On 9 February1984, a ban was slapped on student unions in colleges and universities across Pakistan, through a Martial Law order issued by the military dictator President General Zia-ul-Haq. The reason cited for imposing the ban was violence on university campuses perpetrated by the student wings of political parties. It’s ironic that the reign of terror of the student wings of the national political parties continues unabated on campuses, but the ‘unions’ have been banned. In 1988, Benazir Bhutto lifted the ban on student unions and elections were held in 1989, but that was just a one-off thing. prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Us spoke to university teachers, former student union leaders and students to find out their views regarding the need to revive the banned student unions.
Maryam Feroze
Lecturer DCS
University of Karachi
University students have a high level of energy, passion and enthusiasm - attributes that need to be utilized effectively. At the moment, in the public sector universities, student unions and societies are not functional and thus the students’ only extra-curricular activities are organized and managed by student wings of different political parties which is not a good thing for both students and universities. What is required at this time at university level is to activate the students’ unions. After all, we need educated people to become our future leaders and can get informed and educated leadership only through the revival of the student unions. We should create a healthy and competitive environment in which all students can participate, whether they belong to a political party or not. Student bodies should work on solving students’ problems.
Dr Munawar Sabir
University of Punjab
A foreign student asked me once why student unions are banned in Pakistan, and in their absence, where does the leadership emerge from.
It’s actually very simple: a hockey or cricket player doesn’t start playing for the national team unless he has acquired experience by participating in domestic cricket.
Literate leadership comes only through universities and colleges. Students participate in activities that prepare them for the future. Dictators always ban student unions because they know that universities and colleges are sensitive areas in terms of revolutionary movements and ideas. Change is brought about by either the deprived, or the literate young blood. I will give you a simple example: jobless literate persons can understand why they are not getting employment on merit. They can then question and fight for their rights.
As for the revival of student unions, I am all for it minus militancy. Religious parties want unions back because they are strong and well-organized in terms of militancy, and can control unions. At Punjab University, the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba (IJT) was so strong that even the teachers’ selection was influenced by them. Fortunately, the current Vice Chancellor of the University of the Punjab, Prof. Dr. Mujahid Kamran, stopped this practice. In the ‘80 and early ‘90s, the teachers who were hired were not fit to teach even primary level students. A survey was carried out by an NGO and it was discovered that nine out 10 teachers appointed during the said period belonged to Jamaat-e-Islami. Believe me, one of them could not even spell ‘enquiry’.
Chairman, Department of English
Islamia College, Peshawar
I don’t know whether it is legal to talk about something already banned by the government. But, if you are asking about my opinion, when we were students at Islamia College, student unions were allowed to work for the welfare of students. With the passage of time, student unions came under the influence of our national political parties. From that time onwards, things started going wrong; the same students who were supposed to work for the welfare of students started working for the political gains of their gurus, their national leaders. They forgot that their basic purpose was working for the welfare of students. When the unions were not under political influence, they worked really very well. An individual student cannot approach the Vice Chancellor directly, but through student unions they can reach the VC and tell him about their demands and problems. With unions in place, students wouldn’t face so many problems. Now, there are so many problems but students are afraid to go to the Vice Chancellor’s office. If the ban on student unions is lifted those problems can be solved. I’m not against student unions but let me repeat my words, if they are proper student unions. If that union is a branch of any national political party, then I’m totally against it. If they work only for the welfare of the students and are not under the influence of any political party, then I’m totally for it.”
Chairman, Department of Law and Shariah
Islamia College, Peshawar
Dr Daud also holds the additional charge of “Deputy Registrar Establishment”, and is in charge of the students’ disciplinary committee. Talking about student unions he said, “Basically, union and politics are two different things. Focusing on unions, it is good and according to “Article 17”, it is the fundamental right of every citizen, including the youth of Pakistan. Unions are very important; they generate awareness among the youth. The purpose of any association is to share new and innovative ideas amongst students because the responsibility of taking the country forward heavily lies on the shoulders of the youth. If the law permits you to form an association or an assembly then that should be done within the parameters of the law. I don’t think students should be involved in politics due to their immature level and lack of experience. It is mandatory that they should first involve themselves in different literary unions, in different innovative unions or in co-curricular activities. Only after seeking different experiences and passing through certain stages of learning should they become involved in politics. I don’t mean that a student should not be involved in politics if it is for constructive purposes. But, politics and associations are two different things. The problem here is that we are embracing these two different ideas as a single entity. It does not work like that. So, yes, we should encourage the student associations and student unions but they should be for constructive purposes only. They should, however, abstain from politics. Another problem that we have is, when a student gets admission in any university or college, he signs a bond that he would not become involved in any sort of political activity. In spite of that, there are political unions and unfortunately the basic purpose of these unions or associations is to use the students as their tools to serve their purpose. Due to their (students’) emotional and ideological attachment with these parties, they can go to any extent. So, this trend should be discouraged. Otherwise, associations and unions are the spice of campus life. If these unions are not present, our youth can get involved in other activities which would be more harmful to the state and community at large.”
Department of Physics
Islamia College, Peshawar
“As far as my personal opinion is concerned, there must be a ban on the political activities of students. The reason is that the political leaders can use students for their personal ends which will waste the time of students. Students must be involved in social activities, debates, games, etc. So, my opinion is that students should be involved in educational and other co-curricular activities that are beneficial for them, rather than politics.”
Ateeq-Ur-Rehman Department of English
Islamia College, Peshawar
“Yes, of course, I am personally for it because it provides a platform to the students to come forward and talk about their problems and sort them out. It provides them an opportunity to get involved in the co-curricular activities as well. It is very beneficial as far as the overall grooming of the personality is concerned.
“However, when we talk about student unions, they are above politics and all the aspects of it. People belonging to different political groups may join them but once it’s a student union, it is not political in that sense.”
Differentiating between student unions and students’ political wings he said, “Student unions and student federations are two different things. If we go back to the history of student unions at Islamia College, it used to provide a very, very solid foundation for debaters, for dramatists, for poets and for those who had something extra besides their academic excellence. And student unions activities are not limited to literary forums; they are supposed to resolve students’ problems, and focus on their welfare activities.
“Of course, there have to be some checks and balances on the activities of the unions. Before we start introducing this thing again, we need to formulate a proper code for all these type of activities. There should be unions but with proper code of conduct. If not, then they would be exploited and I would not favour these unions in that case.”
President Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI),
Punjab
A graduate of University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Chaudhary started his political career in the Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing, Islami Jamiat e Talaba (IJT) and became its president. He was arrested by the Zia regime when he protested against the martial law order banning student organisations. He said that there is a clear difference between student unions and student federations. The former work on student issues and the latter are politically motivated. Asked his views about lifting of the ban on student unions, Ejaz Chudhary said he is strongly in favour of elected student bodies, but these entities should not have links with political parties. “Their activities should be restricted to campus issues. They should focus on the problems of students and work for their betterment. They should promote educational activities. In the decades of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, these bodies served as parallel political parties on campus and behaved somewhat like trade unions. This should not happen and student bodies should work for students only.”
Jamat-e-Islami (JI)
Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, of IJT, won the Punjab University’s students union elections in 1970. “Student unions are essential for training and grooming our youth. They acquire leadership qualities and learn to tackle issues. Sometimes, student bodies clash with each other, but if student unions are in place, they can control such happenings. It’s unfair to ban student unions because people can vote for union councils, their MPAs and MNAs, and some of these people cannot even sign. But students are not allowed to vote to select their representatives in student bodies.
“I believe that student unions should be revived, but they should not indulge in politics, unless it’s about national issues like Pakistan-India relationship, or matter pertaining to the Ummah.”
A student’s comment
Student unions can play a vital role in dealing with the issues faced by students. They create an atmosphere for healthy debates between students groups, which can be crucial in solving various societal affairs. Unions can enrich the educational, social and political lives of the students by bridging the gap between administration, faculty and the government. They serve as the unifying force and inculcate a sense of responsibility and the quality of leadership among the members. Sneaking back into the past tells us that it was student unions whose vibrant struggle played a pivotal role in creating awareness for a separate state among the Muslims of the subcontinent. The founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah used to lay great emphasis on the importance of student unions. Unfortunately, these unions were misused for nefarious political interests in the late ‘70s and early ‘80. Not only did religious parties infiltrate extremism into institutions by arming students, but also liberal parties failed to serve the true purpose for their own wicked gains. Moreover, dictators tried to dismantle unions when they deemed their progressive approach a threat for their own survival.
There is no doubt that students, today, are not as politically aware as they used to be, which is a big reason why Pakistan is unable to fill the gaping void for a sincere leader. It’s as simple as that: if you don’t make the foundation of the potential leaders strong, you can never give your nation a mature and sensible leadership. Student unions should be functional again if Pakistan is to get rid of the myopic mindset.
-Mahfooz Fatima
Banning student unions has done great damage to the political and personal growth of students. Universities that nurture future leadership in most countries have been deprived of this privilege in Pakistan. What’s the logic behind banning elected student unions and letting the student wings of the national political parties run amok in our varsities? It’s high time that the unions are revived. After all, we badly need educated leadership.
Some prominent leaders who were members of the student unions
. Meraj Muhammad Khan - National Students Federation (NSF)
. Shaikh Rashid Ahmed - Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT)
. Raja Anwar - National Students Federation (NSF)
. Hussain Haqqani - Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT)
. Altaf Hussain - (Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) , then All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization (APMSO)
. Liaqat Baloch - Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT)
. Dr Farooq Sattar -All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization (APMSO)
. Qasim Zia - Peoples Students Federation (PSF)
. Nawaz Sharif - Muslim Students Federation (MSF)
. Jawad Ahmed - Muslim Students Federation (MSF)
Additional reporting by SK and MF