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According to a recent survey, among the top 100 universities of Asia none is in Pakistan - even though some of them are the continent's oldest. But where they do appear, and quite prominently, is violence on their campuses. You name a political, religious or ethnic organisation and it would have a students wing, the outfit's cat's paw invariably pressed into service to add to its clout, which may otherwise be quite puny. Invariably, these student wings are prone to violent behaviour on the campus, essentially to establish their hegemony. And students violence in universities across Pakistan is on the rise. Over the last six months, there have been more than a dozen clashes, some as lethal as the killing of two students in a clash between rival groups at Hazara University in Mansehra last November. That the one at Punjab University on Tuesday was less lethal is a matter of some solace. But it was fought no less tenaciously with stones and rocks, and could only be brought under control by an unusually large police contingent. Nearly 20 of the warring students were injured, some seriously and had to be evacuated to hospital. As to what led to the clash there are two main versions, each carrying the colour of the narrator's bias, and therefore subject to independent enquiry. Yet the one more pointedly accused of igniting the fire is the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, the students wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami. It is being accused of trying to break up a cultural festival show arranged by students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. That show had been given prior permission by the university authorities. As to who was responsible for the clash, there are contradictory claims. While Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah and the university's Vice Chancellor blame the Jamiat, the Jamaat-e-Islami's Samia Raheel Qazi, daughter of the party's late leader Qazi Husain Ahmad, alleges that the Pukhtun students were guilty of "disgracing the women".

As to who was guilty of precipitating the clash at the university's campus, there should be a thorough, and time-bound, investigation, and a verdict on that stiff enough that the curse of students being used as political tools is eliminated from the campuses of Pakistan's public universities and colleges once and for all. This hasn't been done before, and therefore this lingering cancer of campus violence. This must end without further loss of time and lives. And for this both the government departments concerned and the parent organisations of the students unions are under national obligation to join hands and evolve a tough enough policy that Pakistan's higher education institutions are permanently cleansed of violence. Among the very first steps should be a ban on students unions playing politics at our colleges and universities. So far, their only political contribution, if contribution is what it could be called, has been violence on campuses. We hardly know of student leader who grew up to be a true political leader. Then, the political parties and other religious leaders should be barred from planting their students wings in educational institutions. And that should be done through tough legislation. At the same time, university administrations, particularly the vice chancellors, should be sufficiently empowered to the ultimate decision-maker in the affairs of their institutions. In this case, for instance, the vice chancellor should be empowered to expel students he finds guilty of indulging in violent acts. Let the government and universities toll the knell on campus violence.



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