An ongoing nationwide protest in various parts of Bangladesh against reservation, that later turned violent, has taken as many as 33 lives till Friday. Hundreds of people have also been injured. Protests and violence have continued to intensify. The protesters have come face-to-face with police forces in several places.
Internet services have been suspended in many parts of the country. The protesters are demanding that reservation in government jobs be scrapped. For the past few days, university students have been protesting against reservation in government jobs to the children of soldiers who fought in the war of independence in 1971. For the past few days, students have been protesting against the fact that one-third of government jobs in the country are reserved for the children of war veterans. The students say that this reservation system is discriminatory and demand that jobs should be given on the basis of merit. When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed the nation on Wednesday, all eyes were on what she had to say. People were also curious about the reaction of the anti-reservation protesters to the PM’s speech. After the speech, anti-reservation protesters called for a ‘total bandh’. Violent protests broke out in different parts of the country from the night itself, while on the other hand, there were reports of various organisations of the ruling party also taking to the streets. The conflict appears to have escalated after the PM’s speech on Wednesday night. PM Hasina appealed to the protesters to exercise restraint and assured them of justice through the courts. Political observers say she has urged the public to have faith in the judicial process. In the current situation, PM Hasina has given exactly the same explanation that could have been given in support of her government. The problem is, she didn't say anything. The PM’s speech did not achieve what was expected. Anti-reservation protesters took to the streets in various parts of Dhaka since Thursday morning. Many political observers believe that the agitation is no longer limited to the anti-reservation movement. However, the students who led the protest have stated that agitation is limited to the issue of reservation reforms. Many protesters believe it has nothing to do with any other issue.
The PM tried to pacify the students temporarily through her speech. The anti-reservation agitation, which started about two weeks ago, was initially peaceful. The student wing of the ruling party did not intervene. The protesters, too, had not chosen the path of violence earlier. But suddenly the protest took a violent turn. Some political analysts believe that the PM has conveyed whatever was possible through her speech. It is not possible for the PM to comment directly on the court. Since the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, it is not possible for Hasina to announce the cancellation of reservation despite her being the head of the state. Initially, the movement was limited to students only. As the agitation progressed, many others joined in. Since then, the nature of the protest has changed.
Basically, since 1972, there was a provision for reservation for liberation war veterans, districts and women in government jobs in Bangladesh. On September 5, 1972, the then government had issued an executive order regarding the provision of appointment and reservation in government, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions and various corporations and departments. According to it, 20 percent of the seats were reserved on merit in case of first-class jobs in such institutions and the remaining 80 per cent seats were reserved for districts. Of these 80 per cent, it was decided to reserve 30 per cent for liberation warriors and 10 per cent for war-affected women. In other words, a large portion of the reservation was given to liberation warriors. Most of the true liberation warriors were farmers, labourers and weavers.
These were backward people in the society. That is why reservation came into force after the country got independence. Four years later, in 1976, the reservation system was changed for the first time. At that time, the percentage of merit-based appointments was increased and a separate arrangement was made for reservation only for women. Of the total jobs, 40 per cent were given on merit, 30 per cent for liberation warriors, 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent for women injured in the war and the remaining 10 per cent on the basis of districts. The then establishment ministry reformed the system in 1985 by including minorities in the ambit of reservation and expanding the scope of recruitment on merit. Accordingly, the merit-based quota for first and second-class posts was increased to 45 per cent and district-wise quota to 55 per cent. Of these district-wise reservations, 30 per cent were reserved for freedom fighters, 10 per cent for women and five per cent for sub-castes. However, in 2002, during the four-party coalition government led by the BNP, a notification was issued cancelling all notifications regarding allocation of reservation for liberation warriors. The earlier instructions to fill up 30 per cent posts reserved for liberation warriors instead of other category candidates was amended. Where, if no suitable candidates were found in liberation warriors, then 30 per cent of the posts reserved for them were filled by merit list candidates. But the directive was scrapped after the Awami League-led coalition government came to power in 2008.
In addition, the Ministry of Establishment issued a notification to keep the posts reserved for the children of freedom fighters vacant if it is not possible to fill them. The next changes to the reservation system were made in 2011. This time, it was decided to include the grandchildren of freedom fighters in this 30 per cent reservation. After this, the rage against reservation continued to grow and the issue has been burning till date after the first anti reservation agitation broke out in Bangladesh in 2018.