Recently, the Sindh Assembly unanimously passed the bill to undo the ban on student unions in Sindh. Student unions were banned in the dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haqq in 1984.
A fresh ray of optimism grows in the shadows of decades-long festering dynastic politics in Pakistan as the Sindh assembly unban the student unions. It was a grave injustice, on the part of the dictator of the past (Zia-ul-Haqq) to banish the student unions into the dark abyss due to his fears of exceeding agitation from the vibrant youths of the Sindh to his unceremonious coup. Following this, the said dictator proscribed Sindh’s student unions in 1979 preceding his all-country ban.
However, the attempt to revive the student unions came ten years later in the face of Benazir Bhutto in 1989, but her strives were shot down by the Supreme Court in 1993, which in return put the brakes on the student unions.
With this dismal background, it was a welcome move by the Sindh Assembly to end the draconian ban on student unions. These unions, like in past, will play an active role in the grooming of students to replace the generic crops of dynastic politics, encourage healthy debates, raise voices for students’ welfare, curb extremism and promote tolerance in the educational institutions.
Meanwhile, to remove the blot of violence on the otherwise pristine nature of student unions, the authorities must work in tandem with the management of the universities to stamp out any illegal activities going on in the garb of student politics.
Hassan Sohail, Karachi