[The interview was conducted and edited by Shahjalal University of Science and Technology student Sultana Akhtar Lubna (Geography and Environment, 2018-19 session), Ismail Karjabi, and Shanto Talukdar (Mathematics, 2023-24 session)]
Mohammad Alamin. To some on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet, he is Alamin Bhai, to others he is 'Singara Mama', and to some, he is 'Chashabhusha's Tong Mama'. About 23 to 25 years ago, he moved to this area from Sunamganj in search of a livelihood. He has witnessed countless events, many changes, and the evolution of the campus from afar. This campus seems to have become a part of him, just like the students, teachers, and administrators. Students come and go, but he has stood firm for many years. A loving relationship has developed between everyone and 'Singara Mama'. In conversations, a deep aspect of this relationship emerges. Alamin Bhai has stood by the students in many of their troubles and challenges. He has had numerous disagreements with the administrators to support the students. He has been evicted multiple times but has always returned. Despite countless adversities, Alamin Bhai's life seems to be a struggle for survival. Within this story of his survival, the evolution of higher education institutions in Bangladesh also comes to light.
I ask Alamin Bhai about the early days of his life—‘How did you get involved with this campus?’ Alamin Bhai begins: ‘I have been running in this campus for 23 years. I first came in 2002 when I was 8/8 and a half years old. I’m from Sunamganj, you see, my aunts lived there, and my cousin used to run a tea stall, I used to hang around there, that’s it. Then around 2004, I started driving a rickshaw on campus for two years. Later in 2006, I opened my own shop and ran it for two years. After that, the owner of the shop kicked me out and gave the shop to someone else, and then I couldn’t focus without business. The campus is such a place that even when I go home, I can’t focus. There have been days when I went home, went the evening before, and the next morning I got up and came back, it doesn’t feel good. It’s such a situation. Even now, I went on Saturday evening, and I’m here on Sunday, and I’m coming back on Monday.’
I asked him, what was his shop, the tea stall like at that time? He continued, "There was a tea stall here between B-Building and the library. ...After that, in 2006, I set up a tea stall where Rezaul Mama is currently, I was here from 2006 to 2008. Then they removed me from here again, and I set up another one in front of UC from 2013. At that time, there weren't any tea stalls like this (made of tin). It was just covered with a tarpaulin on top. There were 7 of us on that side. Then the owner of the tea stall canceled my setup and placed someone else there, after which I drove a rickshaw for a while and worked in a building. Then, you know, in 2013, I got a shop. That was also under the same ownership, I set it up next to UC. I operated it from 2013 to 2018. ...The president was coming to the campus once (during the 2019 convocation), and at that time, I was assigned for the president's security."
It was from Alamin Bhai's words that the topic of handing him over came up. He said, 'During the convocation, I was taken away for the president's security. We were saying the president would come to the central field and in front of the shop UC, then we were told to understand that this is a political matter. The proctor sir then said that I would take the shop down for four days. After that, he said I would set the shop back up after four days—something like that. Then I said, well, nothing much will be ruined for just four days; I can set it back up after four days since they are saying so. After that, four days turned into about a month and a half, and they didn't give me any news about whether I would set it up or not. I went to them many times, but even after going, they didn't take any steps.
There is a connection between the student movements and the vendors of tea stalls. These tea stalls are the hubs of social gatherings. Movements on campus would often start from these gatherings. The administration also knew that if there were tea stalls, there would be gatherings, and if there were gatherings, there would be movements. The deep-rooted relationship between the student movements at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and the tea stalls there ultimately became a curse for the vendors. After various movements on different issues, it seemed like the administration wanted to take out their frustration on the tea stall owners. One by one, various restrictions were imposed. Even during the movements, the strict regulations would first come down on the vendors. They would receive warnings, both formally and informally, that they could not open their stalls.
In 2022, a movement against the Vice-Chancellor emerged in response to the attacks on students by the student league and the police. The students sat in a hunger strike until death. The movement was suppressed by all means, including attacks, lawsuits, and tactics. At one point during the movement, a section of the teachers stood directly against the students' protests. One teacher even stated, "We belong to the intellectual class; we are not peasants who will be told whatever someone wants..." In reaction to this speech, the slogan "Children of the peasants, we are all SUSTians" became popular. During the movement, at one point, the administration ordered the cessation of all food arrangements for students within the campus, leading the students to create resistance. They arranged for colored tea for themselves with their own supplies. It was named "Peasant's Tea Stall." In the post-movement period, alongside several other stalls, a complete stall named "Peasant's Tea Stall" established itself within the campus. When no one else dared to claim a stall, Alamin Bhai stood by the students and took charge of this stall.
Photo: The 'Chashabhushar Tong' that emerged during the students' resistance movement
In the conversation, 'Chashabhushar Tong' came up. Alamin Bhai said, 'Then there was the student movement. During the student movement, there was no Tong, nothing at all. Only Gafari was open, Gafari meaning the Tong of Green Bhai. Everything else was closed. After that, Chashabhushar Tong opened. I have a very close brother, Amiya, and he told me that brother you should do this, it's possible through you, and we are here too. I started, and after doing it for about 7 or 8 months. Then one night, I think around 8 or 8:30, I was fishing there, suddenly the student brothers seemed to have put up some banner, I don't know what kind of banner, good or bad, I don't know, the proctor's office called me, meaning in my 20-22 years of campus life, I haven't faced as much trouble as I did that day going to the office, I had to leave my campus like a thief. ...The one who caused the trouble, I have done Jamaat with him three times, I have done Tabligh with him, yet, he is the one who caused the trouble.'
I asked, 'What kind of threat did they make?'
“I’m saying this as a threat that I’m becoming a terrorist on campus. I have such a big heart that I can say this, but then I’ve been forbidden to go any way. I can’t go any way, because if I do, I might tell the students! They’ve split me apart, meaning I have to go straight to the ground. My younger brother Yasin and I were there, what can we do as two brothers, we can’t rise up with them, we have to follow their orders… we’ve been totally forbidden from entering the campus.”
Alamin Bhai says, 'The Proctorial Body has told me and has taken my signature, they have written on paper and taken my signature, I will never be able to enter the campus, I am a terrorist, I deal in drugs, and many other things, they have taken my signature, they have taken my younger brother's signature too. After that, they said, do you not want to go voluntarily or do you want us to hand you over to the police? If you sign, then you can go, and if you do not sign, we will hand you over to the police. So the most important thing is, brother, I have a family. There is no one in my family except me. If I go to the police today, in my mind, the administration can do a lot if they want, if they hand me over to the police, my family will be destroyed. Thinking about this, I said, forget it, I don't need the campus, I need my family, we signed and then went through the land in between B Building, where the work is happening now, we went over that land. I exited through the pocket gate. It was almost 11 at night.'
“What do you think the administration's resentment towards you is about?”—I ask Alamin Bhai. He replies, “I think it’s because of that farmers' tent, I managed that tent for the protesters, and their resentment has been directed at me. They tagged me and expelled me from the campus. Perhaps, that resentment is still being vented. As far as I know, my only fault in campus life is that I inaugurated the tent for the protesters. The administration has no other fault against me, you can check. I used to pay the tent's salary every month before anyone else. It used to be 400 taka, but after the anti-VC movement, when they built the tent with bricks, they raised the rent to 1000 taka to cover that expense.”
“So, in these 7-8 months that you’ve been running this, has there been any threat from the administration?” In response to this question, Alamin Bhai said, “No, the administration hasn’t caused any problems during this running phase. I’ve been running it well, providing good food, not too much, but good food. Every member of my family eats from the shop; they have shop items for breakfast. So, I will eat one thing, or I will provide something to eat, and I will definitely keep this clean. They have checked a lot; there hasn’t been any issue with me, no dirty environment has been found, so they haven’t said anything else. But suddenly, because the student brothers put up banners, they called me in, and after that, this whole story happened. Totally shut down.”
When the topic of the anti-VC movement came up, I asked him how he perceived these movements on campus. He replied, "I've seen a lot of movements. This is a student movement; previously, there were more political movements. Since 2002, I've witnessed all the movements that have taken place. Most of them were fights. The parties, the political parties. One party would be at the open stage here, and another party would be at the B-building here. I was quite young then; if you think there were fights at night, then you could say we had a victory. At night, people would bring knives, rods, and things like that to sell; that was taken. There was a time when there were a lot of fights. In 2014, there were many brawls, and an outsider got shot and died; I was in the shop at that time."
The conversation shifted to the topic of street food after discussing the movement. Now, a well-known company has been brought in to set up street food stalls on campus. When asked how he views this change within the campus, Alamin Bhai responds, "The thing is, we also want the campus to improve, but the campus could have done this with the old street vendors, right? Take the food court for example; there used to be three vendors in the food court, so who has the right to the food court? Isn’t it those who were there before? They should be given the tender. Now, you can do it according to the campus rules, but shouldn’t it be given to them? They have the right to it. Why would you give it to someone else? I am currently the smallest businessman among all the vendors on campus; if I have been here for twenty-two years, then how much longer have they been here? What have I done in my twenty-two years on campus? What have I done for my family? We need something for our family, but the administration doesn’t understand this. We don’t have much from here; if we can get rice three times a day and lentils three times a day, we are grateful, but this system is also being ruined. So, who should we rely on while on campus?"
The conversation turned to the topic of food prices. Alamin Bhai said, 'We used to run the business together as a family, selling two to three thousand singaras back then. We would make 200-300 singaras in one pot. Now we make less and people eat less too. It's an oil-based item. Earlier, we used to play sports more; there was always some game going on, football, basketball, volleyball, where is it now? Everyone in the department used to play together, the kids would go to the gym together, and then they would eat. If 10 people sat together, the bill would be 500 Taka. Now, to have a bill of 500 Taka, we need 50 people to sit down.'
I asked again, 'Wouldn't the students say something if the price of food went up?'
“No, we used to increase the food prices very minimally,” said Alamin Bhai, “Now you see chola khichuri being sold for 25 taka, back then we offered a package, one plate of khichuri, chola, aloo chop, small egg—40 taka. That started around 2015-16. The package changed the campus atmosphere as well. Before this, it was pretty much the same as the cold you’re seeing now, but with the package being introduced, the campus has become lively again.”
I asked, 'Could you get cigarettes on campus before?' Alamin Bhai replied, 'Yes, during the BNP era, one day they raided all the shops and seized the cigarettes, completely wiping them out. They banned cigarettes once, and since then, it has been a continuous ban, so no one can sell them openly anymore.'
I ask, 'How much is left in the old business? Do those who took credit pay it back?' The optimistic Alamin Bhai replies, 'I have some outstanding. It's over 500,000... Many have gone abroad. When they go abroad, they think it's easy to avoid paying, and they end up taking 2-3 years to settle. Those who are familiar with me are in touch, and they believe they will pay when they get the chance. Yes, Inshallah, they will pay. Most of the outstanding is with the university staff.'
“What was your relationship like with the leaders of various political organizations?” I ask Alamin Bhai. He says, “I can’t say anything unnecessary about what hasn’t happened here. To be honest, I don’t have a bad relationship with anyone. I had a good relationship with the student league, a good relationship with Jamaat, and a good relationship with BNP as well. Because, I am a businessman. Everyone goes to a businessman, whether they are rich, poor, or involved in immoral activities. If I think about who has power and who doesn’t, then I won’t be able to do business.”
Work on the establishment of the tea stall began after the movement. Photo source: Facebook page of 'Student-Friendly Shahjalal University of Science and Technology'
Tea stalls, food prices, the influx of new food courts—these internal politics also come to light in his conversation, "I feel that those who are on campus cannot proudly say, 'This is mine, I will do this.' When someone wants to personally run a shop, that's when the trouble comes from the administration; it's not that the administration does it on its own, there are university staff, and if you think you are doing well, there will be 50 staff behind you ready to point fingers, they won't let you do anything good. You will earn two bucks, but they won't let you keep it. For example, I am a shopkeeper, you are also a shopkeeper, you are earning well, and I am following you because I can't do it myself. We are not doing well either. One person who is doing business is currently running the best business right in front of the campus, while everyone else is struggling; they have set up a cafeteria, and everyone is suffering because of it. The amount of labor they have, the craftsmen they employ, they can't even pay everyone. They don't get all the bills, there are so many fraudsters and cheaters, eating and getting away with it. Who should we follow?
“Doesn’t anyone talk about this?” I ask.
He continues, "They can kick you out at any time. If you go to talk, they will expel you. Now it's in the hands of the administration. You have nothing. First, think that I shared my troubles with you. I have had administrative issues, and I shared that with you. There are 50 people in your batch, and you keep mentioning only Alamin Bhai's this or that problem, just stay out of it. We'll see. It could be that they show up two hours earlier. Now if you say this, maybe two out of ten will come, and the rest won't. What's the benefit of smoking in someone else's room?—Now everyone thinks this way. They used to think differently before. If there's no tea shop on campus, there's nothing else on campus. Nothing will feel good anymore. If you sit in the food court, you won't get that enjoyment. The fun of the tea shop is different."
Alamin Bhai said with regret, "Everything is changing. After a while, it seems that none of the old shopkeepers on campus will be here. The situation on campus is like this."
Hearing "things are changing," I took Alamin Bhai back to the past. I wanted to know about the campus culture. How everything is changing, how it has changed, how much it has changed—I wanted to know. From his words, a comparative description of the past culture of campus hangouts and the current environment repeatedly emerges. I asked, "How do you see the difference between the previous situation and the current situation?"
Alamin Bhai says, ‘There’s a big difference. Night and day are different. The brothers who are here now don’t even talk properly, they just come to the hangout, you know, they come, eat, and chat with friends for an hour or an hour and a half. Earlier, brothers and sisters would meet for hours on end; there were times when they would stay until 11 PM, 10:30 PM/11 PM. …When you think there’s been a concert, or some program, I would keep it open until 1 AM. The administration wouldn’t say much about it either. There were times when it was 12 AM/12:30 AM, and I was closing the shop, and the full proctorial body would come, saying, ‘Make tea, we are sitting here.’ So I would open the shop again, serve them tea, and then bid them farewell. Those days were really good; there weren’t many problems during that time. Now, it seems like something has changed on campus.’
I ask him, "Puja, during the winter break, when the campus is closed, you don't see anyone around the entire campus. Did you used to keep the shops closed on such holidays before?" Alamin Bhai replies, "No, you could see that when I went home, I was the only one who kept the shop closed because there were many rickshaw drivers on campus then. Now, you can find only about twenty rickshaws around the entire campus. Back then, there were hundreds, maybe one hundred and fifty rickshaw drivers. They were devoted to the campus; they didn't enjoy going outside the campus. Those who have the fun of the campus in their hearts don't really understand anything outside of it. So they would go to the tea stalls with two or four tips. They would have tea, cigarettes, or a glass of water. The fares were low back then, and their earnings were higher. Now, just to enter the campus from the gate, it's twenty taka, and if you go to the hall, it's thirty taka. So a rickshaw driver can't earn in a day; before, the fare was five taka, and they could earn then. So even if the campus was off, one or two shops would still manage to run. Like now, the red tea stall owners. They always stay open, whether the campus is closed or open. It was the same for me. I would stay open too. Many people would only eat at the mess at night. During the day, they would be at our tea stall.……… Many have become teachers from various departments, and I still call them 'you' because we have a brotherly relationship; we have sat together and smoked cigarettes. One has become a registrar, and now when I call, I address him as brother; I would call him by his name, and he wouldn't mind. Is that possible with the current generation? Even if you wanted to, it wouldn't be possible."
He believes that the current environment is good as well. Still, he can sense the change. He continues, "People have changed from before. You see, go to every tea stall, how many students are there talking to the tea stall owners? They will say just one thing, 'Uncle, give me a cup of tea.' 'Uncle, give me two singaras,' that's it, nothing more. The older brothers used to come and engage in conversations, even if they hadn't been on campus for two days or one day, they would still be involved, and if there was a younger guy, they would have taken him in (with affection). Now, those who have come back from abroad and are shaking hands, have their hands become cold? No, we are praising them for doing well. If they did something bad, I would criticize them. It's not like that anymore, actually.
It seems that a kind of distance has developed between the current students and us. I asked, 'Why this distance?' Alamin Bhai simply replied, 'They think we are some kind of burden. I have been doing business for the past month, and if I talk to you for two days, on the third day you will look for me, but in the past month, I haven't had a casual conversation with a brother at all. What else can I explain? Earlier, if I talked to someone one day, the next day they would call me, "Brother, sit down, eat, or at least let me feed you." Even if I treat you at a tea stall, I would only spend 50 Taka, and if you treat me, you would only spend 50 Taka too, right? The day that goes by, brother, it never comes back. People change, brother. From around 2006 to 2008, my tea stall was named 'Singara Mama's Tea Stall.'
I ask, what was their relationship with the teachers like? The answer comes, 'It used to be good, we would sit and chat a lot, and they would give advice on what to do and what not to do. Many of them have left. Among those who are still here, the relationship is good. The current teachers, they criticize like street vendors. Now, imagine thirty customers come to a shop. Thirty people ordered khichuri. If they don't wash thirty plates and put them in the pot of khichuri, the khichuri will definitely spoil. They come at such a time, right in the middle of the customers, turning on the camera and making news before washing the plates. No vendor wants to serve bad food. If someone serves bad food, their business will automatically suffer, and they wouldn't need to take pictures. If someone mistakenly lowers the quality of the food, they won't give them a chance to say, 'Hey, it was bad, keep an eye on it the next day.' Now they don't give that chance; if one person complains, they are directly called to the office.'
As long as we talk, there is a kind of love and connection in Alamin Bhai's tone and voice. The pure essence of relationships formed in the dust of the campus comes alive in his words. Alamin Bhai says, 'Many have gone outside, are coming from outside, even while on the plane they are calling on Messenger, saying, "Uncle, I'm coming..." This is a pull of love. We stayed together for 5-7 years, ate, drank, and shared stories; this connection cannot be forgotten….'
Does a conversation with the uncles on campus ever end? It doesn’t. Yet, everyone has the rush of life. So, we have to bring the conversation to a close. Towards the end of the conversation, I ask, ‘Let’s say, for those who are new, what should they do?’ The brother says, ‘I won’t tell everyone, but since you are sitting with me, I will tell you, as much as you can, sit with the tea stall uncles and chat. No matter how many troubles come to the campus, whether anyone else is by your side or not, the shopkeepers will be by your side. I can guarantee you one hundred percent that you will find the tea stall owners by your side. Maybe you won’t find them as a stick, but even if I’m not on the Alamin campus, this will remain true. You will stay for another 5 years, and if you maintain a relationship with the uncles, you will be able to relate to this. You will see that they will care for you. …If you have a relationship with me, then I won’t take your money, nor will you take my money. What’s the problem in talking to you? I won’t take your food, and you won’t take my food. The only difference is that you are educated, and I am uneducated. That’s it. I am also a human being. What fault do you have in talking to me?’
Before getting up, I ask, 'How is Yunus running the country?' With a smile, Alamin Bhai replies, 'He's doing well, but sometimes he messes up.'
An Interview with Alamin Bhai of SUST’s Tong — “He was coming from outside, and even while on the plane, he would call me on Messenger saying, ‘Mama, I’m coming…’ That’s the pull of love.”