Bangladesh’s universities have long produced political movements and political leaders. They can also become laboratories for better political institutions. A democracy willing to experiment with how it listens to voters may ultimately become better at hearing them.
The Jagannath University election, therefore, is not merely a matter of victory or defeat. It raises a deeper question -- what lessons will political parties draw from the changing realities of student politics? That, more than the numbers themselves, is the most critical issue going forward.
The time has come to reimagine student politics and free the nation's campuses from violence and criminality. Is the BNP up to the challenge?
What can the government do to win back the students and indeed the rest of the country?
