Dozens were injured at a public university near Bangladesh’s capital when police used tear gas and charged with batons during overnight violent clashes between a pro-government student group and protesting students, officials and students reported on Tuesday.
The unrest erupted early Tuesday at Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, close to Dhaka, where demonstrators were demanding the abolition of a quota system that reserves 30% of government jobs for families of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. Although job opportunities have increased in Bangladesh’s private sector, government jobs remain desirable for their stability and lucrative benefits. Annually, around 3,000 government jobs are available to nearly 400,000 graduates.
Protesters argue that the quota system is unfair and should be replaced with a merit-based system. Some protesters also claim that the current system benefits groups that support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Some Cabinet members criticised the protesters, accusing them of manipulating students’ emotions.
Violence broke out when demonstrators assembled in front of the vice-chancellor’s official residence early Tuesday. Protesters accused the Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of Hasina’s ruling Awami League party, of attacking their “peaceful protests.” Local media reported that police and the ruling party-backed student wing attacked the protesters.
However, senior police official Abdullahil Kafi told the leading English-language newspaper, Daily Star, that police fired tear gas and “blank rounds” in response to protesters attacking the police. He mentioned that up to 15 police officers were injured.
More than 50 people were treated at Enam Medical College Hospital near Jahangir Nagar University as the violence continued for hours, said Ali Bin Solaiman, a medical officer at the hospital. He noted that at least 30 people sustained pellet injuries.
On Monday, similar violence erupted at Dhaka University, the country’s leading public university, with more than 100 students injured in the clashes, according to the police. Protesters in Dhaka stated they planned to continue their demonstrations on Tuesday.
The quota system for veterans’ families was halted following a court order after mass student protests in 2018. However, last month, Bangladesh’s High Court overturned the decision, reinstating the system, which angered many students and led to renewed protests.
Last week, the Supreme Court paused the High Court’s order for four weeks and the chief justice asked students to return to their classes, promising a decision in four weeks. Meanwhile, the prime minister stated that the issue was now under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.
Despite this, the protests have continued daily, disrupting traffic in Dhaka.
The quota system also includes reservations for women, disabled people, and ethnic minority groups, but students have only protested against the quota for veterans’ families.
Prime Minister Hasina retained power in a January election that was boycotted by the main opposition party and its allies, who demanded that she step down and hand over power to a caretaker government to oversee the election.
Her party supports maintaining the quota for families of the 1971 war heroes, as her Awami League party, led by her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, spearheaded the independence war with India’s support.
Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family in a military coup in 1975.
During the 1971 war, the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which later allied with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Hasina’s rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, opposed independence and collaborated with the Pakistani military. All major political parties in Bangladesh have active student wings.
Nancy Mbamalu
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