BREAKING: Citing AFP, Barrons reported the death toll of students in the protests reached 105, including 24 deaths on Friday in just three Dhaka hospitals and 6 in Rangpur. The total includes 75 deaths from earlier days. #Quota_Reform_Movementhttps://t.co/rIqyNik5Cz
— Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP (@bdbnp78) July 20, 2024
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh drastically reduced the number of government jobs reserved for war veterans and their descendants on Sunday. This decision was spurred by violent student protests that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people and brought the country to a standstill. Under the court’s orders, Bangladesh will now reserve only 5 percent of government jobs for the children and grandchildren of those who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The previous quota was 30 percent. The ruling also reduces quotas for other groups and abolishes quotas for women and certain districts.
The UK Government is deeply concerned by the violent clashes during ongoing student protests in Bangladesh. See statement from FCDO. https://t.co/bx4WsMwJlh
— Rushanara Ali MP 💙 (@rushanaraali) July 18, 2024
It cuts the quota for ethnic minorities to 1 percent, down from 5 percent, while maintaining the 1 percent quota for individuals with disabilities.
In total, the ruling reduces the number of reserved jobs to 7 percent from 56 percent.
Governments must protect the rights and provide opportunities for all their citizens. The right to protest is a human right. I call on the government of #Bangladesh to correct course. Countries cannot live in the past! https://t.co/W6CZX6WfJS
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) July 19, 2024
This opens more civil service positions to university students, who had called the old system unfair and demanded its reform. Since July 1, thousands of students have protested the reinstatement of the quota system, which had been abolished in 2018 but restored earlier this year.
Bangladesh unrest: At least 105 dead, TV news off air, jail stormed as protests against reservation escalate https://t.co/Y5NbvpAvAH
— Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) July 20, 2024
Quota reduction after student unrest
The protests escalated into violence when the student wing of the Awami League, the political party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, began attacking the protesters. Last week, the government deployed police and paramilitary forces to contain the violence, but the students did not back down.
On Friday, the government declared a curfew and called in the army to quell the protests. The quota system was initially established by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh, as a reward for those who fought in the war for independence. In 1997 and again in 2010, the quotas were expanded to include the children and grandchildren of these freedom fighters.
Students have long criticized the system as unfair and have called for government jobs to be filled based on merit. In June, the high court reintroduced the quotas after descendants of the freedom fighters presented their case. When the protests began, the Supreme Court paused their reinstatement, pending a final ruling, which was delivered on Sunday.
In delivering its verdict, the top court also asked students to return to their classes. “As the demands of students are met, they should stop the protests,” Am Amin Uddin, Bangladesh’s attorney general, told reporters after the verdict.
