The Bangladesh Chhatra League is a proud partner in all the golden achievements of Bengal and the Bengali people. The Chhatra League was founded on January 4, 1948, in response to the needs of the period. History shows that the Chhatra League has never followed a predetermined route; instead, it has continually forged its own. The Bangladesh Chhatra League, founded by the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, sprang from the fiery furnace of ongoing struggles and fights. No evil power can take root in the Chhatra League. Even if it tries to hold on, it will be tossed off like a stranger on a horse’s back. The power that has always generated cannot be one of destruction or annihilation.
The Bangladesh Chhatra League is a proud:Â Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded the Chhatra League a year after breaking free from British colonial rule and entering Pakistani colonial rule, which aided the Bengali people’s quest for independence for two decades. Even the most casual reader of history recognizes the Bangladesh Chhatra League as a proud partner in all of Bengal’s and the Bengali people’s glorious achievements.
When we look at the history of democratic freedom battles across countries, we can see that many organizations were founded to meet the demands of the period and then evolved over time. Year after year, the Chhatra League’s leaders and workers have been tested in the fires of struggle, emerging as pure gold. The Bangladesh Chhatra League, an organization that represents education, peace, and progress, was founded by the greatest Bengali of all time, the Father of the Nation of the Bengali people, and the visionary of the Bengali nation’s liberation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It is a pure institution founded in the crucible of his life and youth, a school for construction workers to develop his Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal).
The Bangladesh Chhatra League has completed 76 years of service with a balance of knowledge and humility, education and guidance, hard work and dedication, life and patriotism, and a variety of human values. The organization has begun its 77th year, which has been defined by hardship, dedication, and tradition. Since its inception, the Bangladesh Chhatra League has been a brave and successful companion in six decades of movements for language rights, education rights, the establishment of Bengali self-rule, popular uprisings against misrule, and, most importantly, the struggle for independence and self-determination.
During the country’s split from British colonial rule in 1947, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, stated, “It is merely a transfer of power from one vulture to another.” Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a student at Kolkata Islamia College when he was chosen General Secretary of the student union. Following the split based on the two-nation doctrine, Bengalis faced new forms of exploitation.
The first strike was directed at our mother tongue, Bengali. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman knew at that point that the only way to break the black teeth of oppression was through the student community. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established the Pakistan Chhatra League. On that day, under his leadership, the Chhatra League began its formal voyage at Dhaka University’s Fazlul Haq Hall.
The East Pakistan Muslim Chhatra League’s initial organizational committee was created in 1948, with Naemuddin Ahmed serving as its convener. The East Pakistan Muslim Chhatra League conducted its first council session in September 1949. Dabirul Islam was chosen president, while Khalek Neowaz was appointed general secretary. During the Language Movement, the East Pakistan Chhatra League, led by Khalek Neowaz, Kamaruzzaman, and M.A. Wadud, was active on the streets.
The 1962 Education Movement reinforced Bangladesh’s progressive socioeconomic emancipation trajectory, which gave birth to the 1952 Language Movement and Bengali nationalism. Following Pakistan’s formation, the 1962 Education Movement faced the country’s shaky political foundations with a defined ideology. The movement also shifted the past politics of conspiracy, coups, and counter-coups to an open democratic character. From that perspective, the 1962 Education Movement, like the 1952 Language Movement, is another watershed moment in our independence movement. In 1966, the Six-Point Movement, led by Bangabandhu, sparked a nationwide uproar for Bengal’s emancipation, with the Chhatra League serving as its principal architect.
In the 1969 popular movement, the Bangladesh Chhatra League was the streets’ Prometheus. The student community started the struggle against Ayub’s administration. Thousands of students and citizens disobeyed Section 144, breaking down barricades and taking to the streets. Their motto read, “We will break the prison lock and bring Sheikh Mujib.” Sheikh Mujib is both your and my leader. On March 3, 1971, at a Chhatra League rally, Bangabandhu stated, “We are prepared to face any consequences in the fight against the monster.” “We’ve shed blood for 23 years.”
“If necessary, I shall bleed profusely from my chest. Even if it means death, I will never betray the blood of Bengal’s martyrs.” Because of this determination, 17,000 heroic soldiers of our beloved organization in the Liberation War painted the red-green flag with their fresh blood and made a map of a sovereign 56,000 square miles. These heroic fighters serve as an inspiration, source of strength, and courage for us.
Every leader and worker in the Bangladesh Chhatra League embody young Mujib’s aestheticism and goals, Kazi Nazrul’s boldness in tearing down boundaries, Khudiram’s tenacity, and Sukanta’s unflinching spirit. That is why, while upholding the right to education, the Bangladesh Chhatra League has always served as a beacon of light, ensuring the protection of national political and social interests.
After 1975, when Bangladesh’s political sky, devoid of Bangabandhu, was shrouded in darkness, our beloved Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came in 1981 with the sun of hope in her hands to remove the clouds. On that day, the Bangladesh Chhatra League led the way with our beloved leader.
Despite the bloodshot eyes of military authority, the Chhatra League led the education struggle in 1983, resulting in the establishment of the All-Party Student Unity 10-point platform. The Chhatra League spoke out strongly on behalf of the student community when the Shamsul Haque and Professor Kabir Chowdhury Commissions issued their recommendations on the expansion of the right to education.
Our beloved Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the heartbeat of 180 million Bengalis, the skilled architect of a prosperous Bangladesh, a world-winning leader, a pioneer of world peace, and a trailblazer for women’s liberation, played a direct role in guiding the Chhatra League to take the lead in addressing the devastating effects of the 1988 flood. During that period, Chhatra League officials and activists baked bread by hand three times each day in educational institutions. They spent the entire night manufacturing food saline, which was then transported to folks in remote locations. Notably, during every natural disaster, including the 1998 flood, the Chhatra League has made comparable efforts to assist those afflicted.
In 1998, the Chhatra League, along with common students, mounted a large-scale protest against the increase in student fees at Dhaka University. On July 23, 2002, BNP leaders stormed Shamsunnahar Hall late at night and violently abused female students. The Bangladesh Chhatra League took an active role in safeguarding the students’ dignity and demanding justice from the offenders.
Throughout the 1/11 political crisis, the Chhatra League was continuously present on the streets. On December 29, 2008, following the vote of the Bengal people, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina dedicated herself to the service of the people in order to build a digital, hunger- and poverty-free Bangladesh. The Chhatra League is helping to implement Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s stated goal of creating a Digital Bangladesh.
In addition to movements and struggles, the Chhatra League has long been involved in activities such as distributing educational materials to underprivileged children, providing warm clothing to the homeless, organizing blood drives, planting trees, and running mobile education programs for street children. The Chhatra League seemed to have fought the enemies of history itself, as if by unchangeable historical decree. With over 50 years of active operation, this constitution has become an essential part of Bengal’s present political history. Along the way, it has become a beacon of light, inspired by the ideological teachings of the nation’s greatest son, the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
According to the Father of the Nation, a leader may die, but as long as the organization exists, the death of its values is unthinkable.
The heartbeat of 180 million people, the foundation of democracy, has been reinforced by the red-green flag. Students from the Chhatra League rocked the streets to condemn the country’s horrible occurrences. However, the media at the time labeled them as terrorists. The Bangladesh Chhatra League remained firm against Hefazat’s sinister 13-point agenda. Bangabandhu’s daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saved Bengal from humiliation by executing the collaborators (Rajakars). In an attempt to disrupt the country’s economy, Jamaat-e-Islami and Chhatra Shibir allies came to the streets one after the other, calling for hartals in order to undermine the execution sentence.
They engaged in 93 days of strikes and blockades in early 2015, claiming to be defending democracy while actively participating in violent politics of arson, vandalism, and car destruction. The Chhatra League revealed their true face by demonstrating their people-burning policies in front of the revolutionary public. As a result, the people learned about the genuine character of the BNP-Jamaat’s democracy. More than 150 innocent victims were burned alive in these barbaric deeds. Such mass terrorism could not be perpetrated by those who sincerely practice democratic values in their activities.
Today, the defeated enemies of 1971 are conspiring against the Bangladesh Chhatra League. They are conspiring against our beloved Bangladesh. Dear countrymen, you have seen how the unlawful fascist Yunus government grabbed control during the July 2024 revolution, systematically executing common people and innocent students. Today, there is no security for people’s lives anywhere in Bangladesh. The state of public affairs is chaotic. There is a procession of death all around.
BNP-Jamaat terrorists have ruthlessly murdered numerous Bangladesh Chhatra League and Awami League leaders and activists. They’ve killed minorities, set fire to buildings, and plundered everywhere. Today, Bangladesh Chhatra League students are denied their fundamental right to education. The Chhatra League’s leaders and activists are denied the ability to attend classes and take tests.
I believe the anti-independence and anti-national forces would be unable to suppress the Chhatra League. Forgetting all past failures, Bangladesh Chhatra League would reclaim its genuine glory.
Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabondhu.
Writer: Delowar Shahjada, Office Secretary, Bangladesh Chhatra League (2015-2018). Editor and Publisher, Bangladesh Broadcast.
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