Bangladesh Student Protests: A Struggle Against Sheikh Hasina's Quota System

In the last two weeks, the police force of Bangladesh shot and killed student protesters in the middle of the road, They crushed the students with their vehicles. Not only police but special forces and the army were deployed in Bangladesh to strangle the student protesters.

You are not seeing any anti-terror operation. Special forces are entering Dhaka's one university's roof with helicopters. Sheikh Hasina government has declared war against the youth of its country. We don't know how many such incidents will happen, there is no calculation for it. This is being called one of the worst episodes of slaughter in the history of Bangladesh. More than 200 plus people have been officially killed, thousands have been injured, Data is incomplete because of lack of information. The curfew is in progress in the whole of Bangladesh. The internet blackout, That is why many videos, many incidents have not been able to come out. In the history of Bangladesh, another chapter is being written credit to Sheikh Hasina, But in front of the students.

Why students are protesting against the controversial quota system.
Why did Sheikh Hasina behave so brutally and dictatorially against students? How did the students defeat her? But students are still saying that war has not ended. Let's find out why.

Before discussing the violence of the last few days, it is important to understand the history behind it. A little history lesson is necessary here. Bangladesh was liberated from Pakistan in 1971. Pakistan had committed a murderous genocide against Bengalis in Bangladesh. More than 30 lakh lives were lost. Many people in Bangladesh raised their voice against the Pakistani army. At last, the people of Bangladesh won. Pakistani military had to withdraw. Pakistan was divided. Bangladesh was freed in 1971. The Awami League was the main party that played an important role in the freedom struggle, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. In 1972, the Freedom Fighter quota was introduced by him And then, the government expanded the quota system on the basis of social justice. But, in 2018, many students protested against this quota system. They said that the quota on the basis of social justice is understandable.

But, 30% freedom fighter quota should be removed immediately because it doesn't make any logic. It may sound good but in reality Sheikh Hasina was using it to give jobs to her favourite people. She was making her own cadre in the government and the youth of Bangladesh was being deceived in the name of this reservation. The first opposition is that if you want to honor freedom fighters, you have to run a quota for 10-20 years. But no one understood the importance of such a huge quota for their children and grandchildren. Students said that the Constitution talks about giving a quota to freedom fighters, but not to their children and grandchildren... then there is no legal sanctity for it. Because this quota is not based on economic or social backwardness. On top of that, in Bangladesh, almost the entire country was involved in the War of Liberation. Many people contributed in different ways. In such a situation, who will decide who is the child of the freedom fighter and who is not?

How is the quota misused?
In Bangladesh, most surprising thing is that only 0.13% of population has officially got status of Freedom Fighters descendants. That means, for 0.13% population, 30% reservation quota. This is a big deal, there is no controversy in this. There is no sense in this, students can see this, but there is political sense. Because Sheikh Hasina was accused of making fake freedom fighter certificate for her favourites. So that she can make a Godi civil servant cadre. After that the whole system can be in her hands. Because when Sheikh Hasina has given the job, how to work against her?

In Bangladesh, till 2018, there was 56% reservation. 10% women reservation, 10% for underdeveloped districts, 5% for ethnic minorities, 1% for people with disabilities and transgender people. All these together make up 26%. But the root of this whole problem is the 30% quota for freedom fighters and their descendants in Bangladesh. The most anger is against this 30%. Not against the entire reservation system. In 2018, Bangladesh High Court heard a petition challenging the legality of the quota system.

On March 8, 2018, the High Court rejected the petition. After that, the students came to the conclusion that they had not heard the petition properly. They had rejected the petition. There should be a reform in the quota system. Students also wanted to reform the system according to population and social justice. They wanted to end the Freedom Fighter quota. But Sheikh Hasina in response to the protest, by an executive order, cancelled the quota system. Different committees were formed, discussions held, in 2020 - the order was implemented. The quota system was removed. But this is what politics is all about politics. On this, an appeal was filed on the Bangladesh High Commission, that Sheikh Hasina's executive order is illegal.

On 5th June, 2024, Bangladesh High Court reversed Sheikh Hasina's executive order and the quota system was brought back. Students again expressed their anger and said that in 2018, Sheikh Hasina had completely destroyed the quota system in a single blow.So, even now, she could have listened to the students and brought a reformed quota system through Executive Order. Or she could have passed a bill if she was serious about this matter. But Sheikh Hasina didn't do that. Instead, her government filed an appeal in the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court.But the students' perception was different, right? That Sheikh Hasina is deliberately avoiding this issue and is trying to reintroduce the freedom fighter quota.

Why people may not believe in Sheikh Hasina?
when Hasina did not take any action on quota reform till 1 July, then the protest started, So don't think that students came out to protest in haste. But the question is, bringing back the quota was the order of the High Court. Why are they protesting against Sheikh Hasina? The case is pending in the Supreme Court. So why are the students blaming Sheikh Hasina? This is because everything from the police to the Supreme Court works under Sheikh Hasina's directions in Bangladesh. It is important to understand the kind of dictatorial rule in Bangladesh. In January 2024, Sheikh Hasina got a historic victory, That was no election. Only Awami League contested the election and opposition did not participate. And this is what a well-known global anti-corruption organization, Transparency International, says that the elections in Bangladesh were one-sided and fake. Sheikh Hasina's Godi Election Commission made voter list, poll schedule, constitution delimitation in her favour, Godi Judiciary convicted more than 1,500 opposition leaders a few months before the elections. Through the Cyber Security Act, the government tried to silence independent media outlets, put journalists in jail and even the Nobel laureate, Yunus Muhammad, whose micro-financing model brought an economic miracle to Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina's government did case after case on him, a formula you may know In the 2024 elections, the opposition parties said that they will boycott the election and embarrass, They said that they will not participate in the elections until the independent election commission is formed. They wanted to corner Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina has a different Thinking. She said that they will hold the elections without opposition. Bangladesh is free of opposition,  Sheikh Hasina has control over every institution in Bangladesh. Everything is under his control. When High Court reintroduced quota system on 5th June, 2024, students were convinced that it was not an independent decision, It was an order of Sheikh Hasina. She just wanted to get her decision read by judiciary and put a judicial stamp.
She wanted to introduce quota to make civil servants her own.So, when not any action taken for a month, the real protest started. On 1st July, student protest intensifies. She brings out her dictatorial tool kit. First, she tries to convince students that the matter is now reaching Supreme Court, so don't protest. Then, the students were accused of being misled by the opposition parties. They were being used as a political tool kit. But that is not so. The student movement was decentralized. There was no central political leadership. The opposition had no control over the movement. Yes, they tried to support it from outside.

In the beginning, the students protested in the universities. Then, on 7th July, protesters started nationwide blockade. Rasta Bondo and Rail Bondo programs started in all major cities. There was a big movement on a large scale. But it was peaceful. Students believed that they had no other option. Due to this pressure, Supreme Court's appellate bench put a stay on this controversial judgment of the High Court And on 7th August, after a long time, on 7th August, Supreme Court ruled that hearing will be held.

Sheikh Hasina told students to stop the protest. Hearing will be held on 7th August. But students don't trust Sheikh Hasina. And we can't blame them. Because she has done such things in the past. The protests continued and Sheikh Hasina declared students anti-national on 14th July. She said in a press conference that if not for the grandchildren of freedom fighters, then do the protesters want us to give quota to the grandchildren of the Razaqars Basically, student protesters were called pro-Razaqar. Now, for context, Razaqar were those people who helped the Pakistan army in the 1971 Liberation War.That is, they gave the highest level of anti-national tag to student protesters Razaqar is such a powerful word in Bangladesh.

Students were hurt, students were angry, protests intensified even more. Students started to raise the opposite slogan. 1, 2, 3, 4, we are all Razaqar. Who are we? Who are we? Razaqar. Who said it? Who said it? Autocrat, autocrat.
This type of name calling and targeting has become an old part of the dictator toolkit to delegitimize the protesters, to call them traitors, to demotivate them. 15 July - attacks started Awami league general secretary said Bangladesh Chhatra League, student group of Awami league, can answer protesters, Some reports say that Gunda of Awami league student body were attacking, even using guns on protesting students. On 16 July, 6 protesters died. But students didn't give up. Rallies and showdowns started on a high level. Sheikh Hasina's police started to use sticks.

On 18th July, there are reports that near Dhaka's BRAC University and inside its campus, police used sticks, tear gas and in some cases, bullets were fired. By 18th July, 30 protesters were killed by the protesters. Protesters attacked government offices.
At least at this point, Sheikh Hasina should have taken a clear action to restore peace, to form a committee and to give strong orders to the police to stop deadly violence against protesters The student union of the Awami League could have been controlled. The legitimate demands of the protesters did not need to be suppressed by violence, But what happens is that Tana Shah consider themselves to be God. They think that what do these small people know, but they know everything. And according to that, they take action. Sheikh Hasina has now used the dictatorial digital toolkit. On 18th July, the internet was shut down overnight in the whole country. A complete curfew was also imposed in the cities of the country. Army troops deployed on 19th July. We don't know how many students have died or how many have been injured. Because information blackout is still going on. According to ground reports, at least 163 people have died. If there are 25,000 people injured, there could be more death tolls. But even after all this, Sheikh Hasina had to bow down to the demands of the students. The hearing that was supposed to be held on 7th August, was pre-poned On 21st July, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh changed the quota system of the Appellate Bench.

The quota has been reduced from 56% to only 7% which includes 5% for the descendants of the Freedom Fighters, 1% for the ethnic minorities and 1% for the disabled and transgender people. The entire system and the entire power Shah Haseena, had to listen to the students But the protests are not over yet. The problem is not over yet. The students say that their fight will continue until the police release hundreds of protesters who have been arrested in the past few days. They also demand that all the officials who caused the deaths, they have to resign. The groups also say that they want to continue the movement as a pro-democracy movement until Sheikh Hasina resigns Students have suspended their protest for two days. Remember that the internet is suspended in Bangladesh. It is also being said that until the Sheikh Hasina government does not form a commission which does make a representative quota system, these protests will continue.

Will this really happen? Will she try to do as she pleases through a backdoor? Will there be any action against the Awami league students' union and violent police? We are not optimistic. But one thing is clear. No matter how powerful a person tries to be, he has to bow down to the power of the common people. Especially the student power. Students were leading the language movement till 1952. They fought in the war for equality between Bangladesh and Urdu in undivided Pakistan. And when Pakistan didn't agree, universities played a big role in the Liberation War of 1971. Students played a very important role in the anti-military rule and pro-democracy movement of 1991. And today, students are not only fighting for quota reform, but also for democracy in Bangladesh.

Dictator of Bangladesh | Bangladesh student protest: Where did it start? and end of Sheikh Hasina. Part-2
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