On September 19, the administration of the University of Dhaka decided to ban all kinds of student-teacher-staff politics on campus. Since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic regime through a mass uprising led by students, 33 higher education institutes have banned student politics. Among them are 18 government universities, four government colleges, and 10 government medical colleges.

Following this, on October 23, the government banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the 76-year-old pro-Awami League (AL) student wing, under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009. The decision came after allegations of the BCL’s violent role in the last regime and in suppressing student-led protests, including attacks during the July 2024 Movement.

Student politics have long played a significant role in the Indian subcontinent, including their contribution to ending 200 years of British rule. After the Partition in 1947, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was totally controlled by West Pakistan. The imposition of Urdu as the state language for Bengali-speaking East Pakistan sparked protests, led largely by students. On February 21, 1952, several students were killed during these protests, a day now celebrated globally as International Mother Language Day. Following this, students continued to be at the forefront of political upheavals in Bangladesh, including the Liberation War of 1971.

In the post-independence period, student-led movements continued to shape Bangladesh’s political landscape. Notably, the student wings of the AL and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) played key roles in the 1990 movement against dictator Hussain Mohammad Ershad. During the military-backed 1/11 government in 2008, students again demonstrated their influence by forcing the military to withdraw from university campuses. 

The latest mass uprising in July-August 2024 was also led by students. During the protest movement, about 800 people were killed, many of them students, and more than 30,000 were injured. The students fought on, eventually forcing Hasina from office after over 15 years in power. 

Student politics in Bangladesh has notched many achievements over the decades. However, this arena gradually shifted from activism to dominance after 2000, with internal conflicts among student organizations often disrupting university life.

Today, a majority of parents and students advocate the banning of student politics due to its disruptive nature. Others, including political experts and teachers, argue against a complete prohibition. A recent online survey of 350,133 people by Prothom Alo, a leading Bangladeshi daily, showed that about 93 percent of the population supports stopping student politics, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with its current state. 

Despite this, the complete depoliticization of universities remains a challenging policy to carry out.

What Does Bangladesh’s Student Politics Look Like?

In the heart of Dhaka, in one of the country’s prestigious institutions, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), a bright young student named Abrar Fahad walked with dreams in his eyes and an enviable future ahead. He was kind, intelligent, and faithful to his studies, according to his friends and family. The younger of two siblings, he was a ray of hope for his middle-class family.

In 2019, Fahad was a second-year student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and was a resident of Sher-e-Bangla Hall. 

On October 7, 2019, a few members of the BCL called Fahad to a room in Sher-e-Bangla Hall. There, Fahad was brutally beaten, tortured, and left to die by 25 students who were his supposed peers. 

Why? Because he was a vocal critic of the AL government’s policy and practices, which he believed were harmful to the sovereignty and well-being of the nation. In particular, Fahad had raised his voice against the government’s submissive diplomatic relationship with India. 

Fahad’s dead body was found in the stairway of Sher-e-Bangla Hall. He had been battered with cricket bats and skipping ropes for hours. 

The announcement of Fahad’s demise and the shocking brutality of his murder sent shock waves across the nation. His family was devastated, its world shattered at the loss of its beloved son. The whole nation mourned the death of a young man whose only fault was that he had been brave enough to speak up.

The culprits were arrested within a week. In 2021, the court sentenced 20 of them to death and five to life imprisonment. Of those convicted, 22 are in prison, while three are still at large. 

Student politics was banned in the BUET campus after Fahad’s murder. Students at the university are still against all kinds of political activities on the campus. 

Seven years before Fahad’s death, another tragic incident shocked the nation. On December 9, 2012, BCL activists from Jagannath University brutally murdered Biswajit Das in broad daylight on the streets of Old Dhaka. Das, a 24-year-old tailor, was mistakenly targeted during an opposition-enforced strike when ruling party activists, mistaking him for a protester, beat him to death with machetes and iron rods. Despite attempts to seek help from passersby, he succumbed to his injuries. Later the murderers of Das were identified and charged.

As can be seen from these horror stories, Bangladesh’s student political landscape mirrors the violence and chaos that is often seen at the national and local levels of politics. Despite its golden past, the legacy of student politics has shifted dramatically over the years.

After Bangladesh gained independence, student activism remained a strong force in shaping the nation’s future. However, a study of Bangladeshi student politics published in 2020 argued that following the Liberation War, the government’s failure to disarm a faction of young freedom fighters left a troubling legacy. These former fighters, some still armed, began to dominate student politics, and the culture of using violence to assert power seeped into campuses. What was once an intellectual and progressive movement for freedom turned into a battleground, where political affiliations and factionalism led to frequent clashes.

It took nearly two decades for Bangladeshi politicians to practice democracy, albeit a democracy fraught with all manner of difficulties. After independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced a one-party state in 1975 through his BAKSAL (Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League) and banned all other political parties. This marked the beginning of the quiet decline in student activism that once had been so powerful in the country.

Following the assassination of Mujib along with most of his family in the 1975 military coup, the government of Bangladesh plunged into a long dark tunnel of military and military-backed rule. In 1977, Ziaur Rahman seized power and formed the BNP in 1978, which soon emerged as a strong counterweight to the AL. Zia removed the ban on political parties and media; campus politics began to revive. However, the students’ wing of his party, the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), enjoyed special treatment and the JCD tightened its grip over campuses as representatives of the ruling party.

Following the assassination of Zia in 1981, Gen. Hussein Muhammad Ershad seized power in 1982. Ershad suspended the 1972 Constitution (though the constitution was not officially abolished, its core principles, such as parliamentary governance and fundamental rights, were sidelined) and banned all political parties. However, by January 1986, he had restored full political activity in which his own party, the Jatiya Party, took a prominent part. 

At first, student politics on campuses was banned. Later Ershad built his own student wing, Notun Bangla Chatra Samaj, which was later renamed Jatiya Chatra Samaj. This new organization never succeeded in dominating the campuses, as established groups already held sway. These included the BCL, JCD, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir (the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami), and various leftist student groups.

During the 1990s, the students again played a significant role in toppling the autocratic Ershad regime. The students protested as a unified force, supported by rare collaboration between the BNP and AL. The Ershad regime finally fell.

Following the ouster of Ershad, Bangladesh had moved along a democratic trajectory through a free and fair election in 1991, but student politics on university campuses, particularly government universities, became increasingly violent and fragmented, far removed from its idealistic origins.

The collaboration between the AL and BNP subsequently began to wane, as both sought to tighten their grip over student politics. The BCL and the JCD were instrumental in further embedding political favoritism and violence on campuses. Their rivalry grew fiercer, often leading to bloody clashes and casualties among student groups.

By the 2000s, political student groups had become synonymous with extortion, political manipulation, and general thuggery. The year 2001 was the most politically violent in the country between 2001 and 2021, with 26,426 reported incidents of violence. Many public university campuses were, and still are, controlled by these groups, who enforce their dominance through threats and violence. 

Elections for student bodies became rare, as those in power feared that rival groups might use them as stepping stones to seize influence. For example Dhaka University Central Students Union held elections in 1990 and then in 2019; however, the elected body could have little operational impact due to pressures from the student wings of the political parties. Irregular central student union elections is a common scenario in every campus.

The Impact on Student Life

One of the major issues in public universities – the residential hall crisis – is deeply entangled with student politics, and it has worsened over time. Almost every hall has “ganarooms” where 15-20 first year students live, though the room is made for only 4-6 people. 

The issue of residential space is often exacerbated by political influence, as student wings of ruling parties maintain control over hall allocations. In many cases, students who align themselves with the ruling party’s ideology are favored, while those who do not, or remain neutral, struggle to secure a room or are even subjected to violence and intimidation. 

The “guest room” culture in halls also has become a notorious part of student life, particularly for first-year students. If a student fails to greet seniors with a proper salam (greeting), they often face mental harassment in the guest room at night. Sometimes they are harassed physically. Female students, however, tend to experience more freedom in this regard, although their halls remain politically influenced.

Moreover, over the past 15 years of AL rule, it has become common for the BCL to forcefully take students from the halls to attend political events on significant days.

“When I started my education at Dhaka Polytechnic Institute and moved into a residential hall, I was compelled to participate in activities organized by the Bangladesh Chhatra League. Despite finding a part-time job, I was often forced to attend their programs, causing me to miss work several times. If I refused to go, punishment was inevitable,” Md Mahbubur Rahman Sadik, who recently completed his diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, told The Diplomat.

According to the study of student politics cited above, Rajshahi, known as the “City of Education,” ranked first for campus violence, which made up 35.1 percent of violent incidents in the city during 2008-2018. Sylhet ranked second with 24.5 percent, and Dhaka came in third with 22 percent. The study found that districts with more educational institutions tended to experience higher levels of violence, and in every incident, whether on or off campus, a large number of students were involved. In Rajshahi, student groups were responsible for nearly 65 percent of all incidents of political violence during the same period, the highest among major cities. Additionally, outside Dhaka, university campus politics is largely influenced by local politicians, leading to increased factionalism. 

Between 2008 and 2018, the BCL was involved in 25.6 percent of violent incidents in Dhaka, while the JCD and ICS were involved in 7.4 percent and 4.4 percent of incidents, respectively.

It is also worth noting that their parent organizations were involved in significant levels of violence. The AL was responsible for 30.2 percent of political violence from 1991 to 2018, while the BNP was involved in 25.2 percent, and JI in 2.1 percent.

Is a Ban the Only Solution?

Mohammad Aminul is an owner of a grocery shop in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur district. Last year his younger son won a spot in the University of Chittagong in a graduation program through a highly competitive exam. Due to Aminul’s very limited income, he couldn’t afford to send his son to study in any private university in Dhaka, so his son had to leave for Chittagong, where he lived 20 kilometers away from the university campus. 

Aminul’s son reached university by the shuttle train, which in itself is highly politicized. In a phenomenon known as “bogie politics,” different compartments (bogies) of the train are controlled by rival student political groups, often leading to violent clashes. 

The University of Chittagong is also known for suspending classes and shutting down of halls for unknown periods due to political violence. During the last Hasina regime, the campus was dominated by the BCL, though it was once influenced by the ICS. 

These violent incidents and shutdowns are the subject of significant stress for Aminul.

“Politics is very dangerous there. I heard from my son and read in newspapers. But I have no way to afford private university fees,” Aminul told The Diplomat. “As the Awami regime is gone I hope the student politics will be banned. We want our son to graduate on time and get a good job.” 

He added, “We have no dealings with politics. We just want a peaceful life.” 

While these student political groups continue to dominate campuses, there are now growing calls from the public for the banning of student politics entirely. After several brutal killings and clashes, including Fahad’s Das’s murder, people have questioned the relevance and necessity of such organizations, especially given their violent nature. 

However, some political analysts and students engaged in political activities are opposed to any ban.

“If student politics are banned, then there are high chances of increasing radicalism and extremism in the campus with the name of religion,” said Tanvir Baree Hamim, publicity affairs secretary of the JCD’s Kabi Jasimuddin Hall unit at University of Dhaka. “Also students wouldn’t be able to raise their voice for the right thing.”

Hamim has been affiliated with politics from his high school days in Khulna, a southern district. “In the last 15 years the campuses were violent due to the BCL,” he argued. “Now there is no BCL so there will be no violence in the campus. So banning politics is a sign of an attempt to depoliticize the country.”

“We have a history of fighting for rights, and in every movement, students have played a significant role,” said Mohammad Aynul Islam, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dhaka and one of the authors of the study mentioned above. “If student politics is banned, they will lose their voice to stand for rights.”

Like Hamim, Islam also warned that if student politics was banned, “there is a high chance of increasing extremism on campuses. So banning is not the solution.”

Instead, Islam suggested that factionalism must be eliminated and central student union elections should be held regularly. Any student could believe in the ideology of a big party like the AL, BNP, or JI; however, he argued that nobody should press and use this ideology for personal benefits. “We have to reform the landscape through various extracurricular activities very soon. Otherwise, the campus will revert to its previous state,” he said.

If student politics were to be banned across all campuses, the immediate effect could be a reduction in violent clashes and disruptions to academic life. On the other hand, banning student politics might lead to unintended consequences, including the rise of extremist ideologies on campuses. 

As earlier mentioned, historically, student groups in Bangladesh have played a key role in movements for justice and social change. So completely eliminating this outlet might create a vacuum. As suggested by Hamim and Islam, such a vacuum could be filled by radical or religious movements, as has been seen in other countries with restricted political engagement, like Pakistan. 

A depoliticized campus might also limit student activism, making it harder for young people to raise their voices on critical issues, thereby stifling democratic discourse and activism. 

In examining the experiences of other South Asian countries, Bangladesh could learn valuable lessons from India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan regarding student political violence. India has a relatively active student political scene, with groups often participating in peaceful protests and activism. However, violence does occur too. Sri Lanka has a history of student political violence, especially during its civil conflict, but in recent years, the focus has shifted to peaceful activism, leading to a notable reduction in violent confrontations. 

In contrast, Pakistan has seen severe restrictions on student politics, particularly after military crackdowns, which have stifled expression and led to a rise in extremism. 

While all three countries have faced challenges, the violent tendencies of Bangladesh’s student politics, which have led to tragic incidents like murders, suggest that its current system is in dire need of reform. The approach taken by India and Sri Lanka, which balances political engagement with mechanisms to reduce violence, could serve as a model for Bangladesh. 

Instead of an outright ban on student politics, the country could benefit from implementing regular student assembly elections, promoting accountability among political factions, and fostering a culture of constructive engagement. A nuanced approach that encourages healthy political participation while firmly rejecting violence could lead to a more stable and peaceful academic environment, preventing the potential rise of extremism that a ban might inadvertently provoke.

Another important factor is that the parent political parties must take a firm stance against the misuse of student politics for criminal activities. Influential leaders often exploit student leaders and activists for various unlawful purposes. For example, local leaders heavily influence student politics on campuses outside the capital, while central committee leaders control student politicians at Dhaka University and other major institutions. 

To foster genuine leadership, the political parties must act with integrity, encouraging students to develop leadership skills through positive contributions. Unfortunately, there has been significant reluctance from the political parties in addressing this issue so far.