The 9th of February is a day of infamy for the democratic fabric of Pakistan, where there was a tear so fundamental that it left but a few shreds of democracy left in this Islamic Republic.

It happened so long ago that nearly two-thirds of this country’s young population is not even aware of it. How sad that those whose freedoms were snatched do not even know it.

On this day in 1984, General Zia ul Haq imposed a ban on student unions in all colleges throughout the country (though in Sindh, forming student unions was already made illegal in 1979).

Some people say this measure was to curb the violence on campuses between the Left and Right factions, while others come with a more conspiratorial approach, suggesting that America gave F-16s to the General and had in exchange, demanded the strangling of student-led grassroots democracy in Pakistan.

In the news: Restoration of student unions demanded

Whatever the cause, the effect of this illegitimate decision has subtly put this nation through a cruel and prolonged suffering period of 31 years; slowly allowing the poison of undemocratic tendencies to seep into our rotting political system.

Back in the day, Karachi University students used to have access to a shuttle service at pick and drop points across the city. Now, the numbers are close to one bus per 1000 students and hardly half the pick and drop points; that when the population of students has exponentially increased! And most of the buses are in dire need of repairs. It would be surprising if there are any buses left after this decade.