JnU teachers, students start rally with slogans, songs

The teachers and students of Jagannath University (JnU) are carrying out their rally with a three-point demand at Kakrail intersection in Dhaka.

The rally began around 2:15 pm today, Friday, following the Jummah prayers. Former students and alumni from various departments of the university have also joined the rally in solidarity.

The rally was originally scheduled to begin at 10:00 am today. Later, general secretary of JnU Teachers’ Association Professor Rais Uddin postponed the rally by an hour and a half with an announcement. The rally started later than planned.

Speakers at the rally expressed solidarity with the three-point demand. They have stated that the demands are reasonable. The interim government should quickly meet the demands.

The movement will continue until an announcement is made for complete implementation of their demands. Speakers also strongly condemned the recent police attacks on protesting students and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Ex-student and former vice-president of Jagannath University Chhatra Dal unit Maksudur Rahman said all three of the demands are justified. These are not new demands. Students have been voicing these demands for a long time. So, all of the demands must be fulfilled.

Another former JnU student and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front (BSD Marxist) leader, Masud Rana remarked that the government must accept and fulfill students’ demands of accommodation and increased budget allocations. Plus, there has to be an investigation into the police attacks.

Expressing solidarity with the rally, former JnU student and current Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami in Paltan, Shahin Ahmed Khan urged the interim government to quickly accept the three-point demand. Otherwise they would lead a stronger protest with the participation of current and former students both, he warned.

Different slogans are being chanted in between the speeches. Also, the protesting students are joining in chorus to sing different songs in protest at the end of every speech from the speakers.

Most of the students joining the rally have gathered under shades to avoid the heat. Being divided into small groups, the students are chanting slogans in support of their demands. Although there was an announcement of a mass hunger strike after the Jummah prayers, there has been no formal declaration for commencement of that programme yet.

Earlier on Wednesday around 12:30 pm, JnU teachers and students were obstructed by police at Kakrail while attempting a long march with the three-point demand towards the residence of the chief advisor.

When tried to breach the barricade and move towards Jamuna, police dispersed them using batons, tear gas, sound grenades, and water cannons. Around fifty teachers and students were injured in the incident. Later, the protesters occupied Kakrail intersection around 2:00 pm and have remained there continuously since then.

Students have been protesting for some time with three specific demands: to implement a housing scholarship for 70 per cent of students starting from the 2025–26 fiscal year; to approve the university’s proposed full budget for 2025–26 without any cuts; and to approve and implement, as a priority project, the construction of the university’s second campus in the next ECNEC meeting.