Emerging Trends in Student Politics

Pakistan inherited a vibrant student organization in the form of the All India Muslim Student Federation (AIMSF), established in 1937 and as a link between the Muslim League leadership and the Muslims of India. AIMSF developed public support for the idea of giving the Muslims of the Subcontinent a separate state. However, MSF crumbled in the nascent years of independence as an outcome of the Muslim League party’s disintegration, which allowed for the rise of other student organizations such as NSF, DSF, and Islami-Jamiat-Tulaba in the 1970s (Paracha, Student Politics: A Brief History, 2008)

The rise of socialist organizations, including the National Students Federation (NSF) and the Democratic Students Federation (DSF), throughout the 1950s and 1960s characterized student politics. These student groups espoused socialist and Marxist beliefs, championed workers’ rights, instituted land reforms, and nationalized important sectors of the economy. More specifically, the NSF was significant in mobilizing students and youth to promote a range of progressive objectives involving a struggle for democracy and social justice.

However, during the 1970s, religious student organizations began to emerge, such as the 1947-founded Islamic Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) that rose to prominence during the aforementioned period. A conservative Islamic agenda was promoted by the IJT, which was associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami party. Several confrontations with leftist student organizations occurred because of the group’s alleged use of violence and intimidation to stifle dissident voices on college campuses organizations (Butt, 2009).

Student unions played a constructive role in mobilizing public opinion and creating political awareness among students and their communities. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed an upsurge in the popularity of student organizations affiliated with ethnic-based political parties, which paved the way for the establishment of ethnic politics, which became prevalent on college campuses. There was more rivalry-related violence, and there were conflicts that were more ethnic in student politics.

Student unions, at some stages, were involved in activities that led to a wave of violence and extremism among students that created mismanagement within institutions. Student unions created a space for martial administrators to ban and ultimately were outlawed in 1984 by dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, who accused the student body of inciting violence at educational institutions. The decision of a ban in 1984 was challenged in the apex court, and the Court reaffirmed the ban in the ruling in 1993.

The decision of the apex court marked a decline in student activism in the 1990s. However, Student activism tried to return in 2007 with the announcement to end the restriction on student unions by the then-prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, in 2008; however, it never materialized. As a result, both inside and outside of campus-based student organizations began to exhibit authoritarian tendencies, and student politics ceased to be a dynamic force for democratization.

Student councils have recently formed as an alternative on the foundation of ethnicity amid the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s constitutional ban on student unions. These student councils and organizations within educational institutions have assumed the function of student unions in certain aspects (PILDAT, 2008).

Student councils, in contrast to student unions, are student organizations that emerged on ethnic boundaries. These student councils have a formal structure, a constitution for regulating matters, and democratic processes (elections) and are responsible for a broad range of assignments, including setting up circles, organizing cultural events, and staging demonstrations. The function of student unions has been taken over by student councils. Many contend that despite the differences in its dynamics, this is the contemporary form of student politics since it gives students a voice and increases their political awareness. Some disagree because they believe that ethnic councils separate the student body on a lingual, cultural, and regional basis (Qarni & Shahid, 2018).