Once ranked below Taliban, Shibir’s Dhaka University win raises security concerns for India

New Delhi: An Islamist student wing winning the Dhaka University Students Union elections for the first time since Bangladesh’s Independence in 1971 is a sign of how the nation is changing.

The elections were won by the Jamaat-e-Islami’s students wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) and the final tally showed that it bagged 9 out of the 12 seats. While winning and losing elections are part of the game, the concern is the organisation that came out tops. The ICS is the students wing of the ISI backed Jamaat, which is known for its radicalisation.

The ICS played the lead role in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina last August. The ICS was the third most active non-state armed group according a study that was conducted in 2013.

The survey was conducted by the IHS Jane’s Global Terrorism and Insurgency Attack Index. The survey placed the Taliban at the top, followed by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional of Thailand. The Shibir was named third on the list.

The ICS is known for being a violent outfit. In February 2013, following the pronouncement of the war crimes verdict against Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee, the ICS cadres unleashed a wave of terror in different parts of the country.

The ICS has indulged in beating up policemen, setting ablaze public vehicles and properties, indulging in bomb blasts, uprooting railway tracks and felling trees. Further they incited communal tensions and even instigated religious violence especially against the minorities in Bangladesh.

This is a worrying development that has taken place in a neighbouring country The ICS is known to propagate in favour of a Sharia law. The win signals an influence of Islamist thought in Bangladesh’s institutions, which are gradually turning rigid. (IANS)

Also Read: Pakistan congratulates Jamaat’s Student wing on Dhaka University poll victory

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