At least 13 activists of Jahangirnagar University (JU) Chhatra League were held by police yesterday allegedly for seizing three buses of Hanif Enterprise Ltd on Dhaka-Aricha Highway and trying to extort money from the staff, according to a report by a local daily.JU BCL sources, however, said some BCL activists led by deputy sports secretary of the student body Abdur Rahim Jewel stopped the highway buses around 4:30pm to demand compensation for a Hanif bus striking a private car of Jewel’s relative on Dhaka-Rangpur Highway in Sirajganj district the day before. Meanwhile, the party unit issued a press release declaring suspension of Jewel. Further action will be taken upon investigation, according to the statement signed by JU BCL office secretary Shohidul Islam Saif. After obstructing the buses, BCL members confined the staff to the guest room of Mir Mosharrof Hossain Hall of the university, witnesses said. Passengers were on the buses at the time. Informed of the incident by Salahuddin, president of the Bus-Truck Owners Association, Savar and Ashulia police along with the Savar upazila nirbahi (executive) officer reached the spot within 15-20 minutes, freed the staff of the buses and held the 13 BCL men. Over 300 additional police have been deployed there to control any unwanted situation, said Kazi Ashraful Azim, additional superintendent of police (crime) of Dhaka district (north). In the decades from the 1940s to the end of the 1960s student leaders were known for their intellectual ability, political acumen, patriotism, and a desire to free the country from social and political ills which plagued it then. Unfortunately from the 1970s onwards the students who became political leaders or joined politics had none of the qualities which were possessed by the earlier leaders. All of their qualities can be essentially boiled down to one principle-the desire to remain in power at any cost and to make money for themselves-also at any cost and with complete disregard for the well-being of others.Such students who belong to political organizations deserve to be called neither student leaders nor students. They have no more claim to being part of educational institutions than people who take drugs and then beg for money. Unfortunately they allowed themselves to be used as violent elements of political parties. Nothing could be more harmful for the nation to have their university students used as criminals committing all sorts of crimes for financial gains. Whichever of the two main political parties, Awami League or BNP, is in government does not feel the necessity of creating jobs for the young ones by creating investment friendly atmosphere. But the nation is helpless against political leaderships’ failure even for saving their children becoming criminals.
