Bangladesh News: At least six people were killed and more than 400 injured in nationwide protests against the controversial reservation in government jobs. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has announced that it will close all private and public universities indefinitely from Wednesday, July 17. The protest started after the decision given by the Bangladesh High Court on June 5. In which it was said to give 30% reservation in government jobs for freedom fighters and their descendants. It is worth noting that this demand was repealed in 2018 after a massive movement led by students and teachers.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina added fuel to the fire by calling the protesters Razakars, a derogatory Bengali word for traitors. Apart from this, she said many serious things. In a press conference on Sunday, she said, are the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters not talented? Are only the children and grandchildren of Razakars talented? Razakars, literally volunteers, were a paramilitary force established by General Tikka Khan in 1971 with the aim of helping Islamabad take control of East Pakistan and stop the liberation movement led by the Awami League. It is remembered with great anger in Bangladesh.
The fire of reservation flared up again
Government jobs are quite popular in Bangladesh as a stable and lucrative source of income. According to news agency AP, about 400,000 graduates compete for about 3,000 such jobs every year. In the year 2018, the Sheikh Hasina government came up with new reservation rules. In these reservation rules, 56 percent of government jobs were reserved for various categories. In this, 30 percent of the jobs were reserved for the family members of freedom fighters who fought for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. At the same time, 10-10 percent reservation was said to be given to women and people of underdeveloped districts. It was said to give 5 percent reservation to members of the tribal community and 1 percent reservation to persons with disabilities. Students demand the abolition of all categories except the categories benefiting indigenous communities and the disabled.
Sheikh Hasina accused of bias
According to the report, the freedom fighters quota was particularly controversial as many believed it favoured those loyal to Hasina's party, the Awami League, which led the Bangladeshi liberation war. In April 2018, students and teachers staged a four-month-long protest demanding the removal of these conditions and reducing the total reservation to 10 per cent. Violence broke out, with protesters clashing with the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL, the student wing of the ruling Awami League) and the police. Following international outcry, Hasina announced the scrapping of all quotas.
