Brain damage?

From the murder of Zubair to Bishwajit to Abrar – unruly Chhatra League activists have engaged in numerous disgraceful acts and many of them have met consequences. And yet the others are unwilling to learn a lesson. Why?

Ducsu VP is being taken to hospital after a group of Chhatra League activists attack him. Photo: TBS

It was assumed that brutal murder of Buet student Abrar by Chhatra League men would be a fresh wakeup call for unruly leaders and activists of the ruling party's student front.

But just one and a half months down the line the assumption has been proven wrong once again. This time they demonstrated their recklessness on Dhaka University campus on Sunday.

A group of BCL leaders and activists mercilessly beat up DUCSU Vice-President Nurul Haq Nur and two dozen others. They seem to have learnt nothing from consequences of the Abrar murder, let alone from other misdeeds by their fellows in past.   

Those who beat Abrar to death did not learn anything from the fate of Chhatra League president and general secretary who were forced to resign amid allegations of controversial activities just a month prior to that.

Injured students are being taken to hospital. Photo: TBS

For the Abrar murder, 25 Buet students— most of them leaders and activists of Chhatra League -- were accused in the charge sheet submitted by the police.

The accused in the Abrar murder might have forgotten about the consequence of Biswajit killing. A group BCL men hacked tailor Biswajit to death in public in old Dhaka in 2012. Eight activists of the student front were sentenced to death and 13 others to life imprisonment for the murder.

Before the killing of Biswajit, some BCL men tortured and stabbed Zubair Ahmed, a final year student of Jahangirnagar University at the beginning of 2012. He succumbed to death the following day.

Zubair, who himself was a Chhatra League activist, was stabbed by a rival group. The murder stirred protests across the campus. Then-vice chancellor Prof Sharif Enamul Kabir had to resign following protests by students. Five BCL men were sentenced to death by a special tribunal for the murder.

The murder of Biswajit, Zubair and Abrar were not isolated incidents.

Some BCL men have engaged in countless disgraceful acts like extortion, violence, killing and other criminal activities in the last decade, after the Awami League returned to power in early 2009.

Chhatra League men attacks Biswajit in Old Dhaka. Photo: Collected

Their controversial activities have embarrassed the government and the party high command.

Annoyed at their controversial actions, Sheikh Hasina quit as the BCL's organisation chief in April 2009 and directed the law enforcement agencies to take stern action against those involved in criminal activities, extortion and tender manipulation.

But many leaders and activists of the student front are still uncontrollable.

It seems no warning issued by the AL high command is working.

The above examples indicate many Chhatra League men are unable to learn lessons and correct themselves.

But why?

We may look for the answer in the studies conducted by neuroscientists in UK, USA and other countries.

Take first the study conducted by former British Foreign Secretary David Owen, who is also a neuroscientist, and Jonathan Davidson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University.

A decade ago in an article published in British medical journal Brain in February 2009 they focused on mental health of people who exercise power. 

From the left- Abrar, Zubair and Biswajit

The article on the intersection of health and politics titled 'Hubris Syndrome: An Acquired Personality Disorder?' proposed the creation of a psychiatric disorder for leaders who exhibited, among other qualities, "impetuosity, a refusal to listen to or take advice and a particular form of incompetence when impulsivity, recklessness and frequent inattention to detail predominate."

Later, other neuroscientists in USA and UK also conducted researches to shed more light on the impact on brain of people who exercise power. They have come up with the startling claim that power causes brain damage.

In their view, people under the influence of power may act reckless, become more impulsive, less risk-aware and also loss contact with reality.

They term it as Hubris syndrome which "is a disorder of the possession of power."

What Lord Acton said a hundred year ago that 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely' is now more understandable after the research findings of the neuroscientists.

Are Chhatra League leaders and activitists who engage in unruly and criminal activities suffering from Hubris syndrome? Has uncontrolled power damaged their brains and made them reckless? Is this the reason they are unable to learn lessons from past misdeeds and to correct themselves?

• Courtesy- The Business Standard/ DECEMBER 26, 2019