After the fall of Sheikh Hasina in the anti-discrimination student movement, the interim government has banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, a powerful affiliate of Awami League, under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification on Wednesday night revealing the information.
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According to the notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, during the last 15 years of dictatorial rule, Chhatra League was involved in various activities that disturbed public security including murder, torture, oppression centered on university common rooms, seat trading in dormitories, tender betting, rape, sexual harassment. The evidence of these has been published in all media of the country.The crimes of the organization’s leaders and activists in some terrorist incidents have also been proved in court.
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The notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs also said that hundreds of innocent students and people have been killed by attacking ordinary students and people in the anti-discrimination student movement since July 15.Even after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the Chhatra League was involved in conspiratorial, destructive, provocative and terrorist activities against the state. The government has ample evidence of these activities. In view of this, the government has banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to the notification issued by the Political Branch-2 of the Public Security Department of the Ministry named Mohammad Abdul Momen, Bangladesh Chhatra League, the fraternal organization of Bangladesh Awami League, has been banned under the authority given in subsection (1) of Section 18 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009.In schedule-2 of this act, the student organization named Bangladesh Chhatra League is listed as a prohibited entity.
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According to Section 19 of the Act, the Chhatra League will have 30 days to apply for reconsideration of the ban decision. If the application is made, the government will dispose of it within 90 days. If the decision of prohibition is upheld, the organization will have the opportunity to appeal to the High Court within 30 days.However, Section 20.1(e) of the Anti-Terrorism Act states, ‘The publication, printing or dissemination of any press statement by or on behalf of or in support of a Prohibited Entity, press conference or public address is prohibited.
In Bangladesh, the recent anti-discrimination movement, the earlier Safe Road movement, and many student movements including the anti-student stance of the BCL, demanded the organization to be banned many times.Meanwhile, at 8:30 pm on Wednesday night, the convener of the anti-discrimination student movement wrote on his Facebook ID, “Chatra League should be banned from Dhaka University tonight.” Today at 8:30 pm, the sit-in program of the anti-discrimination student movement began at the gate of the VC’s residence.
Chhatra League was criticized since its establishment in Bangladesh
Chhatra League was founded on 4th January 948 in Fazlul Haque Muslim Hall of Dhaka University. Since its establishment, Chhatra League has played a leading role in the liberation war of Bengalis from various movements of independence. However, over time, Chhatra League was divided into several streams.In recent years, Chhatra League has been criticized for various reasons including factionalism, infighting, assaults, murders, student torture, tender bidding, extortion.
In 2019, Chhatra League’s then president Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury (Shovan) and general secretary Golam Rabbani were removed from the leadership in the face of criticism for alleged extortion.On the night of October 6, 2019, Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) Sherebangla Hall, a group of BCL leaders brutally tortured and killed student Abrar Fahad.Abrar was a second year student of electrical and electronics engineering at BUET. Later, the court sentenced 20 people to death and 5 to life imprisonment in the murder case.
On December 9, 2012, Bishwajit Das, an employee of a tailor shop, was brutally hacked to death by Chhatra League activists in Bahadur Shah Park area of Dhaka. Several people were sentenced to death and life imprisonment in this incident.In the same year, Jubair Ahmed, a student of the English department of Jahangirnagar University, was killed by BCL leaders and activists.
In 2018, when the movement started demanding reform of quota in government jobs, the leaders and activists of Chhatra League attacked the protesting students. When the movement started again in 2024 with the same demand, the Chhatra League attacked the students on July 15.
On the same day, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said that BCL is ready to respond to the insolent behavior in the campus. However, on the night of July 16 and the next day, the students threw out the BCL leaders and activists from the Dhaka University hall. They were expelled from other universities too.
Saddam Hossain got the responsibility of Central President of Chhatra League since 2022 as the post of Chhatra League was vacant. And General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif (Inan). After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the BCL leaders went into hiding.However, after banning the BCL, a statement signed by them was sent to the media on the BCL pad at night. The statement termed the interim government’s decision to ban the Chhatra League as illegal and unconstitutional.
July 2024 The anti-discrimination student movement has been demanding banning of Chhatra League. The second of their five-point demands announced at the central Shaheed Minar last Tuesday was that the Chhatra League should be banned for life as a terrorist organization by this week.
In the meantime, anti-discrimination student movement and National Citizen Committee held a joint press conference at Central Shaheed Minar on Wednesday evening. From there, the BCL has been banned by Thursday.
In this press conference, the convener of the anti-discrimination student movement said that rehabilitation of fascism is not possible in Bangladesh. In the last 16 years, the BCL has carried out atrocities on the campuses and made the halls torture centers, there is no opportunity for them to be rehabilitated.Chhatra League has all the necessary elements to be identified as a militant organization.
On January 4, 1948 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and some student leaders founded the Chhatra League. The organization has a glorious role in the language movement of fifty-two, education movement of sixty-two, six points of sixty-six, mass uprising of sixty-nine, independence of Bangladesh and liberation war.
This traditional organization was one of the strengths of the anti-dictatorship movement of the 90s. However, in the post-independence period and after the Awami League came to power in 1996, there are allegations of misdeeds against many members of the BCL.After the Awami League came to power for the third term in 2009, hundreds of allegations of crimes such as encroachment, fighting, tender bidding, extortion, kidnapping, drug trade, attacks on the programs of opposition parties, repression, and weapons were filed against the leaders and activists of this student organization.
During this period, at least half a hundred lives were lost in the internal conflict of the Chhatra League. The organization was hit by the murders of Biswajit Das in 2012 and Abra in 2019. Chhatra League is also infamous for oppressing ordinary students in the university hall under the name of ‘guest room’.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs by order of the President. In the notification issued by Political Branch-2 named Mohammad Abdul Momen, it is said that Bangladesh Chhatra League, the fraternal organization of Awami League, has been banned under the powers given in subsection (1) of Section 18 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009.Listed as Prohibited Entity.
According to Section 19 of the Act, Chhatra League will get 30 days to apply for reconsideration of the ban decision. If the application is made, the government will dispose of it within 90 days. If the decision of prohibition is upheld, there will be an opportunity to appeal to the High Court within 30 days.
Section 20 of the Anti-Terrorism Act states that the government will close the offices of banned entities. Bank accounts or other assets will be seized. Members of banned organizations cannot leave the country. Statements, notices, publications, campaigns, press conferences or public speeches on behalf of or in support of the organization shall be prohibited.
On August 1, the Awami League government banned Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatrashibir in the same law. On their request, the interim government lifted the ban on August 28.