People take part in a protest march against the mass arrest and killing of protesters during last week’s violence amid anti-qouta protests, in Dhaka on July 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The mobile internet connection was restored in Bangladesh on July 28, 10 days after it was shut down by the authorities across the country to stop the spread of fake news on social media amidst the deadly nationwide violence over reforms in the quota system in government jobs.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak announced that 5GB internet will be given for free to all users for three days after the connection is restored, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The mobile internet connectivity was restored at around 3 p.m. local time.

Users of Robi, Grameenphone, Banglalink and other operators in Dhaka said they could access the internet through their phones around 3 p.m., the report said.

On July 18, the government shut down mobile internet following the escalation of violence across the country.

At the time, Mr. Palak said the decision was made “in light of the current crisis in the country and to stop the spread of fake news on social media”, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The next day, amid escalating violence, the Department of Disaster Management building was set on fire, adjacent to which was a data centre. While Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) officials said that the fire might cut 30-40% of the bandwidth supply, broadband internet connection for the entire country was disrupted within an hour.

Bangladesh stayed disconnected from both broadband and mobile internet between July 18 and July 23, when broadband internet was restored in stages.

However, mobile internet remained unavailable until Sunday.

Also read | Bangladesh student group vows to resume protests if demands not met

Regarding access to social media platforms, Mr. Palak said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has sent letters to authorities of social media platforms, including Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube.

“Their representatives have to come to Dhaka by July 31 to give explanations. Then, after discussing it with them, we will make a decision,” he said.

The BTRC is responsible for regulating all matters related to telecommunications in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.

The internet and mobile services were snapped following the countrywide violence.

On Monday last, the apex court slashed the veterans’ quota to just 5%. Thus, 93% of civil service jobs will be merit-based while the remaining 2% reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgender and physically challenged people.

The violence has reportedly killed more than 100 people, according to local newspapers. However, there are no official figures available for deaths.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday defended her decision to enforce a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order following the clashes, asserting that tough measures were taken to ensure the security of the lives and properties of the people.

Bangladesh crawled back to normalcy on Wednesday with rush hour traffic returning to streets in the capital, and limited reopening of banks, garment factories and internet services.

People take part in a protest march against the mass arrest and killing of protesters during last week’s violence amid anti-qouta protests, in Dhaka on July 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The mobile internet connection was restored in Bangladesh on July 28, 10 days after it was shut down by the authorities across the country to stop the spread of fake news on social media amidst the deadly nationwide violence over reforms in the quota system in government jobs.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak announced that 5GB internet will be given for free to all users for three days after the connection is restored, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The mobile internet connectivity was restored at around 3 p.m. local time.

Users of Robi, Grameenphone, Banglalink and other operators in Dhaka said they could access the internet through their phones around 3 p.m., the report said.

On July 18, the government shut down mobile internet following the escalation of violence across the country.

At the time, Mr. Palak said the decision was made “in light of the current crisis in the country and to stop the spread of fake news on social media”, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The next day, amid escalating violence, the Department of Disaster Management building was set on fire, adjacent to which was a data centre. While Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) officials said that the fire might cut 30-40% of the bandwidth supply, broadband internet connection for the entire country was disrupted within an hour.

Bangladesh stayed disconnected from both broadband and mobile internet between July 18 and July 23, when broadband internet was restored in stages.

However, mobile internet remained unavailable until Sunday.

Also read | Bangladesh student group vows to resume protests if demands not met

Regarding access to social media platforms, Mr. Palak said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has sent letters to authorities of social media platforms, including Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube.

“Their representatives have to come to Dhaka by July 31 to give explanations. Then, after discussing it with them, we will make a decision,” he said.

The BTRC is responsible for regulating all matters related to telecommunications in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.

The internet and mobile services were snapped following the countrywide violence.

On Monday last, the apex court slashed the veterans’ quota to just 5%. Thus, 93% of civil service jobs will be merit-based while the remaining 2% reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgender and physically challenged people.

The violence has reportedly killed more than 100 people, according to local newspapers. However, there are no official figures available for deaths.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday defended her decision to enforce a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order following the clashes, asserting that tough measures were taken to ensure the security of the lives and properties of the people.

Bangladesh crawled back to normalcy on Wednesday with rush hour traffic returning to streets in the capital, and limited reopening of banks, garment factories and internet services.

A demonstrator gestures as protesters clash with Border Guard Bangladesh and the police, as violence erupted across the country after anti-quota protests by students, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina imposed a nationwide curfew last week and used the Army to quell protests against job quotas that killed nearly 150 people, but anger against her government does not seem to have abated.

The protests, which started in universities and colleges earlier this month, turned into a more widespread agitation against Ms. Hasina and her government.

Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and lobbed sound grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who came out on the streets. The government denied any live rounds were fired, but hospital sources said dead and injured people had wounds from bullets and shot gun pellets.

Rights groups and critics say Ms. Hasina has become increasingly autocratic during her last 15 years in power and her rule has been marked by mass arrests of political opponents and activists, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, the charges she denies.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, the secretary of Shushahoner Jonno Nagorik, a Dhaka-based civil society platform for good governance, said the protests were “just the tip of the iceberg” and the use of force against students will breed further discontent against Ms. Hasina’s government.

On the student protests in Bangladesh | Explained

“People are being deprived of their basic rights, with a significant lack of human rights and justice. They can’t cast their votes freely,” he said. “This widespread frustration and anger among the people is evident in the protests.”

Government official were not immediately available for comment. But officials have said previously no students were involved in arson or violence, and instead blamed Opposition parties.

Ms. Hasina (76), first led her Awami League party to victory in elections in 1996, serving one five-year term before regaining power in 2009, never to lose again. She won a fourth straight term in office in January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition party and also marred by deadly protests.

While Ms. Hasina managed to overcome discontent and return the country towards some normalcy this week, it will not be “business as usual” going forward, said Zafar Sobhan, the editor of English daily Dhaka Tribune.

“This crisis shows that the government needs to listen to the young people of the country and take their concerns seriously,” said Mr. Sobhan, adding that the quota issue served as a proxy for several other key issues.

“The government has been put on notice that enough is enough and it needs to address the legitimate concerns of the public,” he said.

“Murders must be investigated”

Asif Mahmud, a student leader, told Reuters that he was abducted and abused by authorities for four days and then dumped on the road this week. His allegations could not be independently verified and government officials could not be immediately reached for comment on a holiday.

“There have been killings, nobody is addressing that,” Mr. Mahmud said. “These murders should be investigated. Those who ran this massacre, we will demand their prompt punishment.”

The United Nations, international rights groups, the U.S. and Britain have criticised the use of force and asked Dhaka to uphold the right to peaceful protests.

Ms. Hasina said she was forced to impose the curfew to protect citizens and state property, blaming the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami party for the violence, charges they denied.

Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of BNP, said that Ms. Hasina was involved in “mass murder” during the protests.

The daughter of the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, Ms. Hasina has been credited with turning around the economy and the massive garments industry.

But the economy has also slowed sharply since the Russia-Ukraine war pushed up prices of fuel and food imports, forcing Bangladesh to turn last year to the International Monetary Fund for a $4.7 billion bailout.

Experts have blamed the latest unrest on stagnant job growth in the private sector and high rates of youth unemployment that have made government jobs, with their regular wage hikes and other privileges, more attractive.

“Failing to tame inflation, which currently hovers around 10%, and unemployment was not due to a dearth of options but rather due to a lack of political will,” the experts said.

“One critical policy approach could have been to increase investment into the services sectors such as health and education where it would be possible to create more decent jobs, especially for the educated and relatively young people,” said Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of Dhaka think tank Research and Policy Integration for Development.

People run as police fire teargas during a coffin rally of anti-quota protesters at the University of Dhaka, a day after the clash with Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League, and anti-quota protesters, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Authorities in Bangladesh urged all universities to close on July 17, a day after at least six people died in violent protests over the allocation of government jobs and police raided the headquarters of the main opposition party.

Dhaka University, at the centre of the violence, decided to suspend classes and close its dormitories indefinitely, a university official told The Associated Press, speaking on the condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to media.

The University Grants Commission asked all public and private universities to close until further notice in order to protect students, but the request did not have legal force and it was not immediately clear how many universities would comply.

Student protesters clash with pro-government student activists, police

Authorities said that at least six people were killed on July 16 in violence across the country as student protesters clashed with pro-government student activists and the police, and violence was reported around Dhaka, the southeastern city of Chattogram and the northern city of Rangpur.

Overnight, Dhaka police raided the headquarters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, accusing it of playing a role in the violence.

Detective chief Harun-or-Rashid told reporters that police had arrested seven members of the party’s student wing in connection with two buses that were set on fire on July 16. He added that detectives found 100 crude bombs, 500 wooden and bamboo sticks, and five to six bottles of petrol in the raid.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior BNP leader, accused the government of “staging” the raid to divert attention from protests.

On Wednesday, police clashed with BNP supporters in Dhaka’s Paltan area after a funeral ritual for the six people who died on Tuesday.

Police official Sentu Mia said they used rubber bullets to disperse the opposition activists after they attacked police, and several people were arrested. BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir accused police of barring their supporters from the funeral prayers.

On July 17, stray protests took place at Dhaka University and elsewhere in the country. Police were deployed on the campus, while paramilitary border forces patrolled the streets in Dhaka and other big cities.

A senior leader of the ruling Awami League party said the opposition was using the protests as a weapon against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Obaidul Quader, the Awami League’s general secretary and a senior Cabinet minister, said that “evil forces” have taken over the student movement, blaming the student wings of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and right wing Jamaat-e-Islami party for Tuesday’s violence.

He urged the protesters to have patience until the country’s Supreme Court hears petitions involving the quota issues next month.

The controversial reservation policy

The protests began late last month, demanding an end to a quota that reserves 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence in 1971, but turned violent on Monday as protesters at Dhaka University clashed with police and counter-protests organized by the student wing of the governing Awami League party, leaving 100 people injured.

Violence spread overnight to Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, outside Dhaka, and was reported elsewhere around the country on Tuesday.

Protesters argue the veterans’ families quota is discriminatory, and argue it benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement. Ruling party leaders accuse the opposition of backing the protests. Protesters have said they are apolitical.

The quota system also reserves government jobs for women, disabled people and membesr of ethnic minorities, but protesters have only sought to end the quota for families of veterans.

While job opportunities have expanded in Bangladesh’s private sector, many people prefer government jobs because they are seen as stable and high-paying. Each year, nearly 4,00,000 graduates compete for 3,000 such jobs in the civil service exam.

The quota system was temporarily halted in 2018, following a court order that followed an earlier wave of mass student protests in 2018. But last month, Bangladesh’s High Court nullified that decision, angering students and triggering renewed protests.

Last week, the Supreme Court suspended the High Court’s order for four weeks, as the Chief Justice asked students to return to classes. But the protests continued.

Ms. Hasina defended the quota system on July 16, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their sacrifice in 1971 regardless of their current political affiliation.

“Abandoning the dream of their own life, leaving behind their families, parents and everything, they joined the war with whatever they had,” she said during an event at her office in Dhaka.

Ms. Hasina maintained power in an election in January that was boycotted by Opposition parties and saw opposition members jailed ahead of the polls.

Her Awami League party, under her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the independence war with the help of India. Rahman was assassinated along with many family members in a military coup in 1975.