By In Dhaka, Bangladesh, police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse student demonstrators opposing the government’s job quota system. Authorities have responded to the unrest by ordering the indefinite closure of all public and private universities.
On Wednesday, the Border Guard Bangladesh and riot police were deployed outside the University of Dhaka campus as students rallied with chants of “We will not let our brothers’ blood go in vain.” According to Nahid Islam, the coordinator of the anti-quota protests, police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound grenades against the protesters who marched carrying coffins in tribute to those who have died.
Despite the escalating violence, student leaders like Chamon Fariya Islam from the University of Dhaka have vowed to continue their demonstrations. “Our protests will also continue no matter how much violence they can unleash on us,” Islam told AFP.
The job quota system, which includes a 30 percent reservation for the families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, has sparked widespread anger. Critics argue that the quotas primarily benefit children of pro-government supporters, specifically those aligned with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who secured her fourth consecutive term in a January election largely boycotted by the opposition.
Protesters also criticize the system for failing to address the high youth unemployment rate, with nearly 32 million young Bangladeshis out of work or education in a population of 170 million.
The situation has grown more volatile after Prime Minister Hasina rejected the protesters’ demands and labeled them “razakar”—a term for those allegedly collaborating with the Pakistani army during the 1971 war.
Violence surged on Tuesday, with reports indicating that at least six people, including three students, were killed during the clashes.
