In a syndicate meeting on Thursday, the University of Dhaka reportedly decided to outlaw partisan political activities by teachers, students, and employees on the campus.
The university authorities have not yet made any formal announcement, but a syndicate member broke to the media after the meeting that the apex policy-making body had resolved to ban partisan politics until further notice.
Pro-VC Sayema Haque Bidisha presented a more nuanced take, saying the syndicate members just shared their views during the emergency meeting and that no final decision has been reached yet.
However, the issue has already sparked widespread debate both online and offline, as the century-old institution is going to restrict political activities for the first time in its history, despite being associated with a glorious legacy of student politics and movements.
The university began its journey in 1921 under British colonial rule, as the very first university of this region (then East Bengal), which was significantly underdeveloped at the time. It is widely recognised that its birth was a result of political negotiations between the regional leaders and the British administration.
Alongside academic activities, the University of Dhaka has since been a beacon of collective resistance against injustice, oppression, and violations of fundamental rights, with students at the forefront. It is evident in all the previous movements, including the 1952 language movement, the liberation war in 1971, and the mass uprising in 1990.
21st-century movements and student politics
Nobody will disagree that the July-August uprising is the most successful one among the movements that the 21st century has so far witnessed.
It began with a midnight rally on the Dhaka University campus on 15 July, calling for rational reforms into the job quota system as well as protesting against a statement by then prime minister. The simple student protest evolved into a mass movement due to the government crackdown and culminated in the ouster of the decade-old fascist regime on 5 August.
If we look into the gradual development of the movement, what role did partisan student politics play? The movement was initially claimed to be "non-political," but as tensions escalated, political elements were welcomed under non-political banners.
Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of then ruling party Awami League, took a firm stance against the protesters and exerted utmost efforts – from intimidation to beating up protesting students on the campus – to suppress the movement.
In contrast, opposition-aligned groups, including Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), had to set aside their political identities to join the movement, as per the preconditions laid out by the movement coordinators. General students as well as the masses took the movement forward.
There were two more student protests, though not on such a large-scale, in 2018 -- the road safety movement and the earlier quota reform protests. The government and the student fronts played the same role, while the key protesters repeatedly clarified to have no political involvement.
Politics under 'non-political' banner
The successful student movements have largely been led under non-political banners.
As conventional politics failed to fulfill the pervasive expectations throughout the last two decades, it became quite irrelevant in society, and in the aftermath, a generation grew up with little to zero interest in political parties.
During the July-August uprising, the same generation took to the streets and protested braving police firings as well as threats to their lives and livelihoods. They claimed to be non-political, but their movement and definitely the claim itself were an unique political strategy.
What made them different from conventional political groups is -- they were highly focused on their rational demands, with no allegiance to mainstream political groups. Actually, it was the main strength of their movement, and the masses could not help but take to the streets in their support.
Partisan student politics, in most cases, serve the elites of national politics, while temporary and need-based student alliances have proven more effective in driving changes during the last few decades.
Also, the darker sides of partisan student politics include violence, extortion, and other forms of criminal activity, in an effort to dominate over rival factions and maintain control over ordinary students.
Can student politics truly be banned?
Greek philosopher Aristotle, who is also regarded as the father of political science, wrote in his famous book The Politics, "... the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. And he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a state, is either above humanity, or below it."
His perception on politics rings true in the context of recent student movements in Bangladesh. Conventional political frameworks were present in the scene, but those failed to safeguard the majority students' interests due to a polluted political ecosystem on the campuses.
Hence, the political instinct prompted general students to take the job upon themselves and push for positive changes through innovative approaches. Even if formal student politics is banned, political expression will manifest in some other forms. Politics is inherent to human nature; it cannot be banned or prevented from thriving.
A boon or bane?
Student politics is undeniably a boon until it serves the interests of students and society at large. However, it becomes a bane when student groups devolve into mere extensions of mainstream political parties, particularly those in power or opposition.
Under the prevailing political ecosystem, student fronts are bound to follow the dictates of mainstream political parties, with a little room for genuine debate or dissent. Pro-government student groups have to defend every government policy, no matter how flawed, while opposition groups are obliged to criticise, regardless of merit.
But youth, by nature, tend to explore new ideas, question the conventional systems, and thrive through arguments. Even if a student front ensures such arrangements within itself in the changed reality in Bangladesh, there is a little chance that the dissent will sustain when placed before the higher political forums.
However, the prevailing system also has some arrangements to keep student politics under control, but those have long been deactivated.
For Dhaka University, one potential solution is the revival of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU). The administration may hold DUCSU elections on a regular basis and ensure all students' participation in the election process.
If the DUCSU elections are fair and held regularly, the student leaders -- whether aligned with mainstream political parties or not -- must come up with comprehensive plans to address the actual needs and interests of the students. They are bound to be pro-student, instead of merely extensions of political parties, while students will feel more involved in the process.
During the July-August uprising, one of the basic demands of protesting students was to ban political activities on campuses. As a significant number of students nurture deep anger towards student politics, the authorities might consider imposing a temporary ban on partisan student politics, in an effort to protect the interests of general students.
Once a more sound and balanced political ecosystem is established on the campus, the ban could be lifted, allowing more inclusive and fair political practices to flourish.
For the new administration, it is, of course, not an easy-to-do job to ensure a pro-student political system on the campus. Still, we have no choice but to be optimistic.
***The author is a journalist at Prothom Alo. He can be reached at haquemesbah@ymail.com