In Bangladesh, quota reformists’ clashes with police and ruling party Awami League affiliated student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) across the country; at least six people were killed and scores injured in the last two days. Three people died in Chattogram and two in Dhaka and one in Rangpur district.
The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been deployed in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram, Bogura, Rangpur and Rajshahi to maintain law and order situation amid the ongoing quota reform movement across the country.
The University Grants Commission of Bangladesh on Tuesday night said all public and private universities, its affiliated medical colleges and other institutions, will remain closed until further notice for the sake of students’ safety. Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has also announced the closure of all secondary and higher secondary educational institutions including polytechnic institutes until further notice.
The traffic movement in Dhaka became standstill on Tuesday morning as students demanding quota reform blocked different important points in the capital. The agitating students have blocked roads in Chattogram, Rangpur, Rajshahi and other cities of Bangladesh including highways in different parts of the country.
The rail lines at several locations, including Dhaka’s Mohakhali have been blocked by the agitators, leading to a halt in train services.The ruling Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) allegedly attacked the agitating students in Dhaka University on Sunday night, spreading the quota reforms agitation across the country.
Thousands of students from across Bangladesh have staged demonstrations, blockades at different places in several districts protesting against the BCL’s attacks on the quota protestors and demanding reforms in the quota system.
The Law Minister of Bangladesh Anisul Huq on Tuesday said that the government will not take any steps regarding the quota reform issue bypassing the High Court. While the agitating students demand action from the government to reform the quota system in government jobs.
Earlier, on July 1 students of different public universities launched a quota movement. The students were demanding the cancellation of a High Court order dated June 5 that asked the Bangladesh government to reinstate 30 percent job quotas for the descendants of freedom fighters of 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh.
After the independence of Bangladesh, 30 percent of the jobs were reserved for freedom fighters. In 1997, the government extended the quota to children of freedom fighters. In 2010, it was further expanded to include the grandchildren of freedom fighters.
In 2018, following nationwide protests against this quota system, a government circular cancelled the quota system for first- and second-class jobs. However, on June 5, 2024, the High Court ruled on a writ petition filed by the descendant of a freedom fighter and six others. The HC said the 2018 circular was illegal, meaning quotas were re-established in government recruitment once more. The government has appealed this ruling.
By: Navalsang Parmar (Dhaka)
