The quota system in Bangladesh has caused citizens to protest against it on the streets of Bangladesh. This has caused major riots and violence in the country, creating an unrest between international students studying in their universities.
The quota system reserves up to 30% of the government jobs to the families of the people who fought for Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 against Pakistan. A lot of citizens and students of Bangladesh don’t agree with this system and are demanding to remove it, instead favoring a merit-based system. However, the Prime Minister believes that it is important to give respect to the veterans whose families fought for the country’s freedom. There are 32 million citizens who are unemployed in Bangladesh due to this quota. Hence, nearly 18 million of these young citizens are protesting and will continue protesting until their demand is met.
The protests have caused at least 115 deaths; due to this intense and worsened situation, the government has imposed a 10 p.m. curfew and placed the military all around the country to patrol the streets. This has caused many clashes between protesting students and reports of soldiers firing guns have become more frequent. Internet services have also been banned to prevent spreading of misinformation of the situation in the country.
The protests have taken a toll on Indian students studying in Bangladesh. Hence, the MEA is actively taking measures to ensure the safe return of Indians studying in Bangladesh. As of yet, 778 Indians have safely returned from through various land ports and 200 have returned from flights from Dhaka and Chittagong A lot of Indian students booked flights to return back to India but couldn’t as a lot of flights were canceled due to the curfew imposed. The MEA are also in regular contact with remaining Indian students still in various universities in Bangladesh and with Indian nationals to provide assistance to them. All Indians still remaining in Bangladesh were safe stated by MEA. They have been advised to stay indoors and avoid traveling by the High Commission.
Even the U.S. The State Department warned Americans not to travel to Bangladesh and said it would begin removing some diplomats and their families from Bangladesh due to the current unrest.
Considering all this chaos, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday that she would be willing to provide shelter in West Bengal to people from Bangladesh who are in distress.
This situation is concerning for the welfare of the country and citizens of other countries living in Bangladesh. Earlier today, the Supreme Court stated their verdict that the veterans’ quota should be reduced to 5%, with 93% of jobs to be allocated based on merit. The remaining 2% will be reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgenders, and disabled people.
Written by Ratisha Khare
