Bangladeshi Students Protest : A Conversation
I had a long conversation with my friend, (I have purposely not named him), who teaches in a private university in Dhaka. We talked about the on-going Bangladeshi students’ protest has taken a bloody turn leaving several students dead. His voice was grim on the other side – a student from his university had died today. His heartbreak and helplessness was evident even on over the phone.
The students are protesting the quota system in Bangladesh, he told me. From our conversation I gathered that the quota system in Bangladesh is akin to the reservations in India, wherein a certain percentage of seats in government jobs and public educational institutions is reserved for certain categories of people.
In Bangladesh 30% of public sector jobs and educational seats is reserved for Children and Grandchildren of Freedom Fighters, 10% for backward districts, 10% for women, 5% for minorities and 1% for the disabled and thus the total percentage of Quota is 56%. The students want this system to be reformed and brought down to between 30 – 40%. They are particularly against the Quota extended to the Children and Grandchildren of Freedom Fighters who fought in the Liberation War of 1971, because this is seen as being particularly unfair.
In 2018 there was a huge students’ movement and the Prime Minister had announced that the quota for Children of Freedom Fighters will be abolished and subsequently a circular to that effect was issued. But then someone filed a Writ Petition in Dhaka High Court and the Court struck down the circular as being unconstitutional and this led to fresh protests. The government has appealed before the Supreme Court where the matter is pending.
I asked him about the violence.
One reason is that the students’ wing of the ruling party called Chhatra League attacked other students.
What about the other students? Are they also politically aligned?
A few may be aligned, but a majority are not aligned with any political party or at least they are not overt about it.
There was also violence by police … it is in the papers, I intervened.
Yes, that too. The violence has only worsened matters because now the government has stepped in to close all educational institutions indefinitely. Schools, colleges in districts, upazillas and small towns – everything is closed down indefinitely. The campus where I teach is closed but now the students are on the streets. As long as they were in campus we could talk to them, but now they are on the streets, beyond our control. Things are almost out of control. No university administration can do anything unless a political solution is found.
Do you think a political solution will be found soon?
He sounded worried. I do not know, he said. Awami League is our oldest and most mature party but this time they are acting almost childishly. Their leaders seem to have made this into an ego problem. Someone should counsel our Prime Minister so that she takes a wise decision quickly. It is not the time to think whether the demands are just or unjust but we should first bring back our students first.
Is there a students’ body that the government can talk to?
This is a long-standing demand of the students and protests are going on over several years. However, there is no strong centralised leadership amongst the students. Students of some public universities like Dhaka University, Chittagong University and Rajshahi University have formed Committees (Students Against Discrimination) and there are some individuals who have emerged as leaders, but they have no control over the large student body scattered across the country. Private university students do not have such Committees. The government should take the first step and begin talking with the student leaders in Dhaka and other public universities. They should consider bringing in student leaders from other areas to Dhaka and talk with an open mind about their concerns.
What about the opposition parties and leaders?
The opposition party is the Bangalesh Jatiyo Party but they are very weak compared to the ruling party. A major part of the problem is that there is a great disbalance in our political system and therefore it is difficult to hold the current regime to account. Imbalance and lack of accountability are the larger issues that we are facing here.
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I felt sad that I connected with my friend under such terrible circumstances, but the conversation made me think about how India and Bangladesh are struggling with different aspects of the complex issue that is Quota/Reservation – Bangladeshi students are fighting to lower the percentage of reservations, at least in certain categories. In India there is a push from certain quarters to remove the Supreme Court imposed 50% ceiling on reservations. From the simmering issues of reservations to Maratha/OBC, Muslim, Dhangars and other communities to reserving jobs for ‘sons of the soil’ to the misuse of reservations by certain persons or communities aka Puja Khedkar – the layers are endless.
An related concern is that of unemployment amongst educated youths which is common in both countries. The lack of government jobs resonated with vast sections of youths in India during the recent general elections – enough to rein in the ruling party BJP’s seat tally.
The violent turn that the movement has taken in Bangladesh offers yet another important lesson – students and youths should be a priority for any government. Their problems should be addressed by the rulers with sincerity, open-mindedness and respect for opposition view point. The onus is always on the government and ruling party to find solutions without resorting to violence.
- Paromita Goswami
(Picture credit : Both pictures of the Bangladesh Student Protests is taken from the internet.)
