Student death sparks new violence between student groups

Classes and exams in at least eight major colleges, some of them affiliated with Dhaka University and another university in the Bangladesh capital, faced disruption for over a week following a number of violent clashes between students, in which many were injured.

The clashes began after a student died at Dhaka National Medical College Hospital after alleged mistreatment.

A number of sporadic violent incidents have been reported in the past month, after a period of relative calm since major unrest in Bangladesh in July and August this year led to the ouster of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has fled to India.

Police have suggested students had become emboldened by the success of the July-August movement, taking matters into their own hands and escalating small disputes.

Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College and Kabi Nazrul Government College in the capital Dhaka remained closed from 25 November to 2 December after pitched battles between students at the colleges on 25 November, which left over 100 students injured. Some students then went to Dr Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College (DMRC), looting and vandalising classrooms.

The disruption affected academic activities of more than 20,000 students, with some students saying they fear more clashes. Students are absent, fearing more clashes, teachers said.

Disrupted classes resume

Professor Kakoli Mukhopadhyay, principal of Shaheed Suhrawardy College, and Professor Muhammad Habibur Rahman, principal of Kabi Nazrul Government College, both told University World News that classes and exams resumed on Sunday.

“We have been experiencing such chaos in many of the institutions. Some sections of students were excited and took part in clashes. We talked with them and they have understood their mistakes. They are now returning to the colleges,” Mukhopadhyay said.

Habibur Rahman noted that students had been deprived of academic activities for many days during the student-led mass upsurge of July-August. “Now again classes remain closed for another week. Due to these closures students are facing academic loss. This is unexpected,” he said.

Teachers and students said some students are unhappy about a lack of effective action by the authorities to effectively quell the situation as tensions remain.

Samina Luthfa, associate professor of sociology at the University of Dhaka, said that the recent clashes are deeply concerning and cannot be allowed to escalate further.

“When we know there are problems in these colleges, immediate security measures should be implemented. The authorities should also facilitate dialogue between teachers and students,” she told University World News.

Students from both Shaheed Suhrawardy College and DMRC blamed each other for the attacks, each demanding punishment of their rivals.

Death of student sparked violence

The clashes erupted when DMRC students attacked Dhaka National Medical College Hospital on 24 November, protesting against alleged mistreatment of a fellow DMRC student Abhijit Howlader who died on 18 November at the college hospital.

As some students of Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College tried to prevent DMRC students from attacking the medical college, DMRC students also attacked and vandalised Shaheed Suhrawardy College as well as Gregory High School and College, situated near the medical college.

Many Suhrawardy students who were taking exams at the time were injured in the attack. It was alleged that looting also took place during the attack on Suhrawardy, witnesses said.

The situation escalated with a counter attack on DMRC on 25 November by Suhrawardy students with support from DU-affiliated colleges such as the Kabi Nazrul Government College.

Students entered the 11-storey DMRC building causing damage and setting fire to furniture and looting cash, computers, and laptops, college authorities said.

DMRC Principal Obaidullah Nayan, in a statement, said that students of other colleges than Suhrawardy and Kabi Nazrul, and a group of outsiders entered the building to allegedly cause “massive destruction”.

Bijoy Ahmed, a student of Shaheed Suhrawardy College, told University World News that DMRC students vandalised and looted valuables from their college, so they went to DMRC “to take revenge”. However, he denied the allegation of looting.

Exams postponed

Dhaka National Medical College postponed all departmental classes for undergraduate medical and dentistry degrees for 26 to 28 November.

Final exams for first-year and fourth-year students of seven DU-affiliated colleges also did not take place during that period. They included Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Mohila College, Government Titumir College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Mirpur Government Bangla College, and Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College.

Exams at Bangladesh University of Textiles scheduled for 25, 26 and 28 November were also postponed. On 25 November violence broke out between the university’s students and students from Dhaka Polytechnic Institute. Dozens of students were injured in the clash.

Professor M Aminul Islam, special assistant to the education advisor, said of the recent clashes: “The situation is contained now.”

“We are taking the necessary steps to bring normalcy to the educational institutions. You'll see positive outcomes soon,” he told University World News.