Protestors attacked violently through police firing and grenades.
Universities and colleges shut down indefinitely.
Internet and mobile networks banned in protest areas.
An official death toll of 18 in one day, a speculated death toll of 56, and thousands more injured.
This is the aftermath of the ongoing student protests in Bangladesh over the past few weeks. But, how did the country get here?
Protest against quotas
On July 7, students across various educational institutions enforced a Bangla Blockade at various places in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, in protest against the quota system in the Bangladesh Public Service Commission posts.
These students from universities such as the University of Dhaka, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Cumilla University, Jahangirnagar University, Chittagong University and others, also boycotted classes and exams.
The quota system mandates a 30 per cent reservation of posts for children and grandchildren of the freedom fighters and veterans of the Bangladesh War of Liberation. The system was introduced for freedom fighters after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. It was later extended to their children and grandchildren by 1997 when freedom fighter recruitment dwindled due to their old age.
The system was no stranger to contestations and challenges, with former Civil Servant and freedom fighter Akbar Ali Khan and Civil Servant Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad even submitting a report to the Bangladesh Public Service Commission in 2008, calling it flawed and needing reform.
In 2018, the nation saw widespread student protests, after its High Court rejected a petition that challenged the validity of the quota system. The quotas were eventually abolished by the government in July 2020.
However, this government decision was undone by the High Court after it issued a verdict that cancelled the government notification on June 5, 2024. Following this, students and teachers staged peaceful demonstrations against the decision but halted the protests on account of the Eid Al Adha holidays — until July 7.
In addition to public universities, it was reported that many private and international universities in Bangladesh, such as the North South University, Independent University Bangladesh, BRAC University, American International University-Bangladesh, United International University, and others.
The students demand that the current quota system be abolished, as they believe that it only serves to appease the supporters of the ruling Awami League by reserving posts for the children and grandchildren of Bangladeshi freedom fighters. To contextualise, the Awami League played a crucial role in the independence of Bangladesh, both before and after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Further, they added that they were not against quotas for marginalised communities like women and Adivasis in general. Several news reports state that these protests erupted in the face of severe unemployment in the country.
The “Razakar” controversy
The protests changed dramatically following a press conference by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on July 14, where she suggested that the protestors were descendants of the Razakars — which was a paramilitary force of the Pakistani occupation during the Bangladesh Liberation War, comprised of Bengali-speaking collaborators, who are now remembered as traitors.
She said, “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters don't get quota benefits, will those then go to the grandchildren of the Razakars?”
The Razakars committed several war crimes against Bangladeshis, including massacres, looting and rape. Today, it is used as a pejorative in Bangladesh to mean “traitor”.
The protesting students did not take well to this remark and began using the slogan, “Tumi ke, ami ke? Razakar, Razakar! Ke boleche, Ke boleche? Shoirachar, Shoirachar” (Who are you? Who am I? A Razakar, a Razakar! Who has said it? Who has said it? The oppressor, the oppressor!) on July 15.
In response, the Bangladesh Student League or Chhatra League, the Awami League’s student wing, threatened dire consequences for any protestor who used the slogan. Notable figures in the Bangladeshi government, such as Social Welfare Minister Dipu Moni and the Prime Minister herself also condemned the use of the slogan.
With regards to this, a student from Dhaka University, on the condition of anonymity, claimed that this was an attempt by the government and its supporters to delegitimise the protests.
“The slogan was uttered sarcastically to showcase the government’s authoritarian tendencies, but it was taken out of context to depict the students as disrespectful of Bangladesh’s independence movement,” she alleged.
In addition, she adds that the government is trying to paint the protests as stoked by political rivals like the right-wing Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.
Clampdown intensifies
The student also adds that the Chhatra League had been physically attacking the protesting students across the country with absolute impunity.
“At various universities, be it Dhaka University or Jahangir Nagar University, the Chhatra League attacked the protesting students, and the police just watched in silence,” she claimed.
Several students posted images and videos, of whom they allege to be Chhatra League members, attacking the student protestors with sticks, stones, machetes and even firearms, as well as SOS videos of the victims of such attacks on social media platform, X.
However, she adds that at a few universities, like Dhaka University and Chittagong University, the students managed to drive members of the Chhatra League out of their campus and dormitories on July 16.
But she says that this victory was undercut by severe police brutality, as police personnel entered the campus of Dhaka University on July 17 to forcibly evacuate the students from their dormitories, as the government ordered all universities to be shut down.
It was also reported that at several universities, the Border Guard and Rapid Action Battalion were also deployed, which, in turn, engaged in firing rubber bullets, sound grenades and tear gas shelling to “neutralise” the protestors.
According to the student, there were so many injured students in the Uttara area of Dhaka today, July 18 that the hospitals in the area reached maximum capacity.
Another protestor from BRAC University, on the condition of anonymity, alleges that the police and the RAB fired actual bullets at the protesting students.
“We were protesting peacefully outside the campus, but the police and RAB started attacking us. They even fired inside the campus when a few students took shelter,” he said.
He alleges that the Chhatra League was also in cahoots with the police and RAB during these attacks.
Further, he alleges that the Chhatra League, police, and RAB blocked the campus entrance, denying the passage of medical aid for injured students.
“We were not allowed to take injured students to the hospital. When people tried to send us medical aid from outside, it was blocked, and the senders were attacked,” he says.
According to the student from Dhaka University, such a response to a basic anti-quota protest exposes the authoritarian nature of the Awami League government.
“Even students from Classes XI and XII, as well as common citizens are joining our protest. People are tired of 15 years of the Awami League’s autocracy,” she says.
