Shibir reveals JU committee, students protest
The statement came roughly 35 years after the university authority had banned the Shibir at the 124th syndicate meeting on 15 August 1989
For the first time in around 35 years, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, announced its Jahangirnagar University (JU) committee by issuing a statement on Tuesday night.
Around 11pm, the campus unit of Shibir issued a statement from their official Facebook page, also demanding the revival of the Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (JUCSU) and calling for healthy, participatory politics on campus.
Following this announcement, three JU Shibir leaders appeared publicly—President Harunur Rashid Rafi, Secretary Mohibur Rahman Mohib, and Publicity Secretary Abdullah Al Mamun Saki.
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After the killing of History department student Habibur Rahman Kabir allegedly by Shibir activists in 1989, all socio-cultural-political organisations in JU reached a consensus not to allow activities of the student body and religion-based politics on the campus.
In response to the announcement of the Shibir committee, a section of JU students staged a protest march on campus.
The precession started around 1:30am from the campus area of Battala and moved through different campus roads, ending at the university's Shaheed Minar, where a brief assembly took place.
Amartya Roy, a leader of a faction of Bangladesh Student Union's JU unit, condemned Shibir's statement during a rally that followed the procession.
"The people will never forgive those who deny the significance of 1971 and 2024. Shibir's press release is full of lies. They have never apologised for violent attacks or killings like those of Kabir and Dipu [ two students of JU] ," he said.
"We have never seen Shibir take a stand against inflation or labour exploitation; instead, they focus on divisive politics like those seen at Shahbagh and Shapla Chattar. The Awami League practises similar divisive politics," he added.
Roy said, "Any organisation with blood on its hands must face justice before participating in politics. Whether through social or legal channels, they must apologise to all 14,000 students before they can operate on campus."
Sohagi Samia, an organiser of the Socialist Student Front's JU unit, also addressed the gathering.
"An organisation that never wanted Bangladesh and its independence has no place in this independent nation," she said.
The constitution mandates secularism, and a student organisation cannot engage in religion-based politics in a secular state, she added.
According to available records, among the three Shibir leaders, Harunur Rashid Rafi is a student from the Department of Archaeology's 46th batch (2016-17 session), Mohibur Rahman belongs to the Department of Bangla's 47th batch (2017-18 session), and Abdullah Al Mamun Saki is from the Philosophy Department's 47th batch (2017-18 session).
