By Ankita Sanyal,News18

Copyright news18

Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) recently witnessed Oikkoboddho Shikkharthi Jote (or United Students’ Alliance), backed by Jamaat-e-Islami student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), winning 23 out of the 28 posts, securing all three top positions—Vice President (VP), General Secretary (GS), and Assistant General Secretary (AGS) and marking Shibir’s historic win for the first time in Dhaka University since 1971.
With the resurgence of Islamist politics in Bangladesh since the fall of Sheikh Hasina, and Dhaka University’s own significance as being the barometers of political climate in the country earning the popular name of Bangladesh’s ‘second parliament’, the DUCSU mandate needs careful attention.
Dhaka University has been the harbinger of major political movements in the country and the intellectual hub of resistance voices—be it Bengalis’ undying zeal for protecting their mother tongue in the 1952 Bengali Language Movement, the demand for East Pakistan’s political and economic autonomy in the 1966 Autonomy Movement or protest against Pakistan’s military regime in 1969 uprising. It is precisely for this reason that the Pakistani military regime, which loathed Dhaka University, launched Operation Searchlight in 1971, starting its brutal military crackdown first in the university campus. This ignited the Liberation War, resulting in the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation.
Post-1971, Dhaka University maintained its unique hold as the bastion of Bangladesh’s intellectual discourse rooted in progressive, secular and democratic values. Its vibrant political activism has given many influential future leaders to the country thereby, shaping Bangladesh’s national political landscape. Dhaka University students’ role in 1990 anti-Ershad Movement has also been pivotal in bringing an end to decades of military rule in Bangladesh, paving the way for the restoration of democracy and a civilian national government.
When it comes to Islamist politics, especially Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islamic Chhatra Shibir (ICS), Dhaka University displayed its scepticism, and resistance to Jamaat’s resurgence post-1975, given its controversial past in Liberation War and conservative ideology. Naturally, ICS met with the same treatment, as its presence was believed to be antithetical to Dhaka University’s progressive ideals. Since its official establishment in 1977, Shibir had marginal electoral presence in DUCSU and faced a series of restrictions, especially under Awami League government, for its engagement in violence and subversive activities and extremist ideology, perceived as threat to the country’s national principles. When student elections resumed in 2019 after a deadlock of 28 years, Shibir did not field any official panel as it was barred from organising any activities. Nevertheless, its activities continued covertly on campus, sustaining Shibir’s silent presence.
Spearheaded by Dhaka University students, the 2024 July uprising led to the fall of the 15-year-old political rule of Sheikh Hasina. During this movement, Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing ICS were officially banned for ‘involvement in terrorist activities’, a move soon revoked by the interim government after its formation. This marked the re-emergence of Islamist politics, so long sidelined, with Jamaat-e-Islami rebranding itself as a tolerant, progressive Islamic party. Likewise, Shibir re-entered campus politics, now visibly organising its activities and contested the recent election, a first for ICS.
ICS’s political assertion in Dhaka University did not go un-responded. The university witnessed strong protests and demonstrations, especially from Left-leaning students, against the acquittal of 1971 War crime charges of Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam, accusing the interim government of re-writing Liberation history and rehabilitating war criminals. On the occasion of celebrating the anniversary of July uprising, Shibir’s photo exhibition featuring convicted 1971 war criminals at Dhaka University created yet another uproar from students and faculties alike, many perceiving it as ICS’s way of ‘testing the waters.’
The DUCSU election is notable for many reasons. This is the first election which did not see participation of the now-banned Awami League student wing Chhatra Legue that has so far dominated Dhaka University, leaving BNP student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and ICS as main contenders. To overcome years of marginalisation and stigma, Shibir needed a broader appeal. That is why, ICS formed a panel, United Students’ Alliance, to present a coalition of diverse student voices, which included Shibir loyalists as well as independent student activists aligned with anti-Awami League sentiment, instead of an appearing as a partisan bloc. As the elections results demonstrated, this was smart politics which upstaged the BNP student wing in the elections.
This election witnessed a massive voter turnout of about 78.36 per cent. The ICS-backed panel’s electoral success raised eyebrows, given Dhaka University’s continued resistance against attempts at whitewashing Liberation history by Jamaat and Shibir. Many attribute the victory to Shibir’s grassroot and campus services, in contrast to negative politics of the JCD’s organisational factions, whose alleged involvement in extortion led to its embarrassing electoral defeat. The mandate also revealed minimal electoral influence of Boishamyabirodi Shikkarti Sangsad (Anti-Discrimination Student Council) panel backed by Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, the National Citizen’s Party (NCP) student wing, despite its decisive role in the 2024 Uprising. Indeed, this election has been a wake-up call for both BNP and the NCP.
The DUSCU election, however, was not without controversy. Allegations of violations of electoral code of conduct, indiscriminate spending, voter manipulation, irregularities in vote counting and administrative biasness in favour of Shibir were raised. Umama Fatema, the Vice President candidate from Independent Student panel withdrew her candidature and publicly declared her boycott of DUSCU on the night of vote count, alleging the election to be ‘shamelessly rigged’ and the administration to be ‘Shibir loyalists’. Nevertheless, the DUSCU Chief Election Commissioner only gave reassurance to have ‘taken all measures’ of ensuring students’ secret voting rights.
The DUCSU mandate shows the direction towards which the anticipated February 2026 national election is heading—signalling a boost to Islamist politics and Jamaat’s own broader ambitions, despite its marginal presence in national politics. With only about five months left, Shibir’s victory leaves less time for the BNP and NCP to recalibrate its electoral strategy, and much leeway for Jamaat and other Islamic parties to gain prominence in mainstream politics who are now close to form an alliance to contest under a single ballot in the upcoming election. Although it is not yet clear if Jamaat would be part of such alliance, the Islamist alliance invites more complexity for its electoral competitors. Certainly, 2026 election holds the key to shape the likely direction of change in Bangladesh’s struggling democracy, including the fate of the present Constitution.
For India, Bangladesh’s growing Islamist influence is a concern considering Islamist parties’ ties to Pakistan and predominant anti-India sentiments that they harbour. The possibility of resurging communal violence and border incursions, as witnessed in the past during BNP-Jamaat coalition government, cannot be ruled out. Bangladesh’s Islamist direction, therefore, is likely to seriously affect the course of future diplomatic engagements with Dhaka and pose a major setback to productive ties built over the last one-and-a-half decades. It remains to be seen if the present political shift in Dhaka University would steer the electoral wheel in the same direction this upcoming election. India can now only hope for an inclusive, stable, democratic political transition in Bangladesh, continually being promised by the caretaker government in Dhaka.
The author is a Research Fellow at International Centre for Peace Studies (ICPS), New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.