No campus politics, please!

Once the cradle of politics, the University of Dhaka (DU) now wants to get rid of politics. It is time that decides the utility of almost everything both in individual and collective life. The toy a child holds dear to his/her heart has no part in adulthood. But politics cannot be likened with a toy. It is the staple of nationhood of all the peoples the world over. A government is made and unmade on the basis of political engagement with its people unless ambitious military carries out coups to take power forcibly and illegally.
Then why do students of DU find politics unacceptable, particularly when student politics boasts a glorious past? Even the non-party student movement that deposed the authoritarian government actually had as its driving force politics by default. It is not just national politics that degenerated over the years, it also dragged down student politics along with it. Viciously polluted student politics under the influence of successive governments including military autocrats, has discredited itself for long. It only exceeded all limits during the past regime.
The cradle of politics this time has witnessed a response unprecedented in history from students under the banner of general students. It is in fact the triumph of the good over the evil, of the oppressed over the tyrants of the humble over the arrogant. The Chhatra League spearheaded the student movement against the Pakistani oppressive and exploitative regime successfully. Its degeneration is pathetic indeed. It changed for the worse with time and has naturally been dumped into the dungeon. Again, the virtuous and the apparently defenceless became victorious against their oppressors.
It is the brutal and ugly experience with student politics on campus that actually created the spark for the conflagration of a movement that consumed the seemingly all powerful and mindless regime. The brutality and horrors of the campus life, particularly of the dormitories subjected to what looks like an Orwellian dystopia, are fresh in memory of students unwilling to join politics. It is quite natural, they stand firm to banish politics for students, teachers and general staff from the campus.
To press home their demand on Friday last, a group of students of DU brought out a protest rally and held a brief meeting where they announced that until party politics were not banned, they would not attend classes scheduled to start from September 22 next. Indeed, politics on political party lines have vitiated academic life not only of Dhaka University but all autonomous and public universities. Military dictators initiated the process of spoiling the academic environment by creating their lackeys and stooges along with forming student organisations. A political party known for its anti-liberation role once virtually made Chattogram University a fortress for its student wing. With the changeover of state power every time, the dormitories have been captured by the student wing of the ruling party.
With such a murky past, the relevance of campus politics has ceased. Now is the time to concentrate on developing an atmosphere where civilised norms and democratic values reign supreme. The days of bullies and big brothers should be a thing of the past. Only such an environment can be enabling enough for academic excellence by virtue of greater devotion to study, research and creation of new knowledge. Why the higher study in the country fails on those scores is not far to seek. If teachers are recruited and promoted on consideration of political allegiance, they are likely to be subservient ready to please their recruiting bosses instead of exploring the world of knowledge. Thus the blue, white and pink teachers' groups have always found themselves locked in a psychological tussle.
Students demanding a total ban on campus politics have their points that can hardly be challenged. If teachers, students or employees and officers feel strongly about their involvement with party politics, they should have the liberty to pursue their ambition beyond the campus. But they must forget they are political elements once they enter the campus area. At no point should their performance be influenced by their political convictions.

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