Students across the country have been on violent protests against a court order to grant reservation in government jobs to the descendants of freedom war martyrs in Bangladesh. Hence, government and private universities are closed indefinitely. A news collection about this.
Job opportunities in private sector in Bangladesh have increased. However, many prefer to join government jobs because of stable job and good salary. Every year 4 lakh graduates appear for 3,000 government jobs.
In 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina canceled the quota system for descendants of freedom fighters. However, on June 5, the Bangladesh High Court ruled that the cancellation of reservation was illegal.
Also, the Bangladesh High Court ordered the restoration of 30 percent government job quota to the descendants of those who fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Against this, students have been actively protesting across the country since the beginning of last July.
The Supreme Court stayed the High Court’s order for four weeks. However, the students’ struggle continues.
A protest at Jahangir Nagar University in Sawar, near the capital Dhaka, erupted between pro-government student bodies and protesters. The police stopped the violence by firing tear gas shells and using batons.
At least five people have been killed as protests have turned violent at universities across Bangladesh. Hundreds have been seriously injured.
Following this, the government has taken action by canceling classes in public and private campuses across the country. The government has ordered to close all colleges affiliated to all universities, including medical and engineering, until further notice.
The students are said to be protesting as they fear that if 30 per cent reservation is given to family members of war veterans, they will lose their chances in government jobs.
Nahid Islam, coordinator of the anti-quota protests, said that while supporting reservation for other marginalized sections like women, minorities and differently abled, their demand is to cancel the reservation for relatives of freedom fighters.
Last Sunday, “If grandchildren of freedom fighters don’t get benefits, who will? The grandchildren of Rasakas?” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had questioned that.
“Razakar” is a derogatory word in Bangladesh. In other words, the term “Razzaqar” is used to refer to those who cooperated with the Pakistan Army during the 1971 War of Liberation.
Political observers have opined that the protests have taken a turn for the worse following the Prime Minister’s comment. Meanwhile, the central government has asked Indians to avoid traveling to Bangladesh.
