Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Bangladesh came to pass a historical milestone when on June 5, 2024, the High Court ruled that the scrapping of the 30 per cent quota reservation for descendants of freedom fighters in government jobs was illegal. Few could have imagined this issue would upend Sheikh Hasina's autocratic rule within just two months. Fresh from securing her fourth consecutive term in yet another one-sided general election last January, Hasina and her supporters were anticipating another five years of a joyride in state power. The economy was facing significant headwinds, the media was abuzz with corruption scandals, and suspicions were growing that money laundering had reached an unprecedented level. But politically, there seemed to be no force capable of posing a meaningful challenge to Hasina's dictatorial regime. Eventually, the unfair quota reservation for government jobs was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Following the court ruling on reinstating the quota, six years after its abolishment, a platform named the Anti-discrimination Students Movement came into being on 1 July 2024. It gained widespread support from general students, student activists across university campuses nationwide, and the general public who were of the view that the quota system grossly undermined talent.
Quota in government jobs
The quota system for government jobs dates back to 1972, introduced by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's founding leader. Originally, the system was aimed at supporting the thousands of men and women who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan, ensuring that they were rewarded, at least a little, for their sacrifices.
Over the years, however, the scope of the quota system was expanded, first to the children and then to the grand children of the freedom fighters. With a 30 per cent quota reserved for descendants of freedom fighters, 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent based on district population, five per cent for ethnic communities, and one per cent for physically challenged individuals, a total of 56 per cent of government jobs were allocated to various quotas, leaving only a mere 44 per cent to be filled on a merit basis from the general student population. Unsurprisingly, this policy provoked widespread resentment and a festering anger among the young people.
The public was generally tolerant of quotas benefiting the children of freedom fighters, but resentment continued to grow when the quota facility was extended to their grandchildren in 2010, who had no part in the war whatsoever. This created an opportunist class, while stirred frustration among general students and provoked them to take to streets at regular intervals.
In 2018, after failing to quell the quota reform protests, the Hasina government had abolished the quota system for class one and class two government jobs altogether. This decision, however, was challenged in court by the descendants of freedom fighters. On June 5, after hearing their plea, the High Court ruled abolition of the 30 per cent freedom fighter quota illegal, reigniting protests on university campuses across the country.
Broader resentment
Although the quota issue was at the forefront of the movement, the uprising reflected broader resentment over uneven distribution of wealth, massive corruption, persistent inflation exceeding 10 per cent for more than two years, the cost-of-living crisis, and rising unemployment among university graduates -- which increased from 9.7 per cent in 2013 to 27.8 per cent in 2022, among other factors. These issues, along with the violation of people's voting rights and clampdowns on free expression, brought Bangladesh to a boiling point. Bangladesh was ready to explode and the student movement served as the spark.
Looking back, the national election held on January 5, 2014, has been a watershed in the political development of Bangladesh. While military rulers seized power in the past, disregarding popular will, it was probably the first time that the democratic process was abused to take an undemocratic route to power. The subsequent general elections of 2018 and 2024 were similarly manipulated and one-sided, aimed at extending Hasina's autocratic rule.
By stripping the people of voting rights, the Hasina government cooked up elaborate tales of Bangladesh being a "development miracle" or a "role model of development" in the world. The people were forced to swallow the bitter pill of development without democracy. Economic growth was indeed impressive before being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and later the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Although the Awami League government took pride in achieving an average year-on-year GDP growth of 6 per cent over the past decade, the latest UNDP report indicates that 4.17 crore (41.7 million) people are trapped in extreme poverty. Allegation has it that one of Hasina's Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal had in fact transformed the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) into a centre for "data manipulation." Consequently, it routinely manipulated key economic indicators such as growth, inflation, and export earnings only to support the government's development narrative.
Moreover, the strategy of boosting GDP growth through heavy borrowing plunged the nation into a sea of massive long-term debt. In 2008, when Hasina returned to power, Bangladesh's total debt was just $33.66 billion. By the time she fled the country on August 5th, amidst widespread protests, she had saddled the nation with a staggering $156 billion in domestic and foreign debts. Even more concerning is that much of this debt was siphoned off abroad. A report by the New York-based research organisation Global Financial Integrity claims that between 2009 and 2024, $149.2 billion was laundered abroad from Bangladesh. Apart from that, banks were systematically looted with the help of government participants, leaving nearly a dozen of them fighting for survival. Recently, the governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) has accused tycoons linked to the former administration of Sheikh Hasina of siphoning $17 billion from the banking sector during her rule.
Overall, it seemed to be a country for the thugs, by the thugs, and of the thugs. In July, the country witnessed a volcanic eruption of all the pent-up frustrations and anger that the people had been living with.
Disillusioned youth
Hasina was not the "Mother of Humanity", she was projected to be. She was in fact a ruthless ruler. She jailed, killed, or made to disappear anyone who stood in her way. As a result, the general populace largely stood by in silent observation of all the skullduggery and scandals that unfolded during her ironclad 15-year rule.
Bangladesh had had enough. The youth (Gen Z) had had enough. They were no longer willing to remain silent or accept what was being dished out to them. Throughout the month of July, swarms of angry and disillusioned university students gathered in large numbers braving government warnings, intimidation by pro-government student wings, and the ever-present threat of a police crackdown.
As all dictators would do, Hasina too exhibited arrogance of power and chose the path of violently cracking down on the protesters by deploying even greater force, instead of addressing the situation with the consideration, due sensitivity, and urgency it demanded. Chhatra League was ordered to act like Hitler's brown shirt thugs and mercilessly clamp down on the protesters. The government's apparent endorsement of the BCL's actions, coupled with inflammatory statements from ministers, only fuelled the protesters' anger. Moreover, when Hasina speaking in a press conference called the protesters "razakars", demonstration intensified.
Abu Sayed -- The first martyr
The heroic martyrdom of Abu Sayed, a student of English literature at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, was a major turning point in the mass uprising. On July 16, a video went viral and the whole country recoiled in disbelief. It showed Abu Sayed standing on one side of the road with a stick in his hand, taunting the police officers on the other side who were pointing guns at him. A harmless gesture from the brave young man. His fellow protesters were dispersed by police firing and baton charge, but Sayed was not backing off. Instead, he was seen challenging the officers. Moments later, police opened fire, and he collapsed under a barrage of bullets. His death, captured on the camera of a TV channel quickly went viral and appalled the nation and disgusted the world. The image of Abu Sayed with his arm outstretched at gunpoint is etched into the collective memory of the nation.
Six protesters were killed on July 16, including Abu Sayed. But the way Abu Sayed sacrificed his life inspired young protesters to overcome the fear of death. The tactics of intimidation and oppression worked well for Hasina for long 15 years. But no more! When the people were prepared to brave bullets, that heinous tactic fell apart. Abu Sayed's sacrifice ignited a fire among the youth, spreading the movement from public universities to private universities and colleges, with aggrieved guardians joining them in many places. By then, the protesters were calling for justice.
But the government responded with even greater force, resulting in the deaths of over a hundred protesters in mid-July. A curfew was imposed on July 19, schools, colleges, and universities were closed nationwide, and internet connectivity and mobile network were cut off across the country.
The re-birth of Bangladesh
In order to restore normalcy, the Supreme Court finally ruled that 93 per cent jobs in civil service will be merit-based, a major concession for protesting students. But the students were in no mood to rejoice. The entire nation was overwhelmed, shell-shocked, and in utter disbelief at the unprecedented loss of lives. Victims of the senseless melee included students, bystanders and many innocent children whose only crime was being in a place at the wrong time. In one heart-wrenching incident, a child was fatally shot while sitting in her father's lap. In another, a child was killed by a bullet while attempting to close a window. Young students died while protesting, commuters were killed on their way to work, and journalists lost their lives in the line of duty. According to the final tally of the interim government, at least 708 people were killed, 20,000 were injured during the July-August movement. Moreover, a total of 401 people's eyesights have been damaged after being hit by pellets.
After such an unprecedented brutality against protesters and the ensuing bloodshed, a return to business as usual was next to impossible. Thus the demand for a merit-based public recruitment system culminated into a broad movement for justice, liberty and freedom. The students' main demands were the dismissal of several ministers responsible for brutality against them and an apology from the Prime Minister. These simple actions could have saved her. Instead, she called upon the army to suppress the protesters! On August 5, when the army refused to fire on the protesters, and swarms of people started entering the city from various sides by breaking barricades, she fled the country in fear of losing her life.
This surprising turn of events helped the country topple a despot, rekindling the hope of rebuilding democratic institutions, reviving the economy, and restoring democracy. Only time will tell whether the revolution can deliver a lasting change or be undermined by the country's toxic political culture.