DU campus erupts in musical protest as left-leaning students target Jamaat-led coalition

Left-leaning students staged a musical procession at Dhaka University (DU) today (Friday), voicing a sharp "no" to the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition following the February 12 general elections.

The event, titled “Juddhaporadhir Jote Ke Na Bolun” (Say No to the War Criminals' Alliance), kicked off at 5 pm from the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC). Demonstrators paraded through the campus on a pickup van equipped with high-powered speakers, playing Prince Mahmud’s iconic rock anthem “Shob Razakar Bhaisha Jaibo Bongoposagore” (All Razakars will be washed into the Bay of Bengal).

The procession also featured parody songs targeting the controversial role of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, during the 1971 Liberation War.

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“We organised this to celebrate the defeat of anti-liberation forces at the polls,” said Abu Mujahid Akash.

He criticised a newly formed political platform led by figures associated with the July 2024 uprising, saying its recent decision to enter an electoral alliance with Jamaat had alienated many supporters. “By aligning with forces long opposed to the spirit of the Liberation War, they have betrayed public trust. The results show that voters have rejected that choice,” he said.

Akash added that the movement’s position remained consistent regardless of who holds power. “If a future BNP government strays from the spirit and mandate of July and attempts to impose an undemocratic order in Bangladesh, our fight will continue against them as well.”

A key organiser of the event, cultural activist Faria Motin (Ila lalalala) told the media that although a significant number of people in the country voted for Jamaat, the majority of the people still upheld the spirit of the War of Independence. “When we took these anti-razakar songs to the streets, we have witnessed public enthusiasm, which claim that people no longer care about the Liberation War are baseless,’ Faria noted.

While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured a landslide victory in the February 12 polls, the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance emerged as a significant force. Enamul Hasan Anoy, a leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra Union (Mahir Reza faction), expressed a mix of relief and caution.

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“We have curbed Jamaat’s aggressive posture, but we could not suppress it completely. Jamaat is now effectively the primary opposition,” Anoy said. “However, we have broken their confidence. The people of Bangladesh will defeat them any day, in any way.”

The event drew a brief digital spark of tension when DUCSU President Abu Shadik Kayem shared a video of the procession on Facebook. “If necessary, play the sound louder—no problem—but stop the atrocities taking place in people’s homes and markets,” Kayem wrote, before later deleting the post.

Responding to the now-deleted post, Anoy suggested the DUCSU president should look at history. “Before posting, he should remember those responsible for the 1971 genocide, and those who carried out campus-to-campus throat-slitting, arson, and mob violence in the years since. The people know who committed these acts.”