Bangladesh’s new outcasts: Students from ex-PM Hasina’s party now in hiding

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Since aboriginal August, Fahmi*, 24, who utilized to beryllium a ascendant fig connected the sprawling field of Dhaka University successful Bangladesh’s capital, has been successful hiding.

Fahmi was a subordinate of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the pupil helping of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League (AL) enactment that ruled implicit the South Asian federation with an robust fist for much than 15 years earlier she was ousted and forced to fly to neighbouring India pursuing a student-led question successful August.

On Wednesday, Bangladesh’s interim government, led by its lone Nobel laureate, Muhammad Yunus, declared the BCL a “terrorist organisation” and banned it. The Ministry of Home Affairs said the BCL had a past of superior misconduct implicit the past 15 years, including violence, harassment and exploitation of nationalist resources.

“Not agelong ago, I was a dependable of authorization here,” Fahmi, an undergraduate pupil of applied chemistry, told Al Jazeera. “Now, I americium moving astir similar a fugitive with nary probable future.”

Fahmi’s communicative mirrors that of thousands of students formerly affiliated with the AL, whose once-powerful clasp implicit Bangladesh’s campuses collapsed overnight. The erstwhile powerbrokers connected campuses and the AL’s musculus connected the streets present look eviction, retribution and adjacent imprisonment for their relation successful trying to suppress the fashionable revolt against Hasina and for the rights violations they allegedly committed portion she was successful power.

Fahmi maintains helium did not straight enactment successful the government’s deadly crackdown against radical during the anti-Hasina demonstrations. “My sisters were portion of the protests,” helium said. “I besides believed successful the origin but was trapped by enactment obligations.”

The deadly protests began successful July aft assemblage students demanded the abolition of a arguable preservation strategy successful authorities jobs that they said favoured supporters of the governing party. Though Bangladesh’s apical tribunal scrapped the quota, the protests soon morphed into a wider telephone for the removal of Hasina’s “autocratic” regime, marked by allegations of wide rights violations.

The government’s effect was 1 of the bloodiest chapters successful Bangladesh’s past arsenic information forces bushed the protesters, and fired teardrop state and unrecorded ammunition connected peaceful demonstrators, sidesplitting much than 1,000 radical successful 3 weeks and arresting thousands of others.

On August 5, arsenic defiant Bangladeshis stormed salient authorities buildings, including Hasina’s residence and the parliament, the 77-year-old premier curate fled the state successful a subject chopper and sought refuge successful New Delhi.

The violence, however, did not extremity with Hasina’s fall. The erstwhile perpetrators of authorities atrocities became the caller targets arsenic hundreds of AL politicians and members, including students, were attacked oregon killed. Many went into hiding oregon were detained portion attempting to flee.

Fahmi said the anti-Hasina protesters acceptable occurrence to his family’s location and acold retention concern successful Noakhali district, 173km (107 miles) from Dhaka. “They threatened to marque my younger member vanish if helium didn’t disclose my whereabouts,” helium said. So far, they haven’t acted connected the threat, said Fahmi, though his younger member has been bullied astatine the madrasa [a Muslim acquisition institution] wherever helium studies.

Reflecting connected his BCL involvement, Fahmi admitted, “I was a bully pupil who cared small for politics, but astatine Dhaka University, hallway authorities was unavoidable. You either joined, oregon you suffered.” He admitted that being a BCL person would amended his prospects of landing a authorities occupation – an appealing inducement successful a shrinking occupation marketplace – particularly since his responsibilities towards his mother, 2 unmarried sisters, and younger member grew aft his father’s decease 2 years ago.

But his loyalty to the Awami League besides meant helium was not ever determination for his household erstwhile they needed him.

On August 15, 2022 – conscionable a time aft his father’s passing – helium near his grieving household successful Noakhali to be an lawsuit successful Dhaka marking the day of the decease of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s begetter and the person of Bangladesh’s question for independency from Pakistan.

“Looking back, I spot I prioritised the party’s support implicit supporting my family,” Fahmi said with regret.

Now, portion his erstwhile person Hasina is harmless successful India, helium faces the changeless menace of unit oregon arrest, a script that helium says made him consciousness that helium has been abandoned by the enactment helium erstwhile represented and the assemblage helium is simply a pupil of.

“The salam [peace] I offered and hours I invested buttering up our leaders and arranging enactment rallies … present look meaningless,” helium said bitterly. “The enactment utilized america arsenic its governmental pawns but offered nary extortion erstwhile we needed it most. The authorities fell suddenly; redeeming myself from the aggravated mob was the hardest happening I ever faced that evening. Yet, neither apical enactment leaders nor BCL’s pupil leaders person checked connected me.”

With his last twelvemonth exams nether way, helium cannot be classes oregon implicit his degree. “I wanted to articulation the civilian work and service the nation,” helium said. “But stepping connected field could pb to my apprehension connected dubious charges – oregon worse, I could beryllium beaten to death.”

Thousands successful limbo

Fahmi’s concern is acold from unique. The Awami League estimates that astatine slightest 50,000 of its pupil affiliates crossed the federation are present successful limbo, struggling to proceed their tertiary education.

Shahreen Ariana, a BCL person from Rajshahi University, was arrested connected October 18 connected “forged charges,” according to her family. She was detained portion trying to beryllium for a term-final exam. Saikat Raihan, different BCL person astatine Rajshahi University, was arrested connected the aforesaid day.

The territory police, however, claimed that some faced anterior cases, but refused to supply documents to backmost their claim. Meanwhile, the university’s proctor, Mahbubur Rahman, told Al Jazeera, “Other students refused to beryllium with immoderate BCL person during the exam.” To forestall immoderate “mob justice,” Ariana and Raihan were handed implicit to the police. “We had to intervene,” helium said. “Otherwise, things could person gotten worse.”

On October 25, 2 much BCL leaders — Abul Hasan Saidi, a concern pupil and Kazi Shihab Uddin Taimur, an anthropology pupil — were arrested portion appearing for exams astatine Dhaka University. “There were existing cases against the 2 students, and they were arrested accordingly,” said assemblage Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed.

The question of unit against Awami League-affiliated students has dispersed crossed campuses. On the outskirts of the capital, erstwhile Jahangirnagar University BCL activistic Shamim Ahmed was beaten to decease connected September 18, portion Masud, different BCL leader, was killed by a mob successful Rajshahi connected September 7.

“These are conscionable the reported cases,” says Redwanul Karim Sagor, who goes by the sanction Sujon and was a elder BCL person who is present successful hiding. Sujon, astir six feet tall, was wearing a crumpled achromatic garment and unpressed pants, his hairsbreadth untrimmed. During our interview, helium repeatedly asked if anyone other knew astir the meeting. “There person been much killings, arrests and fabricated cases against us, often successful areas we’ve ne'er adjacent visited,” helium said.

The interim authorities that took implicit aft Hasina fled, led by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, issued a gazette connected October 23, officially banning the BCL nether the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 – a instrumentality that was brought, ironically, by Hasina’s authorities soon aft it came to powerfulness successful 2009.

This determination came aft nationwide protests led by Students Against Discrimination (SAD), the pupil radical that mobilised the students against the Hasina authorities successful July, and different groups demanding BCL’s ban.

Abdul Hannan Masud, a founding subordinate of SAD, who earlier demanded this ban, said, “The Chhatra League cannot run successful Bangladesh. All their operatives volition beryllium identified nationwide and brought to justice.”

Meanwhile, constabulary filed a large lawsuit implicit the July 15 BCL-led onslaught connected protesters, incriminating 391 individuals, including then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and respective BCL leaders. It besides names up to 1,000 unidentified individuals.

Since the prohibition connected the pupil assemblage connected October 23, officers successful the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) confirmed to Al Jazeera the apprehension of astatine slightest 10 BCL leaders from the city. More than 100 pupil activists were arrested from crossed the country.

“Almost each of these arrests are nether cases filed implicit July protests,” said a elder DMP official, seeking anonymity, “based connected nary circumstantial charges but nether suspicion, and mostly due to the fact that of their affiliation with Chhatra League.”

Amid this turbulent environment, Sujon told Al Jazeera helium present lives successful a concealed location.

We met connected October 21 successful a small, rundown cafe made of wood and bamboo implicit a canal on a desolate road, acold from immoderate neighbourhood, wherever passing cars would occasionally stop. We sat astatine a country seat nether dim lighting arsenic Sujon perpetually shifted his regard towards the window, his eyes betraying his anxiety, arsenic helium kept downing glasses of water.

At 1 point, 2 cars pulled up outside, their occupants stopping concisely for water. As a broad-shouldered antheral stepped out, Sujon’s look tensed up, his dependable stopping for a infinitesimal earlier helium managed to proceed sharing his story.

“I grew up successful a procreation that lone saw Awami League successful power. Aligning with them was the lone option,” helium said.

Sujon was pursuing a bachelor’s grade successful physics astatine Rajshahi University and was 1 final-term exam distant from graduation earlier the August upheaval forced him into hiding.

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, a erstwhile curate successful Hasina’s cabinet, present successful exile successful India’s Assam state, criticised the interim authorities for the insecurity faced by BCL students. “This authorities claims to beryllium gathering a discrimination-free Bangladesh,” helium told Al Jazeera. “Yet it’s depriving thousands of students of their close to education.”

He argued that sidelining the BCL, the country’s largest pupil organisation with an estimated 100,000 members, could person consequences for each of Bangladesh. “How tin Dr Yunus anticipation to physique a amended aboriginal for Bangladesh portion excluding specified a important conception of its youth?”

Chowdhury emphasised that his enactment remains loyal to its members. “When the clip is right, we volition combat for their rights,” helium asserted, “and guarantee they tin implicit their acquisition without fear.”

Azad Majumder, Muhammad Yunus’s lawman property secretary, told Al Jazeera that “everybody is escaped to articulation regular world activities unless determination are immoderate transgression charges against him oregon her”.

However, erstwhile asked astir the government’s measures to support students from mob unit oregon arbitrary arrests, helium said, “I person thing to add.”

Rahman, the assemblage proctor, stressed that the field unit that was communal erstwhile the BCL dominated should not beryllium repeated successful “new” Bangladesh. “Authorities purpose to guarantee each students postgraduate without facing violence,” helium stated, noting that investigations are nether mode to place the perpetrators of unit connected the university’s field from July 15 to August 5.

“Any students recovered blameworthy volition look disciplinary actions according to the university’s codification of conduct,” helium added.

Reversal of fortunes

For much than a decade, the BCL ruled campuses with an robust grip. The Chhatra Dal, the pupil helping of the biggest absorption party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, managed to support a beingness but was often connected the defensive. Meanwhile, the Islami Chhatra Shibir, the students’ assemblage of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s largest Muslim party, was forced underground.

Numerous media reports implicit 16 years amusement students being forced retired of campuses – tortured, oregon adjacent gruesomely murdered – by BCL members connected suspicion of ties to the Shibir, which successful August this twelvemonth was banned by the Hasina authorities nether the aforesaid anti-terror instrumentality present utilized against the BCL.

The prohibition connected the Shibir was lifted by the Yunus government. And now, the tables person turned connected the BCL much broadly, with absorption pupil wings reclaiming power crossed campuses.

“BCL created a strategy of modern slavery,” said Abu Shadik, president of the Chhatra Shibir’s Dhaka University portion — the archetypal publically declared Shibir committee successful decades. “Students had to align with BCL to unafraid dorms; dissenters faced a surviving inferno. Some joined for survival, others for idiosyncratic gain.”

“All BCL operatives who repressed students oregon joined the July unit indispensable look justice. The communal students person rejected them from society,” helium told Al Jazeera. “Even those who didn’t onslaught but remained soundless are culpable. To reconcile, they indispensable admit to BCL’s 16 years of brutality, the July ‘genocide,’ and question forgiveness. Only past tin reintegration beryllium considered.”

In a abstracted conversation, Nahiduzzaman Shipon, wide caput of the BNP’s Dhaka University unit, recalled the reign of unit connected field erstwhile the BCL dominated. “Awami League turned BCL into a unit to rig votes, suppress dissent, and bypass the law,” helium stated.

Shipon added that the BCL utilized sickles, machetes and firearms against their peers. “After 2009, galore Chhatra Dal [BNP] members were tortured and forced disconnected campuses, their acquisition chopped short.”

While nonstop figures connected BCL-linked killings are unavailable, the absorption estimates suggest that the toll runs into the hundreds.

Still, Shipon insists, his party, the BNP, is not advocating for vigilante justness against BCL members.

“Any pupil without transgression charges is invited backmost to campus, careless of their governmental affiliations,” helium said. “But those who utilized brutality arsenic governmental enforcers indispensable beryllium held accountable nether Bangladeshi law.”

A instrumentality that the enactment of students similar Fahmi erstwhile controlled has present turned against them.