Dhaka, March 19: Several teachers of Dhaka University face an uncertain future after being barred from taking classes for allegedly supporting the Awami League Government which was ousted in August 2024.
Nearly 50 teachers from various departments have been declared “unwanted” after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus accused them of supporting former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the July uprising, local media reported.
In a clear case of political vendetta, the university administration had formed “fact-finding committees” while suspending these teachers from academic activities. However, even after several months, the teachers have not been able to return to the classrooms. It has been reported that several teachers and students in many universities across Bangladesh have been suspended indiscriminately after Yunus came to power.
In a separate development on Monday, Dhaka University authorities suspended 128 students alleging them of attacking protesting students during the July uprising. Most of these students were members of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) , the student wing of Awami League, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper Prothom Alo reported. The interim government had banned BCL under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 in October 2024.
Ironically, the interim government had lifted the ban on radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir on August 28 last year after assuming power. The Yunus government has been accused of suppressing people who supported the democratic government of Awami League led by Hasina.
Several media reports have revealed political murders of a number of Awami league leaders, their families and supporters since Hasina’s ouster. Referring to the incidents of rising mob justice during the interim government, a human rights forum based in Dhaka ‘Ain o Salish Kendra’ (ASK) in its report had mentioned the incident of a youth being beaten to death at Dhaka University that sparked harsh criticism across the country.
Abdullah Al Masud, a leader of the Rajshahi University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, was beaten to death on September 7, 2024 after being assaulted in the Binodpur market near the university campus. Bangladesh has witnessed a surge in protest movements against the interim government over the past few months amidst massive deterioration of the law and order situation in the country.
IANS