Tahmid Al Mudassir Chowdhury, one of the key coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and expected to be one of the key leaders of the upcoming new political student organization, spoke to Dhaka Tribune’s Mahathir Mohammed in an exclusive interview, sharing his thoughts on the new student organization.
You stated in a press conference that you will not be engaging in liaison-based politics. How are you planning to ban liaison student politics?
How do you define liaison politics? You can define it by observing whether an organization relies on a mother party for decision-making or is funded by them. We will have a fixed membership fee that we will use to fund the organization. Our stance has always been against liaison politics—based on what the students want. Now, we will do our best to keep our organization one hundred percent liaison-free.
Why won't the rising leaders follow the already established leaders?
There is organizational liaison politics, where an entire organization follows a mother party. If individuals decide to follow party politics, they can do so on a personal level. I personally don't think there is any problem here.
This is strictly a student organization, so what will the leaders pursue once their studentship ends?
This is actually a personal matter. If someone chooses to join any party after this, they can do so. We won’t be telling anyone to join one party or another from our organization. Individuals will be free to choose on their own.
How will you function without committees in halls or academic areas?
Students have certain traumas regarding student politics, but there is still a need for student politics on campuses. Considering both factors, we have decided not to involve halls and academic areas in politics. The students want politics to remain outside halls and academic areas. Therefore, we won’t have any faculty or department-based committees. There will be a single university committee, and it will function on campus. Halls and academic areas will be exempt from politics.
How will the ADSM platform function after top leaders leave for political organizations?
Firstly, this platform (ADSM) will function at its own pace; it is unique because it was formed during the Mass Uprising. Secondly, this platform will work to preserve the memories of July, rehabilitate martyr families, provide treatment to those injured, and more. This platform won’t change.
Who will lead this platform?
This has not been decided yet, as these are organizational matters. Who will leave the platform is not final yet. The ADSM platform will be organized based on who remains after the formation of this new student organization.
