Bangladesh announced it will indefinitely shut down all public and private universities after massive country-wide protests against a controversial quota system in government jobs have left at least 39 dead, and over 2500 injured.
Why In News
- Bangladesh announced it will indefinitely shut down all public and private universities after massive country-wide protests against a controversial quota system in government jobs have left at least six dead, and over 400 injured.
- The protests began on July 1 after the High Court reinstated the job quota that reserves one-third of civil service posts for children of fighters who participated in the country’s liberation movement in 1971.
- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, further added fuel to the fire by referring to the protestors as ‘razakars’, a derogatory Bangla word for ‘traitors’ — with some grim historical baggage.
Who Is Protesting
- Students from government and private universities across Bangladesh are demanding reform in the conventional job quota system, under which more than half of much sought-after government jobs are reserved.
- The protesters said they are not aligned with any political group and they want a merit-based system that is fair to all.
- Fahim Faruki, a protester and third-year international relations student at Dhaka University, said the students organised the protests through a Facebook group and were not backed by any political organisation.
- The protest movement has come to be known as the Students Against Discrimination movement. Thousands of students from Dhaka University in the capital as well as Chittagong University have staged sit-ins against the quota system.
Government Response
- Government has deployed riot police who fired tear gas and charged with batons on Tuesday during violent clashes between the protesters and a pro-government student group.
- Paramilitary troops were also deployed across several districts amid heightened tensions. more than 2500 people were injured.
- “Mobile internet has been temporarily suspended due to various rumours and the unstable situation created … on social media,”.
- Ruling party leaders and ministers have tried to paint the protesters as anti-nationals and against the government after Hasina, who has been in power since 2009, referred to them as “Razakars”.
- In Bangladesh, Razakar is an offensive term that refers to those who betrayed Bangladesh in the 1971 war by collaborating with Pakistan.
What Triggered The Recent Protests
- High Court ordered the reinstatement of the 30 percent quota for children of freedom fighters, deeming the 2018 abolition of quotas illegal. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League had abolished the quota system after massive protests.
- Students from Dhaka University blocked major intersections and the police precinct in Shahbagh, a popular square in Dhaka. The student-led blockade of Shahbagh square continued for days.
What Is The Quota System In Bangladesh
- In 1972, the country’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, introduced a quota system, reserving a percentage of government jobs for children and grandchildren of people who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
- Under the system, 44 percent of first- and second-class government jobs are “merit” based.
- The remaining 56 percent are reserved for specific communities:
- 30 percent for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters
- 10 percent for women
- 10 percent “zila quota” for “backward” districts
- 5 percent for ethnic minorities
- 1 percent for people with physical disabilities
Anti Quota Protesters Demand
- The anti-quota protesters are demanding the 30 percent quota for children of freedom fighters be abolished.
- They support reserving jobs for ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
- “Our protest is not against the quota system. It is instead for the reformation of the system,” Faruki said.
- Another protester, Ayan*, 23, who is also an international relations major at Dhaka University, concurred, saying they do not want the quota system to be abolished altogether but want the percentage of jobs reserved to be lowered.
