[🇧🇩] In Bangladesh, A Violent 'Student Revolution' is on بنگلہ دیش میں انقلاب

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Police barricade broken in Dhaka yesterday. What they are chanting translates to "Faker" (Bhua)



"Bangla Blockade" shuts down logistics in Dhaka



Drone shots of quota movement participants

 

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[Saif]

Quota protest: Students to march to Bangabhaban tomorrow

Students demanding quota reform in the government jobs have announced to hold a protest march towards the president's official residence Bangabhaban tomorrow

www.thedailystar.net

Quota protest: Students to march to Bangabhaban tomorrow

Photo: Star
Students demanding quota reform in the government jobs have announced to hold a protest march towards the president's official residence Bangabhaban tomorrow.

They will submit a memorandum to the president regarding their one-point demand.

The protestors in districts will submit the memorandum to the president through deputy commissioners, students said.

The fresh programme was announced by Hasnat Abdullah, one of the key coordinators of the "Boishommo Birodhi Chhatra Andolon" this evening at a press conference in front of DU Central Library, reports our Dhaka University Correspondent.​

 

[Saif]

It’s time to say ‘no’ to discriminatory quota

IN RECENT days, Bangladesh has seen student protests in many parts of the country, especially on university campuses. The protesting students have valid reasons to protest about a quota system that they find highly unfair and discriminatory. A whopping 30 per cent of the well-paid and massively...

www.newagebd.net

It's time to say 'no' to discriminatory quota
Habib Siddiqui 13 July, 2024, 22:59

Protests against quota in public service recruitment. | New Age/Md Saurav

IN RECENT days, Bangladesh has seen student protests in many parts of the country, especially on university campuses. The protesting students have valid reasons to protest about a quota system that they find highly unfair and discriminatory. A whopping 30 per cent of the well-paid and massively oversubscribed Bangladesh Civil Service posts are reserved for the family members of those who fought during the liberation war of 1971, and another 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent for districts, 5 per cent for ethnic minorities and 1 per cent for the disabled and handicapped. This leaves only 44 per cent of the jobs reserved for merit for roughly 98 per cent of the applicants.

Critics of the quota system say the system benefits children of pro-government groups that back prime minister Sheikh Hasina. They allege that the system incentivizes and weaponizes 'party politics' in the government sector. Critics also accuse Bangladeshi courts of rubber-stamping decisions made by the Awami League government.

Supporters of the quota system, on the other hand, say the system is necessary to promote and sustain a pro-liberation mindset and behaviour. They see it also as a pay-off for the sacrifice and contribution of freedom fighters and as a necessary means of promoting diversity and secularism in Bangladesh.

Interestingly, not all the freedom fighters favour the quota system any longer. Many of them say that it has outrun its utility half a century after the liberation of Bangladesh. Some see it as an insult to their very patriotism. They say that they did not participate in the war with the intention of getting rewarded or that one day their posterity would benefit from and take advantage of their service to the nation. As true patriots of the country, they like to see the discriminatory quota system gone, thus enabling a merit-based recruitment process to take root in the government job sector.

The other pertinent fact in this debate is that the list of freedom fighters was completed only in 1996, some 25 years after the liberation of the country. As a result, although the 30 per cent quota for the FFs was first introduced back in 1972, many freedom fighters could not avail themselves of the benefits when it was necessary. In 1997, as the numbers of those claiming FF quota positions started to dwindle, the government extended the quota to the children of freedom fighters. In 2010, it was further expanded to include the grandchildren of freedom fighters. According to the minister for liberation war affairs, Muzammel Haque, only about 5 per cent of the applicants in the last five BCS exams had come from FF families, of which about half passed the written test. Thus, according to him, in most cases, the 30 per cent quota was hardly ever filled to its specified figures.

What needs to happen with a system that is seen so negatively by so many inside Bangladesh?

To be sure, there were no more than 200,000 freedom fighters in 1971 whose family members can't add up to more than a small percentage of the overall population today. And so is the case with ethnic minorities. It is not difficult to understand why the protesters are so upset with the quota system, which they find unfair and discriminatory. It is disheartening for most graduating students, who see a bleak future awaiting them after years of college or university education. It is, at minimum, an issue of livelihood for many youngsters inside Bangladesh who face an acute job crisis. While Bangladesh has made much progress economically under Sheikh Hasina's watch, with per capita income overtaking India in 2021, the sad fact is that much of that growth has come from the readymade garment sector, which absorbs only a handful of university graduates and not any other industrial and commercial sector requiring huge, educated manpower.

As I had noted in an earlier article, the government of Sheikh Hasina has been well aware of the quota problem for quite some time. Back in 2018, after weeks of protests, her government cancelled the 56 per cent quota for the civil service for the first- and second-class jobs (while keeping the 56 per cent quota intact for the 3rd and 4th grades). Sadly, on June 5, 2024, following a writ petition filed by the descendant of a freedom fighter and six others, the High Court in Dhaka declared the government decision illegal, sparking protests again from the student community and job seekers. Students launched protests earlier this month with a four-point demand, including the reinstatement of the 2018 government circular. They blocked major highways and railway lines.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the student protests, saying the matter had been settled by the court. 'Students are wasting their time,' Sheikh Hasina told female activists within her own party on July 7 before her official visit to China, adding there was 'no justification for the anti-quota movement.'

The protesting students and job seekers obviously don't agree with her statement and would like to see a permanent solution to the discriminatory quota system. They say that they are, however, not opposed to five or so per cent of jobs being reserved for ethnic minorities and disabled or handicapped people. They have vowed to continue their protests, the so-called 'Bangla Blockade' programme, until their latest 'one-point' demand — for a law passed in parliament that outlaws the discriminatory quota system — is met. This time, they have also chosen the Supreme Court to file their grievances.

Based on a petition filed on July 10 by two Dhaka University students challenging the High Court verdict, Bangladesh's top court has temporarily suspended quotas for coveted government jobs. Apparently, such a temporary measure is not acceptable to the protesters. After a one-day break in their programme, student organisers announced a nationwide blockade on July 11. Many teachers have also joined in these protests, forcing the academic activities of many universities to come to a complete halt.

As we have seen in the past, these protests are seen by the ruling Awami League as anti-government agitations that are being encouraged by the opposition, especially the BNP. Minister Obaidul Quader said, 'If anyone tries to give the protests a political shape, we'll face it politically.' The home minister also threatened to use force to curb any violence.

At Comilla University, police chased students and opened fire, while in Chittagong, they used batons against protesters. Amnesty International expressed concern over reports that at least 20 people, including students, were injured in the police crackdown. Tear gas was used by the police on the protesters in various cities, resulting in some injuries and further worsening the situation. The organisers are seemingly determined to continue their protests until their legitimate one-point demand is met.

Experts have long spoken of the adverse effects of a discriminatory quota system that may not allow the best candidates to be selected for government jobs. In the corporate world, there is a saying: the 1's hire the 1's empowering them; the 3's hire the 5's to create a cadre of sycophants who won't challenge them; and when the 5's are in power, it is not why but when that corporation is gone. What is true in the corporate world is more true for a state, especially in the age of the Internet, where there is no room for mediocrity. Simply put, mediocre minds do not and cannot think brilliantly, and they hire and promote poorly so as not to be challenged. This puts the state on the wrong trajectory. To survive in a fast-paced and highly competitive global economy, it needs talented workforce planning and executing various programmes effectively.

If the Hasina government is serious about positioning Bangladesh successfully in the global arena, it needs to promote meritocracy. Nor should it be oblivious to the old saying that the politics of Bengal is in reality the economics of Bengal.
Dr Habib Siddiqui is a peace and rights activist.​

 

[Saif]

PM's comment ignites protests across campuses

Hundreds of students from several public universities, including Dhaka University, took to the streets around midnight to protest what they said was a "disparaging comment" by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in the evening

www.thedailystar.net

PM's comment ignites protests across campuses

Protests at Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway. Photo: Collected

Hundreds of students from several public universities, including Dhaka University, took to the streets around midnight to protest what they said was a "disparaging comment" by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in the evening.

The protesters, who have been staging demonstrations across the country demanding reformation of the quota system for the last two weeks, brought out the processions on their respective campuses around 11:00pm.

As of now, students from Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Jagannath University, Rajshahi University, Chittagong University, Comilla University, Jessore University of Science and Technology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, and Barishal University have held separate processions.

They were shouting slogans such as "Who are you, who am I? Razakar, Razakar," "Medhabi na Razakar, Razakar, Razakar".

Several hundred students of Rajshahi University went out of the campus with a procession and blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway after 12:15am today.

Meanwhile around 11:40pm, hundreds of protesters were seen shouting slogans inside the Jagannath University.

Students of Chittagong University also took to the campus with slogans -- "Tui Razakar, Tui Razakar".

However, around 1:45am today, at the time of filing this report, most of the students were wrapping up their demonstrations.

The protest comes hours after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's press conference at Gono Bhaban yesterday.

In response to a journalist's question, Hasina said, "Why is there so much resentment against the Liberation War and the freedom fighters? If the grandchildren of the freedom fighters don't get quotas, then should the grandchildren of razakars [Pakistani collaborators] get quotas? That is my question."​

 

[Saif]

Why must brute force always be the response to student protests?

What could have been resolved through a discussion as expected from any government, ended up being yet another violent suppression of the voices of students

www.thedailystar.net

Why must brute force always be the response to student protests?

Photo: Prabir Das/Star

At first it seemed the government was going to show the restraint expected from the state towards students protesting a quota system that needs a logical reform. Sadly, it did not take long for the government to take an unnecessarily hardline in an attempt to squash the spirit of these young people. What could have been resolved through a discussion as expected from any government, ended up being yet another violent suppression of the voices of students.
In an all too familiar sequence, when students on campuses throughout the country, spontaneously started protesting comments of the prime minister regarding their movement at a press conference on Sunday, members of the Chhatra League were ready and waiting to attack.

What followed was not something too surprising. Yet one cannot fail to be shocked at the brutality with which students, even women students, were beaten with rods and sticks. The images are hard to forget – students beaten unconscious, a student looking dazed as blood poured down his face, a capture of a man raising a stick just before it would hit two young women, a female student, unconscious, being taken to the hospital, young men with sticks and rods chasing students before hitting them mercilessly – these are not scenes from a battlefield but from campuses of universities. University campuses that resemble riot scenes. Student protesters who had gone to the emergency centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital with their wounded fellow protesters were beaten up inside the hospital. Is this why young people go to universities – to either get beaten up or to be part of groups that do the beating?

Unfortunately, that is how students are divided on our campuses.

So why the show of restraint in the beginning? It was clear that at first, the police and the Chhatra League were given instructions by their bosses to remain calm and not take any action against the students. But as soon as the high-ups in the government made dismissive comments criticising the movement, things started to take an ugly turn. The AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader at a press conference on Sunday remarked that the Chhatra League was ready to give an apt answer to the "audacious behaviour" shown on the campuses (by leaders of the anti-quota movement). Such a direct call for action gave them the green signal. True to their reputation, the members of the student body swooped on the students and "taught them a lesson" for daring to be vocal and defiant.

It is tragic that a student body that was once at the forefront of the most significant movements of our history has been turned into the bully boys (and girls) of the ruling party. These young men wielding rods and sticks are also university students. Why should students beat up other students for a cause that would ordinarily unite them? Why do the large numbers of the police force become silent bystanders when helmet-clad goons pounce upon unarmed university students?

These are naïve queries in a reality where even peaceful protests are seen as threats to power and are clamped down upon with full force. For some reason it was thought that this time the government would show tolerance and listen to the young, passionate young men and women who believed that their voices would be heard, their needs would be addressed. All they have been asking for is a fair chance in life, an equitable system of opportunities to compete for government jobs and the realisation of a dream that can be attained through merit and hard work. Are these aspirations unwarranted for young people of an independent nation?​

 

[Saif]

Remarks of prime minister that are unbecoming, unacceptable

THE prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s remarks of July 14 at the press conference on the outcome of her visits to India and China about the ongoing movement for quota reforms in the recruitment of public servants and the movement of teachers of 35 public universities demanding the cancellation of...

www.newagebd.net

Remarks of prime minister that are unbecoming, unacceptable
16 July, 2024, 00:00

THE prime minister Sheikh Hasina's remarks of July 14 at the press conference on the outcome of her visits to India and China about the ongoing movement for quota reforms in the recruitment of public servants and the movement of teachers of 35 public universities demanding the cancellation of the universal pension scheme Pratyay for them are provocative and illegal and, therefore, unacceptable. Referring to quota for the grandchildren of freedom fighters, she has asked whether the grandchildren of razakars — the term that is used to mean the people who collaborated with the killer Pakistani junta during the liberation war in 1971 — would get public service jobs instead. By implication, she has referred to the protesters and the sections in society that sympathise with or support the movement as razakars. This is unacceptable. She has said that the executive has nothing to do with reforms in the quota system and the issue would be resolved in court. But the High Court in its full verdict on July 14 said that the government could frame rules and guidelines to ensure the participation of backward sections of the citizens in public service recruitment as it did in the short verdict on July 11, stating that the government is at liberty to change, reduce or increase the ratio or percentage of quota.

The prime minister's remark about the teachers of public universities now on work abstention demanding their exclusion from the universal pension scheme also appears unbecoming. Noting that the teachers are confused about the pension scheme, which she had already notified the teachers about, the prime minister has said that she would say something after the teachers felt tired of continuing with the movement. If the demand is legitimate, why would the teachers need to wait for a decision until they felt tired of the movement? The remark is insensitive and demeaning for the teachers. This is, therefore, again unacceptable. The prime minister has also said that the criticism of her visits to India and China is reflective of 'mental illness' of the critics. This constitutes intolerance of genuine criticism. The plan to allow India to transport goods from West Bengal to Assam through Bangladesh is nothing short of granting a corridor, which many believe might create national security problems for Bangladesh, in the name of connectivity or transit. Criticism about the proposition is, rather, genuine patriotic concern on part of thinking Bangladeshis. The prime minister's terming such concern to have resulted from mental illness is, therefore, unacceptable again. The prime minister's visit to China appears to have been unsuccessful as Beijing has agreed to grant $137 million in economic aid, included in the $2 billion in grants and loans all, against government expectations of $5 billion. The criticism of the tours is, therefore, non unjustified.

Finally, talking about measures against corruption, the prime minister at the press conference has publicly admitted that an attendant at her house made a fortune of Tk 4 billion and he travelled by helicopter. She has seized his card and other documents when she came to know of the matter. While the incident is a clear example of the abuse of power in making illegal wealth, his dismissal from the job is nothing short of letting him get off scot-free. This is no example of zero tolerance for corruption. There should have, rather, been a criminal investigation against him for corruption.

While the government is, therefore, expected to resolve the legitimate issues of quota protesters and public university teachers with no further delay, it must also not give a corridor to India for goods transport through Bangladesh and show the will to end corruption with an iron fist.​