Educational institutions in Bangladesh are shut down due to tragic death of around 6 students in the havoc of protests against the disagreed quota system
Bangladesh’s Quota History
The South-Asian country has government jobs as best source for stable income for the massive amount of graduates with a provision of 3,000 posts available. After the country’s independence, these government jobs had 56% quota system based on minorities of women and underdeveloped regions having 10% reservation each, tribal regions got 5% and specially abled got 1% of reservation. The largest chunk of this quota was received for the people whose ancestors were a part of Bangladesh’s freedom struggle.
The 30% preference was quite disputable since people felt that the quota was likely to favor only certain mass who supported the PM’s party and who focused on past historical ties. There was a bias seen for the 30% quota candidates as they were provided with special exams and varying age limits for fulfilling eligibility criteria. In April 2018, massive population of students and teachers carried out 4-month long protest to eliminate the quota bias and provide level playing field to the youth of the country. After bombardment from national as well as international voices, Hasina tore down all the quotas from gov’t jobs.
Apex court’s ruling to students protests
Bangladesh’s High Court dept. of Supreme Court ordered reversal of the 2018 rulings by repealing all the reservations along with the freedom fighters’ quota on 24th June, 2024. The riots were evident from the very next week of the HC’s decision, including police counter attacks on students with rubber bullets and tear gas. The protests were seen in the capital, Dhaka, where two students died during protests as well as in other parts of the country. 6 students and many casualties were recorded across the country.
This tension got fueled due to Shiekh Hasina’s subtle reaction to the protestors, calling them ‘Razakars’-people who supported Pakistan during the 1971 war. This has enraged the student crowd even more, as they are definitive about their stand for fighting for their rights. The international institutions like United Nations as well Amnesty International has called upon Bangladesh’s gov’t to resolve the matter with peaceful means.
