Bangladesh Chhatra League

The Bangladesh Chhatra League (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; abbr. BSL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' political organisation in Bangladesh, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. BSL is the student wing of the Bangladesh Awami League.[2]

Bangladesh Chhatra League

বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ
AbbreviationBSL
PresidentAl Nahean Khan Joy [1]
General SecretaryLekhak Bhattacharjee
FounderSheikh Mujibur Rahman
Founded1948 January 4th (4th-01-1948)
Headquarters23, Bangabondhu Avenue, Gulistan, Dhaka- 1000
Bangladesh Awami League
Party flag
Website
bsl.org.bd

BSL has been repeatedly accused of using torture, extortion, violence, and killings to instill fear.[3][4][5] At least 33 people were killed and 1,500 got seriously injured from attacks by BSL between 2009 and 2014. Number of fatalities rose to 129 between 2014 and 2018 while 31 people were killed in 2018 alone.[6] A BSL leader was arrested for links with the banned terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh in a militant hunt after the July 2016 Dhaka attack.[7] Following the attacks on student protesters in 2018, a petition was started by general people of Bangladesh to "Enlist Bangladesh Chhatra League (BSL) as a Terrorist Organization" at Change.org.[8][9][10] In 2019, prominent English language daily of Bangladesh, Dhaka Tribune labelled the organization as "the brand of shame".[11]

History

On 4 January 1948, the East Pakistan Muslim Chhatra League was established by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at a meeting in Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall at the University of Dhaka. The organisation's name was later changed to the Bangladesh Chhatra League. Naeemuddin Ahmed was the first convener of BSL, while Khalek Newaz Khan was the founder general secretary of the Chhatra League.

During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, members of the Chhatra League were recruited into the Mujib Bahini (also known as the Bengal Liberation Force), an armed group trained by India's foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. However, their exact involvement in the war is disputed, with Zafrullah Chowdhury stating, "The Mujib Bahini did not fight the liberation war."[12] In 2014, A. K. Khandker was sued for accusing the Mujib Bahini of hooliganism and looting during the war in his book in his book 1971: Bhetore Baire.[13]

Violence

Culture of rape in Jahangirnagar University
Main article: 1999 JU Anti-Rape Movement

The general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League Jahangirnagar University unit, Jasimuddin Manik and his followers celebrated the rape of 100th girls including at least 20 students of the university in 1998. This led to a series of protests which resulted in the expulsion of Manik and his followers from the university on August 2, 1999 after the 1999 JU Anti-Rape Movement.[14]

Murder of Abrar Fahad
Main article: Murder of Abrar Fahad

A student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology was beaten to death after Bangladesh Chhatra League men allegedly questioned him suspecting his involvement with Shibir.[15][16][17]

Alleged students are: Mehedi Hasan Rasel of civil engineering, general secretary of Buet BSL, Muhtasim Fuad of civil engineering vice-president, Mehedi Hasan Robein of chemical engineering, the organizing secretary, Anik Sarker of mechanical engineering, the secretary of information and research affairs, Ishtiaq Ahmed Munna of mechanical engineering, the publication affairs secretary, Ifti Mosharraf Shakal of biomedical engineering batch-16, the deputy social welfare secretary, Meftahul Islam Zion of naval architecture and marine engineering, the sports secretary, Muzahidur Rahman Muzahid of civil engineering, Muntasir Alam Jemi of chemical engineering and Khandaker Tabakhkharul Islam Tanvir of mechanical engineering, Moniruzzaman Monir, Water Resources Engineering Department, Akash Hossain, Civil Engineering Department and Shamsul Arefin Rafat, Mechanical Engineering Department of Buet.[18]

Harassment of women in Dhaka University campus on Pohela Boishakh 2015

On Bangla New Year celebration of Dhaka University campus, a group of students sexually assaulted women on the venue and tried to strip them off their clothing.[19] Law enforcement was present in the vicinity, yet the miscreants were not stopped, according to witness accounts[20]:

"When we sought help from a few policemen standing 20 yards from the spot, they said that the area was beyond their jurisdiction,” said Amit who also came under attack by the youths and had his fingers fractured.

Amit along with five of his fellow activists had tried to save a group of women aged between 25-30 years from the rowdy youths.

"The youths were divided into three groups and each group had 10-12 of them. People everywhere around were blowing vuvuzela so loudly that nobody could hear the victims' cry for help," he said, adding thousands of people were milling around the area, making it difficult for them to prevent the attackers.

Despite having CCTV footage which clearly identified the culprits, the police made no arrests by 2019[21]:

The probe over the incident was forced to end as the DB police failed to concretely identify any of the culprits beyond simple facial and visual CCTV recording during their eight-month-long investigation. DB Sub inspector Dipok Kumar Das submitted a final report to court on December 13, 2015, saying he had failed to identify any of the suspects.

As the ruling party Awami League has control over law enforcement and Chhatra League is the student wing of Awami League, it is widely speculated that the police assisted Chhatra League to carry out these attacks by taking no action to stop them and by making no arrests. Notably, Chhatra League also prevented its female members from protesting this incident.[22]

Murder of Biswajit Das
Main article: Murder of Biswajit Das

Biswajit Das, a 24-year-old tailor in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was murdered on 9 December 2012 by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League who mistook Das for an opposition supporter. Das was chased and attacked with machetes, iron bars, and hockey sticks.[23] He was taken to Mitford Hospital, where he shortly died of his wounds.[24] Twenty-one BSL activists were found guilty of murder on 18 December 2013. Eight were sentenced to death and thirteen were sentenced to life in prison.[25] Only eight of the twenty-one defendants were in custody at the time of the sentence, with the remaining thirteen tried in absentia.[26][27]

2018 conflicts

In March 2018, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) suffered a bullet wound during a clash between two BSL factions.[28] Reportedly, two factions of the SUST unit of BSL, led by vice-presidents of the unit, had battled over establishing supremacy on the campus. A group of BSL men, led by Akando and colleagues, attacked another man in a restaurant near the university. The man responded with a gunshot which injured another student.[28]

In July 2018, protests and counter-violence erupted at various universities, particularly Rajshahi University, over the quota reform movement, which sought to change the quota system that allocated 56% of Bangladesh government jobs to specific classes. In a protest procession on 2 July 2018, quota-reform movement leader Toriqul Islam and 15 others were attacked with sticks, bamboo poles, a dagger and a hammer. Islam's leg was broken as a result of the attack. A correspondent from The Daily Star filmed the incident and the newspaper reported that it had identified eleven of the attackers, stating that ten were members of the BSL.[29][30] Video and photos of the attack circulated on social media, prompting criticism over police and university administration inaction.[29]

Dhaka bus protests

On 29 July 2018, two students were killed and a further twelve people were injured when a bus hit a bus stop in Dhaka. Protests began shortly afterward, demanding better road safety. During the protests, BSL members were alleged to have been involved in numerous attacks on protestors throughout Bangladesh.[31] On 5 August 2018, a number of photojournalists were attacked, allegedly by members of the BSL wearing helmets. Law enforcement officers were present but did not make any attempt to stop the attack.[32][33]

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See also

References
  1. "ছাত্রলীগ থেকে বাদ শোভন -রাব্বানী, দায়িত্বে জয়-লেখক". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  2. "Bangladesh students attacked during Dhaka protest". BBC News.
  3. Delhi, Redwan Ahmed Rebecca Ratcliffe in (10 October 2019). "Father demands justice after student beaten to death in Bangladesh". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  4. "Killing of Bangladesh student triggers protests". 8 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  5. "Bangladesh Student Killing Sparks University Protests". Voice of America. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  6. "TERROR RISING". The Daily Star. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  7. "Chhatra League leader arrested for militant links". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. "Awami League / Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL)". Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  9. "Bloody Sunday in Bangladesh".
  10. "Pétition · Enlist Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) as a Terrorist Orga…". archive.is. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. "The brand of shame that is Chhatra League". Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  12. Ahmed, Taib; Islam, Khadimul (16 December 2014). "'Mujib Bahini didn't fight liberation war'". The New Age. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  13. "AK Khandker sued for 'Mujib Bahini's looting' claim". The Daily Star. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  14. "Rape, impunity and power—then and now". The Daily Star. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  15. "Buet student murdered after 'BCL men grilled' him". The Daily Star. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  16. "TERROR RISING". The Daily Star. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  17. "Four hours of torture led to Abrar's death". Dhaka Tribune. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  18. "Abrar murder: 3 more Buet students arrested". The Daily Star. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  19. "Boishakh celebration: Women harassed near TSC". Dhaka Tribune. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  20. "Outrage over sex assault". The Daily Star. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  21. "4 years on, no progress in Pohela Boishakh sexual harassment trial". Dhaka Tribune. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  22. "Chhatra League reins in its women". Dhaka Tribune. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  23. "21 BCL men indicted". The Daily Star. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  24. "Eight to die for Biswajit murder, 13 get life". bdnews24.com. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  25. "Bangladesh sentences eight students to death for murder". LiveMint. Agence France-Presse. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  26. "Bangladesh sentences eight students to death for murder". BBC News. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  27. "8 Awami activists get death for murder of Hindu man". The Hindu. PTI. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  28. "Student shot during BCL infighting at SUST". The Independent. Dhaka. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  29. "Rajshahi police saw nothing!". The Daily Star. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  30. "Injured quota protester Tariqul moved to Dhaka". Dhaka Tribune. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  31. "Minute by the minute: Saturday's protest ends with violence in Jigatola". Dhaka Tribune. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  32. "5 photojournalists hurt in 'BCL attack'". The Daily Star. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  33. "6 photojournalists injured in attacks by 'BCL'". The Independent. Bangladesh. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
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