BCL turfwar takes life
The uncontrolled violence perpetrated by the Bangladesh Chattra League is becoming so dangerously repetitious that it is hitting at the very roots of good governance. Whatever may have the achievements of the government in the education and agricultural sectors, every single good act has been obscured by the unruly activities of the student wing of the Awami League, not in one or two but in almost all the major educational institutions of the country.
The latest eruption of violence was the result of intra-group clash of the BCL in Mymensingh Agricultural University on Saturday, which was initiated by attempts to dominate the turf at the BAU, and resulted in the death of a young boy of a nearby village. Equally disquieting are the people of that village venting their anger at the death by setting fire to the students' dormitories. And it is not the first time that the students and villagers have been involved in clashes.
The BAU violence is representative of the general state of things at many educational institutions in the country. And we had repeatedly urged the government to rein in the loose cannon that the Chattra League has become or lose whatever credibility it has.
It is not enough for the AL to talk about infiltrators trying to defame their student's organisation. We have heard that for a long time. By now the BCL should have been cleansed of the bad eggs. Although it is somewhat reassuring to see the party and the administration move against the errant students of BAU, that is not enough. These elements should no longer be allowed the impunity that they have been enjoying. And any lawbreaker amongst the BCL, in all the other institutions also, must be treated under the existing law of the land and made examples of.
It is also surprising, and indeed unacceptable, that centers of higher learning should be repository of dangerous weapons, as we have seen in every instance of student clashes the use of firearms. It was time that the university administrations purged their campuses of dangerous weapons, and made the carrying of weapons inside the campus a cognizable offense.
Comments