The student protest in Bangladesh over a job quota has left nearly 100 dead and hundreds of others injured, with a nationwide curfew imposed in the country and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cancelling her foreign trips.
Streets of Bangladesh have witnessed the most violent scenes of clashes between the students and security forces on Saturday as soldiers patrolled following a week-long unrest.
Communication has snapped since Thursday, including the suspension of mobile data and text message services.
The government has cancelled classes in public and private campuses across the country. It has also decided to close medical, textile, engineering and other colleges affiliated with the universities until further notice, according to bdnews24, Bangladesh’s leading news publisher.
Why are Students Protesting?
Days after the Bangladesh High Court ruled to reinstate a 30% government job quota for relatives of war veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971 against Pakistan, protests began in the country on July 1.
Thousands of students from government and private universities in the country have been protesting the quotas, fearing that they will be deprived of opportunities. While protesters support reservation for other marginalised groups like women, ethnic minorities and the disabled, the demand is that the quota of kin of freedom fighters be scrapped.
Who is Behind the Protests?
According to a report by Al-Jazeera, the protesters claim that they are not aligned with any political group. Fahim Faruki, a protester and third-year international relations student at Dhaka University, told the publication that students organised the protests through a Facebook group and were not backed by any political organisation.
How Did The Protests Turn Violent?
PM Sheikh Hasina seemed to have irked some citizens by using the ‘Razakars’ during a press conference on Sunday. ‘Razakar’ is a derogatory term used in Bangladesh for those collaborated with the Pakistan Army in the 1971 war, in act of treason.
She was asked about the student protests and the quota system, and she responded by saying, “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not receive [quota] benefits, who would get it? The grandchildren of Razakars?”
On July 14 night, thousands of students marched through the Dhaka University campus chanting the slogan, “Who are you? Who are you? I am Razakar, I am Razakar.” It is an adaptation of the famous chat during the Liberation War, “Who are we? Bengali”, according to a report in Scroll.in.
On July 15, student activists at the country’s largest Dhaka University clashed with the police and counter-protest inflamed the situation.
The students alleged the protests were peaceful until earlier this week, when the student wing of the ruling Awami League party attacked the protesters. Hundreds of people, including the police, have suffered injuries since.
At Jahangir Nagar University, demonstrators gathered in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence early Tuesday when they were attacked by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists and police, say witnesses. Over 50 people were treated at a nearby hospital, with at least 30 suffering pellet wounds.
On July 19, hundreds of protesters stormed the central Dhaka district of Narsingdi and freed over 850 inmates before setting fire to the facility, TV channels reported.
A “shoot-on-sight” order was also in place along with the curfew, giving security forces the authority to fire on mobs in extreme cases, said lawmaker Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party.
What is the Government Stand?
After last Sunday’s protests, Hasina asked if the agitators, who referred to themselves as “Razakars” understood the history of Bangladesh well. “They did not witness the bodies lying in the streets, yet they feel no shame in calling themselves Razakars,” the PM said. She also asked if students were aware of the role of Pakistani collaborators in the 1971 genocide and the abuse of women during the Liberation War.
Last week, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan requested the students not to block streets unnecessarily and go back to their respective institutes. “The students are crossing their limits,” he said at a press conference.
The country’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its student wing have called for marches on Wednesday to protest the attacks on the anti-quota protesters.
What is the Quota System?
The quota system not only reserves nearly a third of government jobs for family members of veterans of the 1971 war of independence, it also gives government jobs to women, disabled people and members of ethnic minorities.
This quota system was abolished in 2018 by Hasina after widespread protests in Bangladesh. The June 5 court order, which said the abolition was illegal, has again angered the youth. The Supreme Court then suspended that ruling pending an appeal hearing.
The protesters have called on the government to abolish the quota for being “discriminatory” against the students, struggling amid high unemployment in a country where some 32 million young people are not in work or education. Even though job opportunities have grown in some parts of the private sector, many people prefer government jobs because they are seen as more stable and lucrative.
Impact on Indian Students
The protests have impacted Indian students who are in Bangladesh. As of now, a total of 778 Indian students have returned to India through various land ports. In addition, around 200 students have returned home by regular flight services through Dhaka and Chittagong airports.
“The High Commission of India in Dhaka and our Assistant High Commissions are in regular touch with
more than 4,000 students remaining in various universities in Bangladesh,” a latest update from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, with regard to the evacuation of Indians from Bangladesh.
On July 19, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that at least 15,000 Indian nationals were currently in Bangladesh and urged family members to track updates from Indian officials. “We remain committed to providing all possible assistance to our nationals in Bangladesh,” said Jaiswal.