The Report Reporter: Qatar-based international media Al-Jazeera has published a report on the current situation of the activists of the banned organization Chhatra League. The report was made by Mehdi Hasan Maruf. The report was published in a somewhat abbreviated form.
24-year-old Fahmi (pseudonym) was an influential figure on the Dhaka University campus. However, he has been in hiding since the beginning of last August.
Fahmi was a member of Chhatra League. It is the student organization of Awami League, the party of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The party has ruled the country with an iron fist for over 15 years. In August, the government was ousted in the face of a student-led movement. Sheikh Hasina fled to neighboring India.
Dr. last Wednesday. The interim government of Bangladesh led by Muhammad Yunus declared the Chhatra League a 'terrorist organisation'. The government banned the Chhatra League.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said that in the last 15 years, BCL has a history of serious misconduct including violence, harassment and use of public resources for their own interests.
Fahmi is a Bachelor of Applied Chemistry student. "Not long ago I was the voice of authority here," he told Al Jazeera. Now I'm running like a Ferrari with no future ahead of me.'
Fahmi's story reflects the current situation of thousands of students like him. These students were previously associated with Awami League. They once held a strong position in the campuses of Bangladesh. But their position collapsed overnight.
Former campus powerhouses, known as Awami League muscle on the streets, these students now face eviction, retaliation, and even imprisonment. They are in this situation today due to allegations of suppression of popular uprising against Sheikh Hasina and human rights violations during her tenure.
Fahmi says that he did not directly participate in the government's deadly repression against the people during the anti-Hasina protests.
He said, 'My sisters participated in the protest. I also thought that the claim was correct. But I was trapped by party obligations.'
The deadly protests erupted last July over students' demands for scrapping the controversial quota system in government jobs. Students said the quota system favors supporters of the ruling party.
Later the Supreme Court of Bangladesh canceled the quota system. But soon the protests escalated into calls for the overthrow of Hasina's 'tyranny' regime. This government has been widely accused of human rights violations.
The government's response was one of the bloodiest chapters in Bangladesh's history. Because the security forces beat the protestors. They fired tear gas shells and bullets at the peaceful protesters. Over a thousand people were killed in three weeks. Thousands of people were arrested.
On August 5, protesting Bangladeshis attacked various important government buildings including Sheikh Hasina's residence, parliament building. The 77-year-old prime minister fled the country in a military helicopter. He took refuge in New Delhi.
However, the violence did not end with the fall of Hasina. Former perpetrators of state atrocities become new targets. Hundreds of Awami League members and politicians, including students, were attacked or killed. Many went into hiding. Or get caught while trying to escape.
Fahmi said anti-Hasina protesters set fire to her family's house and cold storage business in Noakhali district, 173 kilometers from Dhaka.
He said, 'They threatened to kill my younger brother if I don't tell him where I am.'
Fahmi said, so far they have not done much. However, in the madrassa where his younger brother attends, he is persecuted.
Fahmi admits about his involvement in Chhatra League and said, 'I was a good student. I rarely thought about politics. But politics cannot be avoided in Dhaka University. You either join, or you suffer.'
Fahmi's father died two years ago. After his father's death, the responsibility of his mother, two unmarried sisters and a younger brother fell upon him. He admits that being a leader of the Chhatra League increased his chances of getting a government job.
But another meaning of his loyalty to Awami League is that he could not always be there for the needs of his family.
August 15 was the death anniversary of Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, just one day after her father's death in 2022. He left his bereaved family in Noakhali and came to Dhaka to attend a function organized in Dhaka on this occasion.
Fahmi lamented, 'Looking back I see that I prioritized the team over supporting my family.'
Now that its predecessor, Hasina, is safe in India, she faces constant threats of violence or arrest. This situation has made him realize that the party he once represented, the university he is a student at, has abandoned him.
'The salutations I used to give and the hours I invested in our leaders and in organizing party rallies, now seem pointless,' he said bitterly.
Fahmi also said, 'The party has used us as its political pawn. But when we needed it most, it offered no protection. Suddenly the government fell. Saving myself from the angry crowd was the most difficult task for me that evening. Still, none of the top leaders of the party or the leaders of the Chhatra League sought me out.
Fahmi's final year exams are going on. He could not attend the class. Or unable to complete his degree. He said, 'I wanted to join government service and serve the nation. But if I set foot in the campus, I may be arrested on various charges. Or worse—I might be beaten to death.'
