By Muhammad Tanvir Hashem Munim
For the last few days, Bangladesh has seceded from the outside world. The government has imposed a communication blackout amid its crackdown on the student protestors demanding quota reforms. It has enforced a nationwide curfew and deployed military forces.
The student protests in Bangladesh demanding quota reforms began in early 2018. The movement was sparked by growing frustration among university students over the existing public sector job quota system, which they felt disproportionately favoured certain groups at the expense of merit-based selection. The quota system in the country reserves 56% of government first-class and second-class jobs for some specific groups. In some job sectors, this quota reservation may reach as many as 96% of the jobs. Such a system caused discontent among the university students.
The discontent led to organised demonstrations, initially gaining momentum at Dhaka University and quickly spreading to other universities across the country. The students’ primary demand was to significantly reduce the quotas and allocate more jobs based on merit, ensuring equal opportunities for all candidates. The movement gained widespread support, highlighting broader issues of fairness and transparency in government recruitment processes.