The New Nation - Internet Edition

FOLLOWING the national election there has been a surge of campus violence across the country. This violence is characterised mainly by clashes among students of rival groups over establishing control over dormitories and campuses. Khulna Medical College was closed for an indefinite period following clashes between two student organisations Friday night. Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology has also been closed following a similar incident. Several hundred students of the Government Titumir College Saturday vandalised more than 100 vehicles. Factional feuds of the student wing of a major ruling party created unrest in Dhaka University. Some groups took control of some student halls of Dhaka University and a medical college in the city when the Jatiya Sangsad election results were just in progress.

Election is a democratic process where decisions are made through popular votes based on which some come out victorious while others are defeated. Election results have nothing to do with establishment of control on campuses, which is based on naked use of force and goes against democratic values of peaceful co-existence and respect for each other's views. Rule of muscle power negates democracy and reflects intolerance. The student wings of major parties are thus behaving not as associate organisations of political parties but as their front bodies contradicting the points made in the constitution of the parties before their registration with the Election Commission. Campus violence leads to session jam. The students suffer directly from session jam for which the whole nation pays ultimately. Intolerance and use of force in the past did not bring positive results. It is expected that good sense will prevail against such undemocratic trends.