The High Court recently suspended the ‘urgent notice’ enforced by the BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) authorities four years ago. Various news media accordingly reported that there was no obstruction to student politics in BUET. However, according to the ‘East Pakistan Engineering and Technological University’ ordinance of 1961, no one had the right to create unrest on campus in the name of student politics. Yet the authoritarian behavior of the ruling party student leaders has irked the ire of the general students.
The killing of Abrar Fahad alone doesn’t sum up the entire situation. Students have to tolerate the torture of the student leaders day after day while continuing with their studies. There are some who speak in favour of student politics, but say nothing about this repressive darkness. In no way can any student organisation exert its dominance using the historical context of students uniting at the time of the national crisis.
In various universities of the country including BUET, student leaders flex their might and muscle to exert their control. They literally assault students physically and torture them mentally if they don’t join their meetings and rallies.
Very little of all these things which occur regularly are reported in the news. The behavior and role of the student leaders in some instances amount to punishable criminal offences.
After the recent High Court ruling, the agitating students of BUET said in a written statement, “The student politics that promotes the ragging culture, promotes the abuse of power, victimises innocent students, had never bode well for us and never will.” They claim that 98 per cent of the BUET students do not want student politics.