New student org born in post-uprising political landscape

A breakaway group from the Anti-discrimination Student Movement floats a new student organisation in Bangladesh's post-uprising political landscape, amid tensions and scuffles between rival factions.

Organisers of the organisation, styled Bangladesh Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad or Bangladesh Democratic Students Union, say they have a vision of helping translate objectives of the July-August student-mass uprising that brought about a political regime change.

Abu Bakar Majumder, a student of the 2019-20 session at Dhaka University's Department of Geology, emerges as convenor of the central committee of the organisation launched Wednesday.

Abdul Kader, a student of 2018-2019 session, took up the role of convenor for the Dhaka University chapter of the organisation.

Both are coordinators of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, and former leaders of the Gonotantrik Chhatra Shakti led by Nahid Islam and Akhtar Hossain, who are bound to launch a new political party next Friday. Nahid relinquished government seat as information adviser to lead the party.

The press briefing for the

announcement of the new group was slated for 3pm on the day at Madhu's Canteen, but students of private universities launched an hour-long protest, causing delay, witnesses said.

Bakar then announced the name of the group at 5:15pm along with six, including the top four leaders of the central and Dhaka University committees of the group. He declared their slogan as 'Education, Unity, Liberation'.

He named Tawhid Mohammad Siam as the senior joint convenor, Zahid Ahsan as member-secretary, Rifat Rashid as the senior member- secretary, Tahmid Al Muddassir Chowdhury as the chief organiser and Ashrefa Khatun as the spokesperson.

Zahid, a student of the 2018-19 session, was the office cell head of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.

Tahmid is a student of the 2018-19 session at the Department of World Religions and Culture while Ashrefa

is from the Department of International Relations in the same session.

For the Dhaka University chapter of the group, Limon Mahmud Hasan is appointed senior joint convener, Mohir Alam as general secretary, Al Amin Sarker as senior general secretary, Hasib Al Islam as the chief organizer, and Rafia Rehnuma Hridi as spokesperson.

Mohir is from the Mathematics department. Rafia, convenor of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, is from the 2019-20 session in Social Science department. Hasib is a student of the 2020-21 session in the same department.

According to the organisation, the list of members of the Bangladesh Gonotantrik Chhatra Sangsad has been finalised and will soon be announced.