New Delhi: Student unions affiliated to Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami are now fighting over supremacy and reclamation of historical narratives.
The blame game began Sunday when Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, accused the BNP’s student faction, Chhatra Dal, of following in the footsteps of the banned Chhatra League.
At a press conference held at Dhaka University’s Madhur Canteen—a site central to student politics in the country—the Shibir accused the Chhatra Dal of resorting to intimidation, extortion, and blame-shifting, to suppress Shibir and other student organisations.
“Although the banned Chhatra League has been expelled from Bangladesh, unfortunately, their supposedly friendly organisation, Chhatra Dal, is seen following in the same path,” Shibir president Jahidul Islam reportedly said.
He criticised the Chhatra Dal for undermining the spirit of student politics and indulging in violent and criminal activities. He also accused the Chhatra Dal of attacking students while falsely blaming Shibir for the violence.
He said the aspirations that once defined student politics in Bangladesh were being destroyed by the actions of certain student groups. Even in a Bangladesh free from the leadership of Sheikh Hasina some student organisations, he added, were resorting to fascist tactics and criminal-like behaviour to dominate the political landscape, according to a report in Dhaka Tribune.
Islam specifically referenced the KUET incident, where Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal activists allegedly carried out an armed attack on students in which over 50 people were injured. He also condemned Chhatra Dal president Rakibul Islam Rakib for publicly saying that the Shibir should be blamed for the violence.
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Chhatra Dal responds
In its response, the Chhatra Dal condemned Islam’s press conference and the Shibir’s presence at Madhur canteen, calling it disrespectful to the spirit of the Liberation War. The Chhatra Dal’s central committee issued a statement arguing that the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Sangha (which later became Islami Chhatra Shibir), had collaborated with Pakistani forces during the Liberation War and were morally responsible for the death of Madhusudan Dey, a key war martyr.
The Chhatra Dal further criticised the Shibir for disrespecting the memory of Madhusudan Dey, who was martyred during the 1971 Liberation War.
“Madhusudan Dey (Madhuda), the founder and proprietor of Dhaka University’s historic Madhur canteen, was martyred on March 25, 1971 by the invading forces in Operation Searchlight, conducted by the Pakistani forces. Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Sangh played an anti-independence role in the Great War of Independence by being allies of the invading forces of Pakistan. Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organisation Islami Chhatra Shibir, must take the moral responsibility for the killing of shaheed Madhuda. The press conference organised by ‘anti-independence organisation’ at Madhur canteen is disrespectful to Shaheed Madhuda and his family,” the statement, originally in Bangla, read.
“Islami Chhatra Shibir is insulting the brave freedom fighters and the brave martyrs by calling the great liberation war an Indian conspiracy. The presence of the student camp in Madhur canteen will tarnish the history of the great liberation war,” the statement said.
(Edited by Sudha V)
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