Yudhajit Shankar Das
Protests by students against a 30% jobs quota have spread to almost the whole of Bangladesh. Security personnel have swarmed campuses and six protesters have been killed. Protesters have taken over university campuses. Such is the intensity of the protests that the government has been forced to shut down schools and colleges. What is the quota against which the students, who have no political allegiance, are revolting?
Experts say the violence and deaths are unfortunate because the government is on the same page as the protesting students. They want this to be explained to the students immediately.
Bangladesh watchers also believe that the protests aren't just about quotas, and the students are venting out their overall frustration. These protests, like most political issues in Bangladesh, have a 1971 link.
The Liberation Movement of 1971 was the watershed moment in Bangladesh's history. Millions of people fought and Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.
In 1972, under then Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh introduced a quota system, reserving 30% of the seats for children of freedom fighters. The quota system reserved jobs for others too, while 44% of the jobs remained merit-based.
No comments:
Post a Comment