it did initially. The problem is, the government is tackling the movement according to the old playbook of suppression, repression, arrests and abduction. If we want to place Bangladesh on the highway to the future, this playbook must be discarded and new practices adopted, practices based on mutual respect, trust and tolerance. And opportunity has arisen to develop such practices. If this opportunity cannot be utilized, then we will remain steeped in despair.
I heard the statement of the inquiry commission head. If the commission can display actual sincerity and judicial neutrality, then the path to this new practice will open. If not, we will remain submerged in this darkness. That young boy has been given bail He must be given unconditional release and compensation
The large number of deaths and the manner in which the government has dealt with this movement has provoked the anger of people from all walks of life. Yet the people are not getting confidence in the government’s investigations and justice. What will the consequences be?
The common people have lent their support to the movement. BNP has long been waging a movement, but the people didn’t participate because they have no confidence in the political parties. These students have come up with a non-political movement after a long time and that is why it garnered people’s support so quickly. The government must understand this now. It is time for introspection. They must initiate talks on the demands of the students. If the government advances in the conventional manner and if the investigations and trials are not convincing to the public, it is the country that will ultimately stand to lose. The economy and education has fallen flat on the face in these three weeks. I hope the government takes such appropriate measures keeping the country and the people in mind.
As a teacher and a guardian, do you have any appeal or message to the government and the people at these critical times of the country?
In 2018 when the school children took to the streets in their movement for safe roads. I saw one of them with a banner calling for state repairs. In one of my writings in Prothom Alo I had told the government that this demand of the children must be met, they should take up the task of state repairs. Had those repairs been taken up, this movement would ot have taken place today. This opportunity has cropped up again. I will now appeal to all, use this opportunity.
Thank you.
Thank you too.
*This interview appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir