Jahangirnagar University descended into chaos early on Monday, culminating in the resignation of Provost Professor Nazmul Hassan Talukder following accusations of attacks by Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, on students over the chanting of slogans.
At around 4am, clashes erupted between students at Bishwakabi Rabindranath Tagore Hall after some students were interrogated and had their mobile phones checked by members of the university's Chhatra League for chanting "Razakar," a term used to accuse someone of being a collaborator of the Pakistani forces during Bangladesh's Liberation War.
At one point, the confrontation escalated, leading to the resignation of Nazmul as the dorm’s provost.
Two quota reform protesters were injured in the clashes. Ahsan Labib, a 49th batch student from the Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, and Sohagi Samiha, a 51st batch student from the Department of Drama and Dramatics, were later admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital with injuries.
How it started
The unrest began around midnight when students gathered at the campus's Battala, fuelled by comments from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina questioning the justification for the quota reform movement.
Hearing that some protestors were detained at the dorm, students marched to Bishwakabi Rabindranath Tagore Hall, where Chhatra League members were already present, creating a tense atmosphere.
Students from the dorm reported that inspired by the viral slogan "Tumi ke? Ami ke? Rajakar, Rajakar" (Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar), some 49th batch students began chanting it in their hall.
Seniors from the 48th batch then summoned these students to the dining hall for questioning.
At the time, Kawsar Alam Arman from the Department of Botany, Ashiq from the Department of Management and Zahid from the Department of English were summoned from room 124 for questioning.
Later, students present in the dining hall said they had been asked why they had chanted the slogan.
Suspecting them to be affiliated with Shibir, their mobile phones were taken and their Messenger texts were checked.
Although nothing incriminating was found, the students were asked to apologize for the slogan.
The political leaders brought Provost Nazmul to the scene, and in his presence, the 49th batch students apologized.
Afterwards, they were let go without any physical harm, as confirmed by them.
The protesting students said they received information at midnight that some of their fellow demonstrators were being interrogated.
They added that they had come to rescue their comrades, emphasizing that their quota reform movement was a justified and peaceful movement of students nationwide.
If anyone was persecuted for participating in this movement, it would be strongly resisted, they warned.
Protestors also marched to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Hall upon hearing similar reports of interrogations.
What do Chhatra League and JU authorities say?
After parading through various roads on the campus, the march returned to Bishwakabi Rabindranath Tagore Hall at one point, where Chhatra League leaders and activists blocked their way, leading to a confrontation.
Physical altercations began, with allegations that Chhatra League activists led by JU Joint General Secretary Rafi Chowdhury and Finance Secretary Touhidul Islam Takid assaulted several protestors.
The protestors then chased the Chhatra League members, who retreated into the hall and locked the gate.
Denying the assault allegations, Touhidul told the media that the protestors had come in front of the hall and “insulted” the Liberation War, Bangabandhu and Chhatra League on the pretext of the quota reform movement.
“When we tried to lead a peaceful march, they blocked us and hurled abuses. We did not attack them; we showed them enough respect. As we were returning to the dorm, they launched a surprise attack on us."
Provost Prof Nazmul Hassan Talukder said he went to the dorm after hearing about the students' protest in front of it. “However, I could not fully understand the details. It seems the situation escalated over some slogan… We are trying to keep the situation under control."
When the students demanded to see the CCTV footage of the incident, the provost replied that only the technician had the computer password.
At this point, the protesters demanded the provost's resignation, which prompted Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Mohammed Mostafa Feeroz to arrive at the scene at about 5am.
In his presence, Nazmul announced his resignation, saying he was resigning verbally and would complete the formalities later.
“I will not return to this position," he declared.
The situation began to return to normal as the protestors started returning to their halls after receiving assurances that the pro-VC would hold discussions with them on Monday.
The protest came hours after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference in Ganabhaban questioned the justification for the quota reform movement of students of various public universities.
"If the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not get quota benefits, will the grandchildren of Razakars get them? That is my question, the countrymen's question," she said.
