After staging a sit-in for nearly 50 hours at Dhaka’s Kakrail intersection with a three-point demand, a group of Jagannath University (JnU) students have now started a mass hunger strike. They commenced the strike at 4:00 pm today, Friday.
Dean of the faculty of Business Studies at Jagannath University, Professor Manzur Morshed, formally announced the beginning of the mass hunger strike at 3:50 pm. “Our mass hunger strike begins from this moment. This programme will continue until our demands are met,” he said, reports Prothom Alo.
A bit later, about 50 students went on the hunger strike around 4:00 pm. At the beginning of the programme, they observed a one-minute silence in protest against the recent police attacks on teachers and students of JnU.
Students have been protesting for some time with three specific demands: to implement a housing scholarship for 70 per cent of students starting from the 2025–26 fiscal year; to approve the university’s proposed full budget for 2025–26 without any cuts; and to approve and implement, as a priority project, the construction of the university’s second campus in the next ECNEC meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday around 12:30 pm, JnU teachers and students were obstructed by police at Kakrail while attempting a long march in support of the three-point demand towards the residence of the chief advisor.
When tried to breach the barricade and move towards Jamuna, police dispersed them using batons, tear gas, sound grenades, and water cannons.
Around fifty teachers and students were injured in the incident. Later, the protesters occupied Kakrail intersection around 2:00 pm and have remained there continuously since then.
From a press conference held around 11:45 pm on Thursday, organisers had announced new programmes including a rally of current and former students as well as teachers at 10:00 am on Friday. However, the rally was postponed with an announcement later.
According to the updated schedule, the rally began around 2:15 pm today after the Jummah prayers. Alongside current students and faculty members, alumni from various departments of Jagannath University joined the rally as well.
Md Arifur Rahman, a student of the 2019-20 academic session from the History Department of Jagannath University, joined the hunger strike after the rally.
Speaking to Prothom Alo he said, “Today marks the third day of our sit-in programme. However, there has been no response, assurance, or indication from the government regarding the fulfillment of our demands. These are our logical demands. It’s impossible to continue studies under such conditions.”
“Thousands of students are enduring inhumane living conditions day after day. That’s why alongside everyone else I’ve joined the ongoing hunger strike that started today. We will not back down, even if it costs us our lives, until our demands are met,” he added.
