Editorial
BCL sinks in a deeper abyss :Rotten and yet pampered
The explosive turf war within BCL beyond midnight hours into Wednesday centring around control of a Dhaka College dormitory temptingly close to extortion-prone markets was but a symptom of a festering malady afflicting ruling party student wing, root and branch.
Of course, it led to police raid and arrests and challan to court which may have given a publicity of the government's toughening up. But given past experiences, this is bound to peter out going down as an eye-wash. Why we say this is because the ring leaders alleged to be proteges of ruling party leaders may have escaped detention, leave alone some general students having been picked up in the sweeping raid.
Apparently ranging from expulsion from BCL committees, disbanding some councils through stern warnings of the Prime Minister to the wayward, directives to the police to act firmly to repeated reprimands of other senior party leaders everything in the book has been tried out. But it has only been a change for the worse. Actually, the tough words were somehow interspersed with a denial mode followed by allegations of intrusion by outsiders into BCL to discredit the government. So, whatever they said carried little conviction.
There was no public denunciation of the Eden College admission business brawl, firing and bombing at Jessore zila conference, row over formation and counter formation of committees at Hobiganj and, as if that was not enough, Dhaka College imbroglio. No action to fix responsibility, identify and expose the mentors and, above all, create conditions for reform of the BCL as self-contained dedicated student body drawing on the pristine traditions of student politics.
Nothing short of getting to the bottom of the degenerate brand of student politics can help. Unless we do that and take drastic corrective measures student politics of the rabid variety will continue to rule the roost. Internal conflicts over council disbanding and formation, indulgence in admission business, taking control of seats left by outgoing students, vast appetite for extortion and tender manipulation, interference in academic administration do not only interest the students but also some leaders in the ruling party.
As long as such linkages continue to exist, however much officially the ruling party leaders disavow any link to the student party in apparent compliance with certain RPO provisions, the malady can only grow to monstrosity.
A desperate yet diagnosable disease needs a desperate and suitably calibrated remedy.
Of course, it led to police raid and arrests and challan to court which may have given a publicity of the government's toughening up. But given past experiences, this is bound to peter out going down as an eye-wash. Why we say this is because the ring leaders alleged to be proteges of ruling party leaders may have escaped detention, leave alone some general students having been picked up in the sweeping raid.
Apparently ranging from expulsion from BCL committees, disbanding some councils through stern warnings of the Prime Minister to the wayward, directives to the police to act firmly to repeated reprimands of other senior party leaders everything in the book has been tried out. But it has only been a change for the worse. Actually, the tough words were somehow interspersed with a denial mode followed by allegations of intrusion by outsiders into BCL to discredit the government. So, whatever they said carried little conviction.
There was no public denunciation of the Eden College admission business brawl, firing and bombing at Jessore zila conference, row over formation and counter formation of committees at Hobiganj and, as if that was not enough, Dhaka College imbroglio. No action to fix responsibility, identify and expose the mentors and, above all, create conditions for reform of the BCL as self-contained dedicated student body drawing on the pristine traditions of student politics.
Nothing short of getting to the bottom of the degenerate brand of student politics can help. Unless we do that and take drastic corrective measures student politics of the rabid variety will continue to rule the roost. Internal conflicts over council disbanding and formation, indulgence in admission business, taking control of seats left by outgoing students, vast appetite for extortion and tender manipulation, interference in academic administration do not only interest the students but also some leaders in the ruling party.
As long as such linkages continue to exist, however much officially the ruling party leaders disavow any link to the student party in apparent compliance with certain RPO provisions, the malady can only grow to monstrosity.
A desperate yet diagnosable disease needs a desperate and suitably calibrated remedy.
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