Bangladesh in Crisis; Students Protest Against Sheikh Hasina’s Rule. Violence and Protests Against Quota System

Dictatorship Allegations Rise as Bangladesh’s Protesters Fight for Justice

“If freedom fighters’ grandchildren don’t deserve it, do the oppressors and their grandchildren deserve it?” Such low-level arguments do not suit a Prime Minister.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now being called a dictator by the protestors.

Last month, in Bangladesh, a large number of students protested on the streets. Initially, the protests were peaceful, but now the situation has taken a scary and violent turn. A military curfew has now been declared in Bangladesh. Schools and colleges across the country have been shut down. And the government of Bangladesh has suspended mobile internet services.

In these violent clashes, at least 150 people have been k!lled and thousands are injured. The protesters are now calling Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a dictator.

What is the reason behind all this?

The reason behind these protests is reservation. The youth of Bangladesh is protesting against the quota system of the government. According to the quota system, 56% of jobs in the public sector of Bangladesh are reserved for different sections of society. This means that only 44% of jobs are available on the basis of merit. This system is quite different from India’s because majority reservation is not based on caste but on the freedom fighters.

Before independence, Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan. At that time, it was called East Pakistan. And today’s Pakistan was called West Pakistan. At that time, there was rampant social discrimination against East Pakistan. Majority of people spoke Bengali and only less than 10% of them spoke Urdu. But still, West Pakistan imposed the Urdu language on East Pakistan.

Apart from this, there was economic discrimination. 59% of the country’s exports came from East Pakistan, but only 25% of the industrial investments went to East Pakistan. In November 1970, when Cyclone Bhola hit, an estimated 300,000 people died in East Pakistan. One of the deadliest tropical cyclones in the last century.

“In 1970, a massive storm swept into the Bay of Bengal, drowning 500,000 people. It was one of the worst natural disasters anywhere.” But West Pakistan didn’t make much effort to provide relief to the people here. Not only that, there was political discrimination as well. In the 1970 elections, East Pakistan had 162 seats and West Pakistan had 138 seats.

People in West Pakistan voted for different political parties but in East Pakistan, the overwhelming majority of votes went to Awami League Party, which was being led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

As a result of this election the Awami League was supposed to govern both East and West Pakistan. But the military of West Pakistan did not want this at all. Back then, Pakistani military’s Commander-in-Chief Yahya Khan refused to accept the election result. Martial law was imposed on East Pakistan and in response, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman began a civil disobedience movement in protest.

At the same time, West Pakistan’s military committed large-scale atrocities against the people of East Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested and hundreds of thousands of people were killed. There was a genocide in East Pakistan. About 10 million people had to take refuge in India. Approximately 50% of the population of East Pakistan was internally displaced because of this.

It was only after this that the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 happened. This was the war where India helped Bangladesh get freedom under the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi. “Mujibur Rahman, the leader of East Pakistan, declared the region an independent republic, which he said will be called Bangladesh, the land of the Bengalis.” The people who fought for freedom in East Pakistan, which made Bangladesh an independent country, were the freedom fighters.

These freedom fighters are relevant in the current situation because of this quota system.

Because, in Bangladesh’s quota system, 30% of jobs are reserved for the descendants of freedom fighters. Apart from this, there are some other reservations like 10% for women, 10% Zila Quota for backward districts, 5% reservation for ethnic minorities, and 1% reservation for people with physical disabilities.

To sum up these numbers, it becomes a total of 56% reservation. But the majority share of this 56% is the 30% quota for freedom fighters.

An article was shared recently stating, a 3rd year student of 3rd studying International Relations at Dhaka University, Fahim Farooqui, who is also a protester, claims that this protest is basically for the reformation of the quota system.

Protesters demand that other than the reservation for ethnic minorities and physical disabilities, the government should remove all other reservations. This reservation for freedom fighters is the very interesting one because it began in 1972, just a year after independence. Their Ministry of Cabinet Services issued an order that year to create a quota for Freedom Fighters. Those who risked their lives, those who fought for their country’s independence, 30% jobs should be reserved for them.

It should be noted that this was applicable only for the Freedom Fighters. Later, in 1997, this quota was extended to the children of freedom fighters. And in 2010, it was said that this quota should be extended to the grandchildren of freedom fighters too. 

Although the exact quota for other categories kept changing over the years, in the end, the total percentage reached 56%. After the decision to include grandchildren in 2010, there was a big movement in Bangladesh during 2012-13, against this quota system.

Just like India’s UPSC, the exam for Union Public l Service Commission, similarly, there is BPSC exam in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Public Service Commission. Every year, around 400,000 graduates compete for 3,000 civil service jobs in Bangladesh. It’s a dire situation with the severe shortage of jobs.

In February 2018, the Bangladesh’s General Students’ Rights Conservation Council, demanded reforms in Bangladesh Government Services. Even then, there were clashes between the students who were against it and those who were pro-quota.

And under this pressure, in October 2018, Bangladesh’s government issued a circular that the quota system will be removed for first and second-class jobs. The matter would have ended here, but in 2021, 7 students from Freedom Fighters’ families filed a petition in the High Court against the removal of this quota system.

And on 5th June, 2024, that is, last month, the High Court decided that the petitioners’ agruments were valid. The government circular was declared illegal and the quota system was reintroduced. This was the reason why protests rekindled all over the country. The protesting students claim that this quota is unconstitutional. Nowhere in the original constitution was it written that the future generations of freedom fighters would have reservations for jobs.

It is understandable to give a reservation to freedom fighters because they fought for the country’s freedom. But extending the reservation to their grandchildren simply because their grandparents were freedom fighters. But the matter does not end here.

There have been allegations of corruption in the guise of reservation. Who will decide whether someone was a freedom fighter or not?

The government has kept this responsibility with itself. The government will decide who was a freedom fighter. For the past 15 years, the ruling party in Bangladesh has been the Awami League, with Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister. This is the same political party that fought for Bangladesh’s independence.

The protesters claim that the reservation for the freedom fighters disproportionately benefits the people of the Awami League. The names of the freedom fighters who have been included in the list, at least 60,000 objections have been raised against those names. And these objections have not been resolved by the government.

On July 10, this matter reached the Supreme Court and the government approached the Supreme Court to appeal against the High Court’s order. The Supreme Court imposed a stay on the High Court’s order, but the protests didn’t stop. Apart from students and teachers, opposition parties of Bangladesh join in. Like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. To confront the protesters, more than 7,000 paramilitary troops were called. Police use tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound grenades. 

The United Nations Secretary-General issued a statement that the government should refrain from using threats or violence against the protestors. Apart from this, there were clashes between the protesters and the Bangladesh’s Student League, which is the student wing of the Awami League Party.

Both sides blame each other.

The Law Minister of the government said that the government is willing to talk with the protesters. They claim that they are trying to get an early hearing in the Supreme Court so that the final order could be passed as soon as possible. Students raise slogans outside Dhaka University that we won’t let their brothers’ blood go to waste.

Under pressure, the government formed a Judicial Probe Committee to investigate the incidents of m violence. The General Secretary of the Awami League says that the government will not interfere in the quotas. And everyone should wait for the Supreme Court’s decision. But the main group of protesters, Students Against Discrimination, doubts the government’s intentions.

They say that the Prime Minister did not say anything  about the murders committed by her party’s activists. Amidst this tense situation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave some irresponsible remarks. She twisted the facts and asks why do the protesters hate the freedom fighters?

If the grandchildren of the freedom fighters do not get the reservation benefits, will the grandchildren of the ‘Razakars’ be given benefits?

Not only Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but also her Social Welfare Minister Dipu Moni and State Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Muhammad Ali Arafat, made similar statements about Razakars.

What does Razakar mean?

‘Razakar’ is a Persian word which means volunteer or helper. But in the war of 1971, Razakar Bahini was a paramilitary group which was supporting the army of West Pakistan. On the other hand was Mukti Bahini fighting for the freedom of Bangladesh. In this Razakar Bahini, there were about 50,000 people who supported the West Pakistan army and in the atrocities committed against the people of East Pakistan they encouraged them and even took part in them.

In 1973, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s government was formed, he introduced the International Crimes Tribunal Act to find and punish these Razakars. Anthropologist Nayanika Mukherjee notes that around 37,000 volunteers were identified. Around 26,000 of them were pardoned by the government and the remaining were punished.

They were imprisoned or their trial is still going on. Some trials were so long that even in 2022, 6 members of the Razakar Bahini were sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

In Bangladesh, the word ‘Razakar’ means treacherous and anti-national. And if someone is protesting against the government because of this reservation, does it make sense to call them a traitor?

No, it doesn’t.

It’s the same old strategy where if the government doesn’t like people criticising them, then they are declared a traitor. But the truth is, as American author and activist Edward Abbey had written, “a patriot must be ready to defend his country against his government.”

A true patriot defends his country even from his government. Democracy doesn’t only mean that a citizen goes to vote once every 5 years. Democracy is a dynamic system where people should be politically aware. People should continue to hold the government accountable and keep monitoring if the government is doing the right thing or not.

And if needed, they should be able to oppose the government. PM Sheikh Hasina’s comment on these protestors, is a clear-cut example of the straw man fallacy. This means that the presenting of the other’s argument in a wrong way by distorting it. 

If the protesters say that they are against the reservation given to the granddaughters of freedom fighters, how does it mean that they are disrespecting the freedom fighters?

When PM Sheikh Hasina’s government removed this reservation in 2018, was she also disrespecting the freedom fighters?

Such a low-level argument does not suit a Prime Minister. The demand of the protesters is not unreasonable. But listen to the gibberish of the Indian media. In a TV program on Aaj Tak, Sudhir Chaudhary labelled the students’ protests to be foreign-funded. While speaking whatever he could dream of, he said that America and other western countries are behind this.

His statement, “Countries like America keep provoking these riots from behind with remote control. Because the western countries like America, join hands with the opposition parties of other countries.”

He shared an infographic that showed a 10% reservation for residents of developing districts. This word clearly means ‘developing.’ Whereas  Bangladesh has given a 10% quota to the residents of backward districts. And after this, Sudhir says that some students from West Bengal are supporting these protests while these students want reservation in our country.

How is this possible?

“Another shocking news is that in support of this movement in Bangladesh, there are protests in West Bengal as well. These students, who want reservation in government jobs in India, are supporting those riots in Bangladesh, which are for the removal of reservations in government jobs. Such hypocrisy.”

First, in their programs they claim that the reservations in India are based on caste. Whereas in Bangladesh, it is based on other criteria. “They don’t have reservations based on caste or religion. Their reservation is different.”

So what is the point of this comparison?

In India, the reservation is given to so-called ‘lower caste’ people who have faced historical discrimination. But not only historically, even today, there are still witnesses of caste atrocities. In Rajasthan, a Dalit named Jitendra Pal Meghwal was killed merely because he had a moustache. 

An article on Aaj Tak’s website states that, in Gujarat, the Dalit groom was not allowed to mount a mare. Stones were thrown because the groom’s side wore turbans. An 8 year old boy touched a bucket of water so he was brutally beaten.

And where did this happen? 

In school. The Sikh religion was based on the principles of egalitarianism meaning everyone is equal, and there’s no place for casteism. But today, even in Punjab, there are separate gurudwaras for dalit Sikhs. And according to these pro-government journalists blinded by privileges, there is no casteism in our country.

According to them, positive affirmative action like reservation is not required. Everything’s well. 

Why don’t they talk about ending casteism?

Why don’t they talk about ending caste-based crime?

The advertisements printed on newspapers, people looking for “Brahmin girl,” “Rajput girl,” “Jat,” or “Baniya” these caste-based matrimonial advertisements, why aren’t these banned?

It even says that there is no restriction on caste but the person should not be SC, ST, or OBC. The day we end this caste discrimination, the caste reservation will automatically end. But these journalists who try to appease the government will compare India’s caste reservation to Bangladesh’s Freedom Fighter reservation. 

The reservations in India is to uplift the socially and economically deprived classes to the same level. But the Bangladeshi reservation for the descendants of Freedom Fighters is not a separate ethnic minority. They weren’t being oppressed for thousands of years.

In fact, they are the socially respected section of the country. If any of them is economically weak, then there can be a 5-10% EWS quota for them. On 21st July, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh said the same thing. That the Freedom Fighter descendants quota should be reduced to only 5%. And the other quotas for ethnic minorities, transgenders, and disabled people should be reduced to 2%, so that the total reservation is limited to only 7%.

The Viewpoint

The protests against reservation in Bangladesh are just the symptom here, the real disease is unemployment. Like India, unemployment has become a huge problem in Bangladesh. Public Administration Minister Farad Hussain told the Parliament. 

In February, more than 500,000 jobs were vacant in their country. But even if they are filled up, it won’t be enough. Bangladesh’s Bureau of Statistics data shows that 1.8 to 1.9 young people join the job market every year. In the country of 170 million people, the working population is around two-thirds, around 110 million.

30 million of these 110 million people are unemployed. Bangladesh’s economy is in a bad shape. The foreign exchange reserves of the country are running low. In 2022, Bangladesh asked for help from the International Monetary Fund to rebuild its foreign exchange reserves.

Recently, they were planning to take a loan of $5 billion from China. Now, it’s a different matter that whenever a country takes out a loan from China, its problems are never solved. Instead, it creates a new problem. China’s debt diplomacy, which was seen in Sri Lanka. Apart from this, the inflation rates are high too at 9%.

The expenses are increasing but people do not have jobs. Improving the reservation system is only the first step. If they want a long-term solution, the government needs to focus on job creation. Apart from these economic struggles, questions have been raised on Sheikh Hasina’s political moves too.

In January, she won her 4th consecutive term, but there were accusations of electoral rigging. In this protest, there were posters and slogans that called her a dictator. Like this slogan,

“Who are you? Who am I?

Razakar! Razakar!

Who says? Who says?

The Dictator! The Dictator!”

It means, “Who are we supposed to be?

The oppressors, the Razakar.

And who said this?

The dictator did.”

Bangladesh citizen’s are hoping that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be able to understand the problems of her country’s people and will be able to take a positive approach here.