Bangladeshi Student Protests: Demands for Genuine Meritocracy 

Written by Uilson Jones 

Since July 5th, Bangladesh has found itself engulfed by mass student protests. Grinding the country to a halt and leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to destabilize the government and its clique, the Bangladeshi student protests have reasserted the rights of civil society in a country where the authoritarianism of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken root. The narrative of the student protests developed rapidly throughout the month of July which had morphed into a united front that sought to topple the political status quo – Hasina and her cabinet. 

The Motivations for the Outbreak of the Movement 

The trouble came about with the ratification of the quota system, the origins of which lie in the 1972 legislation by then Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The quota system states the percentage of government jobs that are reserved and disseminated to the children and grandchildren of those that fought in the Bangladeshi Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971 (Al Jazeera, 2024). In practice, this meant the provision of well-paying government jobs to a caste of people who were already secure. In a country plagued by economic troubles and rising poverty rates, the dissemination of aristocratic privileges to the already well-off did not sit well with the millions of people who were capable of taking these jobs due to their merit, yet barred from them simply because they did not qualify under the quota system. It is therefore highly unsurprising when the Bangladeshi High Court reintroduced the job quota on July 5th, that the first to respond were students and universities. This reversed a key government decision made in concession to the 2018 Bangladesh Quota Reform Movement. 

The quota system was a major point of tension for students and educational institutions. As it stood, 44% of jobs were tacitly based off merit, whilst 30% were reserved for the children and grandchildren of the freedom fighters, with quotas for ethnic minorities, women, disabled people, and backward districts sharing in the remaining piece of the pie (Al Jazeera, 2024). As stated above, in a climate of economic and financial strain, students and educational facilities thrust themselves into the forefront of the movement, as the quota system was a seen as a significant impediment for themselves in the future. As such, a much more meritocratic system was called for, one that eliminated the quota system for the privileged and shared its portion with the sections of ‘merit’, ‘ethnic minorities’, ‘women’, amongst others. In other words, the movement was not so much ‘anti-quota’, as it was more concerned with removing and rearranging government jobs to other sections of society.  

Engagement of Civil Society and Government Response 

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to express their disapproval of the quota bill that was placed back on the agenda by the government in early July. A decision that overturned the previous 2018 moratorium on the quota system as a result of the then major uproar of civil society. In a firm attempt to express their discontent as well as their desire for meaningful change in the quota system. Spearheaded by university students and the educational institutions, the size and purview of the protests grew throughout the month as developments on the streets gave way to a dark reality.  

The government response to the civil unrest triggered in full by foul decision-making, culminated in the bloodiest state crackdown in Bangladeshi history. Beginning with an attempt to destabilize the protest movement, a number of state adjacent actors took it upon themselves to dress in plain clothing and beat protestors at random to cause chaos and sow division (CIVICUS, 2024). It became overwhelmingly clear that the thugs who were doing their part in violently dispersing large crowds, were in fact members of the significantly problematic Bangladeshi Chhatra League. Founded in 1948 and colloquially known as the Chhatra League, the group is the student wing of the ruling Bangladeshi Awami League, or simply Awami League (CIVICUS, 2024). The depravity and senseless violence prompted by state officials against the peaceful protestors was so blatant, that the quota movement could not and did not cease and desist.  

Numerous pictures and videos from the scenes were now able to be found on various social media sites, as well as mainstream media coverage showing the extent of the violence against protestors shocked people around the world. A case in point was the aimless killing of Abu Sayed, a student at Rangpur’s Begum Rokeya University (Amnesty International, 2024). On the 15th of July, police presence was overt and destructive. The Chhatra League, proving unable to contain the protests alone with its unorthodox methods, opened the avenue for the participation of Bangladeshi police and secret service. Upon closing into a crowd of protestors that quickly dispersed from their position, the police encountered a single student who stood in defiance, arms spread along the sides. Wielding nothing other than a wooden stick, positioned 15 metres away from fully geared police units, Abu Sayed was not in any position to deal any harm to officials. Yet, the police responded by unloading the barrels of their shotguns into Sayed, killing him on the spot (Amnesty International, 2024). Abu Sayed, whose death was filmed and posted on social media sites, became a crucial symbol of police brutality, paving the way towards a reinvigoration of the movement despite the life-threatening dangers that come with taking a stand. 

The government crackdown saw many instances of police opening fire, with live ammunition, into large crowds of unarmed protestors in order to instil fear and dispersal (UN News, 2024). The situation deteriorated to such a grave extent, that helicopters began to be used against protestors. Rapid gunfire coming from the helicopters, were aimed at significant crowds of people and took the mass repression and killing to an unimaginable level (The Telegraph, 2024). The militarization of the country and its response to the movement became evermore violent and repressive, yet the protests showed no sign of abating. In fact, it was quite the opposite.  

When Reform Meets Revolution 

The Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, together with the Non-Cooperation Movement, were unanimous in pushing for one overt demand by the time August rolled around. Following a month of unprecedented police brutality and the death of well over a thousand people, these groups sought to align their demands according to such developments. The quota reform movement, having begun as a result of irresponsible government policy, now evolved into a revolutionary movement of widespread scale. Their demand, otherwise known as the one-point movement, was the resignation of the now former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with her cabinet (UN News, 2024).  

Having started as a mere quarrel with a particular government policy, the unprompted brutality in the government’s response led the student movement to adapt to the objective necessities of the hour. The state that the country and its people were left in, made the decision to overturn the government a rather simple one. After all, over 1000 deaths were recorded since the onset of the movement (NBC, 2024). Such was the price that Bangladeshis had to pay for the resignation of Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet. Succeeding the Awami League government, is Muhammad Yunus who leads the interim government for the time being (ORF, 2024). The future for Bangladesh remains uncertain, yet the actions taken by student protestors and the widespread movement afterwards is a promising sign for the health of Bangladeshi civil society. The participants in the movement have showed the world that the government is not impenetrable, and under given circumstances is rather fragile. The tens of thousands of protestors, as well as those that perished at the hands of the authoritarian rule of the Awami League, serves as an inspiration to those around the globe seeking justice, peace, and meritocracy. 

References

  • Al Jazeera. (2024). What’s behind Bangladesh’s violent quota protests. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/16/whats-behind-bangladeshs-violent-quota-protests.  
  • Bose, S. & Chaudhury, A. B. S. (2024). Interim government: The faces of change in Bangladesh. ORF. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/interim-government-the-faces-of-change-in-bangladesh.  
  • Corea, H. & Erum, N. (2024). What is happening at the quota-reform protests in Bangladesh? Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/07/what-is-happening-at-the-quota-reform-protests-in-bangladesh/.  
  • CIVICUS. (2024). Bangladesh: Brutal crackdown on quota reform protesters by security forces and ruling party youth wing. https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/bangladesh-brutal-crackdown-on-quota-reform-protesters-by-security-forces-and-ruling-party-youth-wing/.  
  • Ganguly, A. (2024). ‘Gunfire from helicopters last night’: Voices from Dhaka belie Bangladesh govt claim. https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/gunfire-from-helicopters-last-night-voices-from-dhaka-belie-bangladesh-govt-claim/cid/2036483.  
  • Mishra, V. (2024). Shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop: UN Rights Chief. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152811.  
  • Mishra V. (2024). Bangladesh: UN urges peaceful transition as PM resigns and flees the country. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152826.  
  • NBC. Over 1,000 killed in Bangladesh’s violence since July, health ministry chief says. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/1000-killed-bangladesh-violence-july-health-ministry-chief-says-rcna168928.  
  • Cover Image via Wikimedia Commons