Bangladesh soldiers stand guard along the road following a curfew and the deployment of military forces in Dhaka on July 20, 2024, after days of clashes during protests against government job quotas across the country. Soldiers were out in force on July 20 in cities around Bangladesh after another day of lethal clashes between student protesters and police prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to cancel foreign visits.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh soldiers patrolled Dhaka’s deserted streets on July 20 amid a curfew to quell deadly students-led protests against government job quotas that have killed more than 100 people this week.

A suspension on internet and text message services has remained in place since July 18, cutting off Bangladesh from the world as police cracked down on protests that have continued despite a ban on public gatherings.

The violent clashes have killed at least 105 people and injured thousands this week, according to data from hospitals across Bangladesh. The Dhaka Medical College Hospital received 27 dead bodies on Friday between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The nationwide unrest initially broke out over student anger against new quotas for government jobs, including 30% for the families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan.

That measure has opened old and sensitive political fault lines between those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 and those accused of collaborating with Islamabad.

Over the past five days, police have fired tear gas and hurled sound grenades to scatter protesters during the nationwide unrest, as demonstrators clashed with security personnel, throwing bricks and setting fire to vehicles.

With the death toll climbing and police unable to contain the violent protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government on Friday imposed a national curfew and deployed the military.

The curfew will ease for two hours from 12 p.m. on July 20 to allow people to shop for supplies and complete other chores, TV channels reported.

The curfew will last until 10 a.m. on July 21 at which point the government will assess the situation and decide the next course of action, the reports added.

The demonstrations — the biggest since Hasina was re-elected for a fourth successive term this year — have also been fuelled by high unemployment among young people, who make up nearly a fifth of a population of 170 million.

International rights groups have criticised the internet suspension and actions of security forces. The European Union said it is deeply concerned by the violence and loss of life.

Students block a rail track as they protest to demand a merit-based system for civil service jobs in Dhaka on July 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh’s top court on July 10 temporarily suspended quotas for coveted government jobs after thousands of students staged nationwide protests against what they call a discriminatory system, lawyers said.

The quota system reserves more than half of well-paid and massively over-subscribed civil service posts, totalling hundreds of thousands of government jobs, for specific groups including children of liberation heroes.

Students launched protests earlier this month, demanding a merit-based system, with demonstrations on Wednesday blocking highways and railway lines.

“We will not return to classrooms until our demand is met,” protest leader Rasel Ahmed of Chittagong University told AFP.

The quota system was abolished in 2018 after weeks of protests, but reinstated in June by Dhaka’s High Court, sparking fury from students.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended that order for a month, said lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque, who represents two students seeking to end the quota system.

Mr. Hoque said that Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan had also requested that students return to class.

Despite the call, student groups continued to block key highways and railway tracks, bringing traffic movement in much of the capital Dhaka and several major cities to a halt.

“This (court) order is temporary. We want a permanent executive order from the government, saying that the quotas are abolished, except some quotas for the disabled and minorities,” said Parvez Mosharraf, a student at Dhaka University.

He was among dozens of students who laid timber logs on a railway track at Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar, forcing the halt of train services connecting the capital to northern Bangladesh.

‘Limited number of jobs’

The quota system reserves 30% of government posts for children of those who fought to win Bangladeshi independence in 1971, 10% for women, and 10% for residents of specific districts.

Students said only those quotas supporting ethnic minorities and disabled people — 6% of jobs — should remain.

“We don’t also want the job quotas for women because women are no longer lagging behind,” female student Meena Rani Das, 22, said.

“Women are marching ahead with their talents. But the quota system is creating obstacles and snatching our rights.”

Critics say the system benefits children of pro-government groups, who back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was Bangladesh’s founding leader.

Ms. Hasina, 76, won her fourth consecutive general election in January, in a vote without genuine opposition parties, with a widespread boycott and a major crackdown against her political opponents.

Critics accuse Bangladeshi courts of rubber-stamping decisions made by her government.

Ms. Hasina has condemned the protests, saying the matter had been settled by the court.

“Students are wasting their time,” Ms. Hasina said on Sunday, adding there was “no justification for the anti-quota movement”.

Thousands of students on Wednesday threw up barricades across key intersections in Dhaka, as well as blocking major highways connecting the capital to other cities, police said.

Hemayetul Islam, deputy police chief in the northwestern city of Rajshahi said that “at least 200 students” blocked the highway to Dhaka.

“Brilliant students no longer get the jobs they want because of this quota system,” said Halimatuz Sadia, a protester and physics student at Chittagong University.

“You work hard only to find out that there are only a limited number of jobs available,” she added.