Violent clashes erupted in Bangladesh on Monday, leaving over 100 people injured as students and anti-quota demonstrators protested against the government’s quota system for civil service jobs. The violence, which involved police firing tear gas and charging with batons, took place on several university campuses, including Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University in Savar, near the capital, Dhaka.
The quota system in Bangladesh reserves more than half of the well-paid civil service positions for specific groups, including children of fighters from the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. The anti-quota protesters are demanding the end of these quotas for being unfair.
Hundreds of anti-quota protesters and students supporting the ruling Awami League party engaged in hours-long battles on the Dhaka University campus, throwing rocks, fighting with sticks, and beating each other with iron rods. The Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, has been accused of attacking the peaceful protests.
Police reported that up to 15 officers were injured during the clashes, while more than 50 people were treated overnight at Enam Medical College Hospital, with at least 30 suffering pellet wounds. Abdullahil Kafi, a senior police official, stated that police fired tear gas and “blank rounds” as the protesters attacked them.
The quota system, which also reserves jobs for women, disabled people, and ethnic minority groups, was suspended in 2018 following similar protests. However, a recent High Court ruling restored the 30% quota for veterans’ descendants, triggering the current wave of demonstrations. The Supreme Court has since halted the High Court’s order for four weeks and will make a final decision after this period. Prime Minister Hasina has stated that the issue is now in the hands of the top court.
Protests have continued despite the Supreme Court’s intervention, with demonstrators supporting quotas for disabled people and ethnic groups but opposing the quota for descendants of war heroes. The violence marks the first significant challenge to Hasina since she secured a fourth consecutive term in a January election boycotted by the main opposition party.
“This is more than just a student movement. To suppress this movement, incitement from the highest levels of government has been made. So, common people have to come to the streets,” said Nahid Islam, coordinator of the anti-quota protests.
The unrest intensified after Hasina refused to meet the students’ demands, leading to midnight protests by thousands of students on the Dhaka University campus. “An attempt is being made to transform the anti-quota movement into an anti-state one using the emotions of young students,” warned Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud adding that “The government will not allow an unstable situation to develop.”
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