'Golden boys' of Bangladesh PM
February 21 is a very important day in the history of Bangladesh. Because, back in 1952, courageous students of Dhaka University fought for establishment of Bangla as our mother language, while the then Pakistani government was desperately trying to impose Urdu as the only official language of both West and East Pakistan. A number of students of Dhaka University were murdered by the Pakistani police and army on this day. For this particular reason, Language Movement and February 21 are extremely important parts of the history of Bangladesh.
21 February was proclaimed the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
On 21 March 1948, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Governor General of Pakistan, declared that Urdu would be the only official language for both West and East Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan [now Bangladesh], whose main language is Bangla, started to protest against this. On 21 February 1952, [8 Falgun 1359 in the Bangla calendar], students in the present day capital city of Dhaka called for a provincial strike. The government invoked a limited curfew to prevent this and the protests were tamed down so as to not break the curfew. The Pakistani police fired on the students despite these peaceful protests and a number of students were killed.
While Dhaka University students played the heroic role during the Language Movement back in 1952, a section of students belonging to ruling Bangladesh Awami League has created an example of extreme anarchism and hooliganism on the same day just 58 years later!
Before describing this horrific notoriety of the activists and leaders of the student's wing of the ruling party, I must first of all inform my readers that, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the President of Bangladesh Awami League, terms the members of the student's wing of her party as 'Golden Boys'. But, what they have done on February 21, 2010 will possibly now give them a new name – 'Golden Goons'.
According to newspaper reports, a number of female students from a college in Dhaka went to pay floral tribute at the Central Shahid Minar [Central Monument of the Language Movement], which is located inside the Dhaka University campus. But, several activists and leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League [student front of the ruling party] started teasing the girls. At one stage, guardians of these female students turned angry at those unruly youths. They protested to such nasty attitude of the ruling party activists on the fellow female students. But, a leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League became violent at such protest of the guardians of the affected female student, and started dragging one of them inside the boy's dormitory. When the guardians tried to stop such notoriety, a few more members of the student's wing of the ruling party pulled a number of guardians along with few more female students inside the dormitory and started beating them with field-hockey stick and bamboo sticks in presence of thousands of people, who came to pay homage to the heroes of the language movement. Members of law enforcing agencies were witnessing the entire episode silently.
After assaulting the girls and their guardians for almost half-an-hour, the members of the ruling party's student wing, forced them to leave the university campus. It was even reported that, the female students were molested and sexually harassed by the leaders and activists of the ruling party student's wing.
Members of the ruling party's student wing are engaged in series of violent activities as well severe terror inside various campuses in Bangladesh, since Bangladesh Awami League came in power in January 2009. On several occasions, girl students were sexually harassed and abused by these 'Golden Goons'. But the government did not take any action against any of the culprits.
It may be mentioned here that, when Awami League was in power during 1996-2001, a leader of its student's wing raped 100 female students in consecutive 7 days inside Jahangir Nagar University campus and brought out a celebration procession to pronounce his 'heroism' in raping 100 female students. The matter came as top story of a number of newspapers in Bangladesh, but the government did not take minimum action against that culprit.
There are series of allegations of extortion, murder, rape and various forms of crime against the activists and leaders of the ruling party's student wing. Since Bangladesh Awami League formed government, these 'Golden Goons' have established virtual reign of terror in every educational institutions and campuses in the country.
I am sure; none of these incidents miss the attention of the Prime Minister. But, I am equally sure, that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will simply ignore these notorieties of her own party men. When Awami League came in power, they promised to change the politics of the country with something new to move Bangladesh ahead towards prosperity and peace. But, the ground realities in Bangladesh are truly alarming.
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