Teachers, students stage protests

“The university is the place of practicing freethinking where everyone has the right to express their opinions. But such attacks on the campus are not acceptable,” he said.

He urged the DU authorities to look after the injured protestors and provide compensation to them.

Just before the human chain programme started, a group of Chhatra League men, riding at least 10 motorcycles, visited the spot twice and later went towards Madhur Canteen area, protestors and witnesses said.

The students later brought out a procession which paraded through different streets on the campus before being ended in front of Aparajeyo Bangla.

Covering their mouths with black cloths, students and teachers of Jahangirnagar University take out a silent procession on their campus, demanding punishment of the attackers. Photo: Collected

On Sunday, Chhatra League activists swooped on a procession of the students and teachers demanding immediate release of the detained quota reform movement leaders.

Associate professors Abdur Razzaque Khan and Fahmidul Haq of mass communication and journalism department and Associate Professor Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan of international relations department were assaulted when they tried to save the students from the attackers.

Meanwhile, students of DU's international relations department formed another human chain yesterday protesting Sunday's incident.

Around 300 students and some teachers of the department took part in the human chain in front of the social science faculty.

Condemning the assault on teachers, Md Abdul Mannan, associate professor of the department, said those who can attack a teacher cannot be human beings. They are not worthy of being a student as well, he added.

He demanded punishment of the attackers.

Jannatul Naznin, a student of the department, said Tanzimuddin Khan is like a father to his students who always stands by students and is in favour of justice.

“How could Chhatra League men dare to raise the finger against such a person like him?” she questioned.

Assistant professors Shams Morsalin, lecturers Lamia Momen and Ali Siddique of the department also spoke at the programme, among others.

DEMOS AT JU, RU

At Jahangirnagar University, around 200 students under the banner of Student-Teacher Unity Platform brought out a silent procession covering their mouth with pieces of black clothes, protesting Sunday's assault on the DU teachers and students.

Addressing a rally on the Shaheed Minar premises on the campus, they demanded punishment of the attackers.

At Rajshahi University, around 200 students of the mass communication and journalism department formed a human chain protesting the recent attacks on teachers and students in Dhaka over the quota reform movement.

Protesting Sunday's attack, they demanded punishment to the BCL men involved in the attack.

The protesters also blamed the DU authorities for not taking any action over the incidents. They urged the authorities concerned to take punitive actions against the attackers.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of Bangladesh condemned the attack on DU teachers and students and demanded punishment to the BCL men for carrying out the attack.

Khulna University Teachers' Association in a press release yesterday expressed their support to the quota reform movement.

“Reforming the quota system in civil service is a demand of modern times. The system should be coordinated and made reasonable immediately. The association is asking the government to take an immediate decision regarding the issue,” reads the release.

The teachers' platform also urged the government to ensure security of protesters during any peaceful protest.

In April, students of public and private universities across the country took to the streets demanding reform in the quota system. The protesters blocked key points in the capital and roads and highways elsewhere.

At present, 56 percent of government jobs are reserved for candidates from various quotas, while the remaining 44 percent draw applications from the merit list.

Of the 56 percent, 30 percent are kept for freedom fighters' children and grandchildren, 10 percent each for women and people of districts lagging behind, five percent for members of indigenous communities, and one percent for differently abled people.

MJF CONCERNED

In a statement yesterday, Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) expressed concern over the repeated assaults on quota reformists.

Abusive language and humiliation of female protesters are not acceptable in any way, the statement said.

The non-government organisation called upon the government for taking action against violence particularly against the female protesters.

MJF expects that law enforcers will demonstrate “gender-sensitive and professional behaviour” towards the female demonstrators, according to the statement.