Bangladesh Chhatra League
Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) is the student front of the Bangladesh Awami League. Its motto is "Education | Peace | Prosperity" and its slogan is "Joy Bangla - Joy Bangabandhu". Bodiuzzaman Shohag and Siddique Nazmul Alam are the president and General Secretary of the present Committee of 'Bangladesh Chhatra League'.Bangladesh Chattra League is the oldest political organisation in the history of Bangladesh.[1]
History
When British India was partitioned and the independent dominions of India and Pakistan were created in 1947, the region of Bengal was divided along religious lines. The predominantly Muslim eastern half was designated East Pakistan—and made part of the newly independent Pakistan—while the predominantly Hindu western part became the Indian state of West Bengal. Pakistan's history from 1947 to 1971 was marked by political instability and economic difficulties. Dominion status was rejected in 1956 in favor of an "Islamic republic within the Commonwealth." Attempts at civilian political rule failed, and the government imposed martial law between 1958 and 1962, and again between 1969 and 1971.
Almost from the advent of independent Pakistan in 1947, frictions developed between East and West Pakistan, which were separated by more than 1,000 miles of Indian territory. East Pakistanis felt exploited by the West Pakistan-dominated central government. Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic differences also contributed to the estrangement of East from West Pakistan. Bengalis strongly resisted attempts to impose Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan. Responding to these grievances, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on January 4, 1948 formed a students' organization called the Chhatra League.
BCL, known as the East Pakistan Student League,formed in 4 January 1948. Mr. Naimuddin Ahmed became its first convener. When Chatra League was formally organized at that time Mr. Dabirul Islam became its President and Mr. Khaleque Nawaz Khan became General Secretary. Chatra league played heroic role in language movement, in 1962 education commission movement, 1966 six point movement, 1969 egaro dofa (11 point movement) andolon. The founder General secretary of the then East Pakistan chatra league Mr. Khaleque Nawaz Khan created a history by defeating incumbent Prime Minister of the then East Pakistan Mr. Nurul Amin in Jukto Front election in 1954 in Nandail constituency of Mymensingh. It is also mentionable Mr. Nurul Amin was also the last Prime Minister of all Pakistan in 1971 from December 7-December 20, 1971.
Since the inception of the organization, it has contributed a great deal to the 1969 Mass Upsurge, the 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 Anti-Autocracy Movement and other movements of the country. They formed "Mujib Bahinee", separate from Freedom Fighters, under the direct supervision and guide of RAW but before their taking part in liberation war, the war terminated.
Presidents & Secretaries
|| Liakat Shikdar|| Manjurul Alam Rajiv || Nazrul Islam Babu| Year | President | General Secretary |
|---|---|---|
| 1975-1977 | Obaidul Quader | - |
| 2006-2011 | Mahmud Hasan Ripon | Mahfuzul Haider Roton |
| 2011–Present | H M Badiuzzaman Sohag | Siddiqui Nazmul Alam |
Criticism
Activists of Chattra League have been highly criticised for their violent activities. On 9 December 2012 BCL activists were caught on TV news camera beating and hacking to death Biswajit Das, a young innocent bystander who was a tailor by profession.[2] Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 sentenced eight accused in the Biswajit Das murder case to death and awarded life sentence to 13 others.[3]