“Student Solidarity Marches” were observed in more than fifty cities of Pakistan on November 29. Amongst some other demands, the major demand of the March was to restore student unions. First of all, we have to understand whether demanding a restoration of student unions is a constitutional and legal right of the students?
Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan clearly states, “Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, public order or morality.”
Now, the question arises here if the constitution allows forming associations or unions, then, on what circumstances was the ban imposed on student unions? Student unions, after overthrowing the Bhutto regime in 1977, were banned by the military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq, in 1984. Unfortunately, whenever any military dictator has overthrown the elected governments, it has been the darkest period in the history of Pakistan. According to Martial Law regulations, the military dictators have ruled the country for a long time. Pakistan witnessed the first military coup d’état in 1958 when General Ayub Khan imposed Martial Law. Khan ruled the country for eleven years until he resigned from his office in 1969. The major reason behind his resignation was the students’ resistance against Khan’s anti-student policies. For example, students resisted the draconian West Pakistan University Ordinance of 1962. Later, it was students, mainly mobilised by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who launched a country-wide movement against the Tashkent Declaration, which was signed by Ayub Khan with India in 1966. This students’ movement, once converted into a strong national campaign, ultimately compelled Khan to resign in 1969.
General Zia-ul-Haq was quite sure that his unconstitutional regime could face resistance by the students and, thus, felt an urge to suppress the students’ voice
The resignation of dictator Ayub Khan proved to be a victory of students’ resistance against the military regime. Hence, after overthrowing the Bhutto regime, General Zia-ul-Haq was quite sure his unconstitutional regime could face resistance by the students as they (students) had already set an example during the Ayub Khan regime. Therefore, he felt an urge to suppress the students’ voice. As the military dictators always gain power through unconstitutional means, General Zia, without thinking of Article 17 of the Constitution, imposed a ban on students’ unions in 1984. As he was aware of immediate abruption of student resistance, he proposed a plan to introduce students’ societies and student councils in educational institutions, but the direct elections, which were being contested by the students’ union leaders before, were now not allowed. The vice-chancellors were made the heads of such societies. This, on the one hand, was a clear breach of the constitution, and, on the other, a conscious effort to suppress the voice of students, specifically those supported a progressive narrative. Because despite a ban imposed on students’ unions, the religious student groups, specifically Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), were allowed to function freely in the institutions.
Even though there was a major difference between the student union and a political organisation, still the dictatorial regime was aware that the unions were not free from the influence of political parties whether these were leftist/progressive parties or the right-wing parties like Jamaat-i-Islami. However, after the death of General Zia in a plane air crash on August 17, 1988, the elections were held and Ms Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party got the highest votes.
The PPP came in power after a continuous struggle against the Zia regime through the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD). Hence, Prime Minister Bhutto lifted the ban on students’ unions in her first address to the parliament on December 2, 1988. And one year later, in 1989, the officially recognised students’ unions’ elections took place in all provinces of the country, except Sindh, where ethnic tensions were going on. But again, those forces, which are always afraid of student activism, succeeded in suppressing student’s voice once again when the Supreme Court of Pakistan passed an interim order, which stated, “At the time of admission to an educational institution, the student and his parents/guardian shall give an undertaking that the student shall not indulge in politics.”
This court’s interim decision was a direct attack on the political consciousness of the youth of the country because the state encouraged the adult youth to caste his/her vote but without any political consciousness! Was this, not a joke? Unfortunately, this practice of depoliticising the youth is going on yet. Although this is on the record that due to participation in students’ unions, this country has produced many leaders and social workers, like Dr Adeeb Rizvi, Mr Javed Hashmi, Mr Liaqat Baloch, Mr Jaam Saqi, Mr Ahsan Iqbal, Mr Najam Sethi, Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch and many more, who have been playing very active role in politics and other fields as well. However, under the PPP government (2008-13), the then Prime Minister Syed Yousif Raza Gilani announced the restoration of student unions on March 29, 2008. Later on, the Senate’s Committee also examined the matter in 2017. And, finally, the Sindh Assembly adopted a resolution, moved by PPP MPA Nida Khuhro, to lift the ban on student unions from Sindh on November 4.
The Student Solidarity Marches have set a path towards student activism through demands to lift the ban on student unions. Also, if this sprit continues, this can surely be counted a step towards the revival of progressive politics, which became an almost non-existent entity, after the debacle of the Soviet Union. This is not only the phenomenon in Pakistan alone but the students continue their uprising in JNU in India while other student movements are active in other parts the world over.
Thus, this movement provides a collective ground for the progressive political forces to show their power in this era when in many countries, like Pakistan, India and the US, the populist, right-wing and ultra-nationalist forces continue to hold the reins.
The writer has recently earned his PhD in Global Studies from the College of Liberal Arts, Shanghai University, China