Student movement played an important role in the coup of Bangladesh. Not only in Bangladesh, students have come to the field to demand their rights at different times in different countries. Our organization is based on some important student movements in different countries of the world.
Language movement is one of the examples of student movement in the history of Bangladesh. In 1952, the students of Dhaka started a movement demanding Bengali as the state language. On 21 February, the Bengali language was recognized as the national language as a result of the bloody student movement.In Dhaka, students took out a rally under the leadership of TammadunMajlis founder AbulKasem. The meeting decided to make Bengali an official language of Pakistan and a medium of education in East Bengal. However, the Public Service Commission of Pakistan excluded Bengali from the list of approved subjects and simultaneously removed Bengali from currency notes and stamps. Pakistan's Union Education Minister Fazlur Rahman made extensive preparations to make Urdu the sole state language of Pakistan. This enraged the Bengali people and a large section of students gathered at the Dhaka University campus on December 8, 1947, to demand that Bengali be officially made an official language. For this reason, the students organized marches and rallies in Dhaka. As the students were leaving, the police arrested some students for violating Section 144. On hearing the news of the arrest, the angry students blockaded the East Bengal Constituent Assembly and demanded to present their proposals there. When a group of students tried to rush into the building, the police opened fire and many students including Salam, Rafiq, Barkat, Jabbar, and Shafiur were killed.
In 1969, Bangladeshi students staged a mass uprising against Pakistani rule. Students played a key role in this movement and it served as a guide for Bangladesh's freedom struggle.18 January 1969 - Student Hafiz Ahmed in Rupganj.
24th January 1969 - Student Matiyur Rahman Mallik, Rachstam Ali and student AlamgirMansoor in Mymensingh and workers Hasanuzzaman and Janu Mia in Chittagong in front of the Secretariat.18 February 1969 - City College student and student leader Nurul Islam Khoka, proctor and professor of Rajshahi University in Sonadighi Par, Rajshahi. Mohammad Shamsujjoha and Rahmatullah, who works in Nazirabazar. 28 January 1969 - Alauddin Khan, a 9th class student in Barisal.
21 February 1969 - Students AbdusSattar, Monirchzzaman, night school students and workers Mahtak Ali, workers Israfil Bando, Altab, Habibur Rahman, Nasir, Loknath.
During the Liberation War of Bangladesh, students played an important role in the organization of the Liberation Army. They participated in the freedom struggle against Pakistani rule.The community of this country did not involve themselves in building the background of the liberation war and bringing the countrymen together, but also took up arms in the liberation struggle and jumped into the liberation war scorning the illusion of life. The direct participation of the student society ensured the victory of Bangladesh. The students and intellectuals of this country were the first victims of the massacre that Pakistani cannibals carried out in the Dhaka University area on the night of March 25, 1971.
The Pakistanis understood that the main source of strength of the Bengali nation was the student society of this country, so their first target was the various hostels of Dhaka University. Remembering the hellish carnage carried out by the Pakistani army in attacking university dormitories, every person in this country shuddered with fear.
In the anti-dictatorship movement of 1990, students protested for the fall of Ershad's government. Students directly participated in this movement and brought down the Ershad government.
In 2018, Bangladeshi students protested to demand quota reforms in government jobs. This movement spread across the country, and eventually, the government was forced to reform the quota system. In 2018, the death of two students in Dhaka led to a protest by students demanding road safety. The movement gained massive public support and forced the government to ensure road safety.
In 2018, in the face of student movement, Bangladesh's unemployment system was cancelled. But in June 2024, the quota system was again introduced in the job by the court's verdict. After this the students started agitation. In the face of that movement, the government was forced to reform the quota system in July 2024. But many students and common people were killed in this movement
Student movements have always been a powerful means of social change. At different stages of world history and at other times in Bangladesh, students have protested for their rights and justice. Their struggles and sacrifices ushered in a change in society and its impact continues today.
The writer is a PhD researcher at Rajshahi University, Lecturer of Rajshahi Cantonment Public School & College
