In Bangladesh, nationwide protests erupted over a new policy reserving government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters. The policy sparked violent clashes between protesters and police, resulting in the imposition of a nationwide curfew.In Bangladesh, nationwide protests erupted over a new policy reserving government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters. The policy sparked violent clashes between protesters and police, resulting in the imposition of a nationwide curfew. The curfew was enforced amid reports of protesters attacking state television headquarters and setting fire to police booths. Street battles ensued, with security forces firing rubber bullets and tear gas and protesters retaliating with weapons. The violence left dozens dead and over 150 students injured. The army was deployed to enforce the curfew, while schools, universities, and internet services were suspended to curb disinformation. Protests have simmered for weeks, challenging Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. Hasina has defended the job quota policy, arguing that families involved in the independence struggle deserve compensation. However, critics claim it unfairly benefits families close to the ruling party during a time of economic hardship. The protests highlight growing discontent over inflation and stagnant growth, despite the country’s textile export success. The government’s handling of the situation has raised concerns about Hasina’s increasingly hardline approach. The Supreme Court has suspended the quota policy pending a ruling on its legality. Hasina has called for patience and expressed confidence in the court delivering justice. The situation remains tense as the country seeks to resolve the crisis.
NEW DELHI — Bangladesh imposed a nationwide curfew on Friday night after dozens of people were killed in clashes between police and student groups. The curfew comes in response to a new policy to reserve some government jobs for descendants of the country’s freedom fighters.
In the capital Dhaka, protesters attacked the headquarters of state television and set fire to police booths on Thursday, calling for a “complete shutdown” of the country. Street clashes between security forces firing rubber bullets and tear gas and heavily armed protesters brought life to a standstill in several neighborhoods, with streets emptying and even the cabinet canceling its meetings, Bangladeshi media reported.
More than 150 students were treated in a Dhaka hospital for injuries after being hit by rubber bullets, Agence France-Presse reported. There were also reports of clashes between protesters agitating against job quotas and the student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling party, the Awami League.
Nayeemul Islam Khan, a spokesman for Hasina, told AFP on Friday that the army would also be deployed to enforce the curfew, which came into effect immediately. Hasina has backed the new government jobs policy.
Schools and universities have been closed indefinitely since the curfew, and authorities have suspended mobile internet services across the country as they seek to combat disinformation. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, said live network data showed the country was in a near-total internet shutdown on Thursday night. The websites of several leading Bangladeshi newspapers had either not been updated or were inaccessible since Thursday. Television channels have also been taken offline.
On Thursday night, before communications were completely cut off, news outlets reported conflicting casualty figures, though most put the death toll in the dozens. The leading newspaper, Prothom Alo, reported 29 dead and 1,500 wounded on Thursday, while AFP put the day’s death toll at 32, citing a police spokesman.
The protests, which have simmered for weeks but have intensified in recent days, pose the biggest challenge Hasina, 76, and her Awami League in years. Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, helped found the Awami League in 1949, which led the country’s bloody struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971. Hasina has argued that families who took part in the war of independence should be compensated with jobs, but her critics say the program unfairly benefits families close to the Awami League at a time of economic distress.
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While Hasina has been credited with boosting Bangladesh’s textile export industry and improving public infrastructure during her more than two decades in power, the country has recently been plagued by inflation of more than 9 percent and stagnant growth. Government jobs are often seen as the most secure and coveted option by young job seekers, but more than half of the positions are reserved for various groups, including residents of remote areas and women.
The 30 percent quota for the descendants of freedom fighters existed until 2018, when it was canceled by Hasina’s government amid violent protests. Last month, a Bangladeshi court reinstated the policy, and Hasina has continued to advocate in its favor.
At a press conference on Sunday, Hasina said she was open to reducing the quota but argued that there should be some kind of policy. She used a politically charged term — “razakar,” referring to the violent mobs that collaborated with the Pakistani army in 1971 — in a comment that reverberated across the country and sent student groups into the streets in anger.
“Why do they have so much resentment against the freedom fighters?” Hasina asked. “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters are not getting quota benefits, should the grandchildren of razakars get them?”
Hasina has won every election since 2009, including several that have been criticized as unfair. She has also faced criticism for her increasingly hardline leadership style. (She also led the country from 1996 to 2001.) In the run-up to the most recent election in January, her government jailed thousands of opposition members and won unopposed after rival parties boycotted the vote.
The Supreme Court has temporarily suspended the quota policy and said it would rule on its legality on August 7. In her last public appearance on Wednesday, Hasina pleaded for “patience” and said she believed “our students will get justice from the court.”
