Dhaka:
Over 150 students were injured in Bangladesh during clashes at a university campus this week, a sign of serious discord between groups instrumental in fomenting the national revolution last year that led to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s downfall following 15-year rule. The clash between student outfits backing different political ideologies erupted at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KEUT) in the country’s southwest reportedly erupted over the issue of banning student politics on the university campus.
The violence began on Tuesday afternoon after the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — the Jatiyotabadi Chatro Dol (JCD)– sought to recruit students at KUET. This sparked a confrontation with campus members of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), a protest group that led the uprising that ousted ex-premier Hasina last August.
The unrest on the campus was aggravated with protestors halting the functioning of the institute and all academic activities. The students are also demanding the resignation of Vice Chancellor Mohammad Mashud.
On Tuesday night, protesting students also reportedly locked up Mr Mashud and other senior officials on the KUET campus after a physical altercation.
Situation Under Control
At least 50 people were taken for treatment after the skirmish, Khulna police officer Kabir Hossain told news agency AFP.
“The situation is now under control, and an extra contingent of police has been deployed,” he added.
Footage of the violence showing rival groups wielding scythes and machetes, along with injured students being carted to hospital for treatment, was widely shared on Facebook.
Student Groups Blamed Each Other
Both groups blamed the other for starting the violence, with the BNP student wing chief Nasir Uddin Nasir accusing members of Student Against Discrimination and Bangladesh Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, of initiating the recent attack and agitating the situation to force a confrontation.
Jamaat activists “created this unwarranted clash”, he told AFP.
Local student Obayed Ullah told AFP that the JCD had defied a decision by the campus to remain free of activities by established political parties. He added that there was “no presence” of Jamaat on campus.
The incident provoked outrage among students elsewhere in the country, with a protest rally held late Tuesday night to condemn the BNP’s youth wing at Dhaka University.
It is alleged that JCD activists distributed leaflets at the campus on Monday supporting the resumption of student politics on campus. SAD, on the other hand, responded with a parade in the university with various slogans for keeping the ban on student politics.
Student Protest That Led To Hasina’s Fall
Students Against Discrimination launched protests last year that toppled Bangladesh’s former government and chased ex-leader Hasina into exile after 15 years of iron-fisted rule.
Activists from the BNP joined with student protesters in the final days of Ms Hasina’s tenure, defying a bloody crackdown by security forces that killed hundreds.
The BNP is widely expected to win fresh elections slated to be held by the middle of next year under the supervision of the South Asian country’s current caretaker administration.
Student leaders have, meanwhile, struggled to turn their success in engineering Ms Hasina’s fall into a durable political force. The student protesters, who spearheaded the movement against Ms Hasina, are set to launch a new party in Bangladesh.
Initially, they reportedly formed the Jatiya Nagorik Committee (JNC), a platform designed as a pressure group to bring together people from diverse backgrounds and political ideologies. They have so far wielded significant grassroots influence under the banners of the JNC and the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM), according to a report by The Hindu.
According to the report, the student leaders are likely to be announced on February 24.
Meanwhile, the South Asian country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after a popular revolution in August, announced that general elections in Bangladesh will be held in late 2025 or early 2026.
