In the last 20 years, almost all student movements in public universities have been hijacked by the professional leftist leaders. In recent years, looking at the movements in various universities including University of Dhaka and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, this information is clear.
I would not raise a question if left-wing political parties in Bangladesh were liberal in their ideal position. I raise this discussion because our left-wing political parties are as toxic as the right-wing parties.
In order to achieve their political objectives, they encourage 19/20 year-olds into the party and use them for political purposes. This process, most importantly, destroys the academic lives of middle-class and lower-middle class students.
Based on some experiences in university life with a left-wing political party, I know how destructive this attraction can be for teenagers. Many left-wing leaders are students just by name; they fail to do the minimum necessary academic performance. They do not have “time” to take exams or to attend classes. These leaders occupy free seats in public universities and spend their time idly.
Many boys and girls who had just passed high school think highly of these left-wing leaders and, driven by the same desire, join their party. They continue the same cycle by hanging out in the canteen and trying to uphold the great vow of saving the country/world without any future planning!
As the public universities have very minimal tuition fees, they can get by from year to year in one place without any big financial loss. These so-called left leaders still roam the campus as “student leaders” in their 30's and 40's.
One major reason for this vicious cycle is the absence of cultural clubs and organizations for intellectual discussions and free thinking in Bangladesh's campuses. If organizations like student unions existed, young students would not have to rely on the big "brothers" and instead they could pursue their own professional and academic careers alongside.
If any young student expresses interest in formal education, the left leaders try to discourage it. They even discourage anyone who wants to take an exam or even attend classes regularly. The bullying crosses every limit, and I know people who have gone through very difficult times due to this process.
To the leftists, any position against the government or university institutions is a great achievement. When the topic of ban on student politics is raised, the leftist leaders strongly disapprove. However, there are no examples of politics on campuses in civilized countries.
The left leaders disapprove for a simple reason. Except for inexperienced young students, no one takes them seriously. A large part of these students who are attracted to the left ideology come from impoverished backgrounds. They have no social network in the big cities. Left leaders take advantage of this. Simply put, if student politics is closed on campus, the names of the leftists will also be erased in Bangladesh.
Personal experience
I will tell you about a small personal experience. This happened in the second year of my DU life, around 2007/2008 -- I also used to feel a bit attracted by the so-called charismatic "leftist leaders."
Many well-known writers' names were on the lips of these leaders. To my inexperienced ears, their discussions sounded like complex scholarly debates. The leftist leaders would often ask us to wait in the canteen for them from the early morning.
Why? To save the country! We would sit in the canteen from 9AM on days in the hope for the liberation of the country, and the leftist leaders would arrive after 2PM. Days after days, hours after hours, such irresponsible waste of time would continue.
One day, while trying to bring about the “political revolution” in this country, the responsibility fell upon us to stop the TSC canteen from raising lunch prices.
The TSC wanted to increase the price to Tk20 from Tk18. To fulfill that responsibility, the left "leaders" went and held four taka in their hands and described this as the product of the “imperialist fascist government” in front of the TSC.
We, the younger ones, were somewhat amazed and somewhat confused. From that time, I was always concerned about this hypocrisy. If one student gets a good academic result or just wants to attend classes regularly, there is always a strong resentment among the left leaders. They would say: “only selfish, self-interested people have an interest in academic exams.”
For young students who are just entering university, it is important to keep these topics in mind. Many boys and girls are driven to despair by this racket. There are too many reports of left-wing political activists, young boys and girls, committing suicide. The role of political "leaders" behind this, their use of bullying, and the extent of the racket need to be recognized as an important concern.
On the other hand, it is incumbent upon universities to adopt appropriate policies to create an open environment for students' rights and cultural discussions. If there are various clubs on the campus and an environment for brainstorming, inexperienced students would not have fallen prey to this propaganda.
Aparna Howlader is Assistant Professor of Economics,Chatham University,Pittsburgh, USA.