SM Farhad, the secretary of the Dhaka University branch of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, announced that the full committee of the university branch will be revealed soon.
He made this statement during a press conference held at the TSC of Dhaka University on Thursday (September 26) afternoon.
Farhad stated, “We have introduced the president and secretary, and we will soon announce our full committee. We need some time.”
When asked about the process of forming the Shibir committee, he explained that unlike Chhatra League or Chhatra Dal, where candidates run for positions, in Shibir, the members from the grassroots level determine the leadership. They decide who they want as president or secretary, and there is no other authority involved.
In response to a question about whether Shibir engages in tendon cutting, he suggested searching Google for documents against Shibir and claimed that all such documents would be against Chhatra League. He mentioned that fascism has been a recurring topic, and speaking out against it often results in being labeled and attacked by Shibir. Therefore, even if no one supports them, they cannot oppose them. They have established this through collective effort.
Regarding the ban on student politics on campus, he said that there will be systematic student politics on campus. However, student politics will not be involved in university decision-making; the administration will handle everything. Then, a transformed form of student politics will be introduced.
When asked why their organization is labeled as banned internationally, he responded that after the Awami League came to power in 2008, they saw certain elements as obstacles to establishing fascism. The first obstacle was the army, which they targeted through the BDR mutiny.
Subsequently, they viewed Shibir as their biggest obstacle and attacked them. There is no layer of Shibir that hasn’t faced attacks. The Shibir president was remanded for 56 days without reason, and even during prayers, Chhatra League attacked.
When asked how students perceive Shibir, he said that fascism has established two things: first, closing all Shibir offices and halting their activities, and second, creating fear towards Shibir. After their reappearance, this foundation has been broken. Almost all students have positively received them. Those who have observed them for the past five years and seen their behavior and personality are giving positive feedback online.
When asked about initiatives to introduce Shibir to a new generation that doesn’t know them, he said that their reappearance is a significant initiative. If a survey is conducted, it will be seen that about 90% of students have a positive perception of them. They have dismissed the narrative against them as false.
