Bangladesh in quota crosshairs while Sheikh Hasina faces violence spiral
Image credit X.com
Sheikh Hasina faces test of survival amid violent protests in Bangladesh
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 20: Over 100 people have been killed since the eruptions of violent protests in Bangladesh. Students are rampaging the streets in Dhaka, freeing hails of inmates, to protest the High Court order to restore 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters.
“Just been informed by credible journalist that 57 protestors/bystanders were killed today, apparently all by law enforcement authorities – bringing total number of deaths since Monday to over 100. Figures based on police and hospital,” posted South Asia observer David Bergman on the social media platform X, formerly twitter, late on Friday evening.
Reports stated that several Indians have fled Bangladesh through the land border with Meghalaya. The violence is unabated, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in a post as she faces a sharp western scrutiny.
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UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called for accountability and dialogue in Bangladesh. “I am deeply concerned by this week’s violence in Bangladesh, resulting in reports of dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. The attacks on student protesters are particularly shocking and unacceptable,” he added in a statement.
Hasina has already been in crosshairs with the US for past two years over the manner in which the elections were held in the Islamic nation. The US is turning heat on her for the deathly trails in the wake of the students’ protests.
“Governments must protect the rights and provide opportunities for all their citizens. The right to protest is a human right. I call on the government of Bangladesh to correct course. Countries cannot live in the past,” Republican senator Jim McGovern posted on X.
India is also watching the unabated violence in Bangladesh with alarm. Former foreign secretary Harsh V Shringla noted in a post on X that the unfolding event in Bangladesh will have consequences for India.
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“Student unrest giving way to a wider movement and any instability will have implications on India,” said Shringla, adding that “India will need to watch this space closely and offer any assistance that can contribute to resolution of situation and restoration of normalcy”.
The students are protesting the court order for the 30 per cent quota restoration. Hasina had appealed the students for the Supreme Court verdict on the appeal against the High Court ruling on quota.
“Two thirds of Bangladesh’s population is of working age, but jobs are hard to come by. Reinstating job quotas in the civil service reserved for relatives of ‘71 independence fighters closes off a significant source of unemployment for many people that badly need jobs,” said Michel Kugleman of the Wilson Centre on the spate of violence in Bangladesh.
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He stated that “the protests over job quotas are led by the young people that dominate Bangladesh demographically, and they’re fuelled by both growing economic stress and deep and longstanding political fault lines”.
Amid deepening tension with the US, Bangladesh is witnessing erosion in businesses from textile manufacturing outsourcing which had fuelled the economic boom in the last one decade.
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