Approximately 150 protestors have died as a result of the current riots and protests in Bangladesh, and over 2,500 people have been injured.
In addition to street rioting and vandalism, the protesters have burned down the Dhaka headquarters of state-run Bangladesh Television, attacked Jahangir Alam, the former mayor of Ghazipur, and killed his bodyguard. They have also stormed a jail in the Narsingdi District, freeing hundreds of prisoners before setting it on fire.
The protesters, who are primarily students, are asking that jobs be awarded on the basis of merit rather than quota, and this whole subject of the quota system in government employment has taken the nation by storm.
The quota system was introduced in 1972 following the Liberation War (Mukti Judhho) of Bangladesh and has undergone multiple revisions since then. 56% of government employment were set aside for a number of groups under the system: 30% went to Mukti Jodhha, or independence fighters; 10% went to women; 10% went to undeveloped districts; 5% went to minorities; and 1% went to those with disabilities. The government eliminated the quota system for government positions for students in grades 9 through 13 in 2018 in response to a wave of student protests.
The High Court’s June 5 order to reinstate the quota system and reserve 30% of government positions for veterans and family members of liberation fighters from the 1971 War of Independence is the reason behind these disturbances. On July 14, the 27-page verdict was made public. It states that the government has the option to change the quota.
However, the High Court’s order was postponed by the Supreme Court on July 10 for a month, and the government’s challenge was scheduled to be heard on August 7.
However, the Supreme Court postponed its ruling on July 21 due to the severity of the violence on the road, reducing the quota of Mukti Jodhha’s family from 30% to 5% and requiring 93% of the seats to be filled on merit.
The remaining two percent is to be distributed to transgender persons, people of color, and people with disabilities. Additionally, it has asked protesting students to go back to class. Students Against Discrimination, a Bangladeshi student organization, is still holding demonstrations.
The group’s spokesman declared, “We won’t call off our protests until the government issues an order reflecting our demands.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s July 14 press conference, during which she posed the following questions to her nation’s citizens, served as the reason for the entire demonstration to descend into violence:
“Why do people harbor so strong animosity toward Mukti Jodhha and Mukti Juddho? Are the offspring and descendants of those who fought for freedom not gifted? Are Razakars’s offspring and descendants the only gifted people? Should the grandchildren of Razakars receive quota benefits if the grandchildren of the freedom fighters do not? I would like to ask the people of our nation this question. What is Mukti Jodhha’s fault? They bravely battled for this nation’s freedom… Pakistanis would kick those who are demonstrating today if they didn’t.”
Following that, on July 15, Dhaka University staged a procession with the slogan “Tui ke? Ami ke? Razakar, Razakar! Ke boleche? Sairachar, sairachar, sairachar.” (Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar! Who says that? Who says that? Dictator, dictator!)
Soon, rioters and students from all throughout Bangladesh joined this “protest based on Razakar.”
Razakar, which means “volunteer” or “helper” in Persian and Urdu, was primarily made up of pro-Pakistani Bengalis and Biharis in East Pakistan who opposed Mukti Jodhha and East Pakistan’s independence. An estimated fifty thousand Razakars supported the army of Pakistan. The Razakars attacked intellectuals, students, religious minorities, and citizens who fought for Bangladesh’s independence, together with extremist religious militias like Al-Badr and Al-Shams.
With the help of Razakars, the Pakistani military carried out a ruthless campaign of intimidation against pro-liberation Bangladeshis that resulted in 300,000–3 million civilian murders, 100,000–400,000 women raped, and 25,000–195,000 forced pregnancies. The word “Razakar” is derogatorily used in Bangladesh. It is associated with and has come to denote “collaborator”.
Islami Chhatra Sibir, the student branch of Jamaat-e-Islami in East Pakistan, is credited with creating Al-Badr. During the Liberation War, one of Al-Badr’s primary goals was to murder “the intellectual people,” or Budhijibi as they were known in Bengali. Al-Badar, Al-Shams, Mujahid, and the East Pakistan Civil Armed Force are among the pro-Pakistan militant groups that have enlisted members from other Islamic organizations.
Razakars had been recruited by the Pakistani Army to help them carry out their gruesome tasks. With an armed guard, these razakars would arrive at prearranged addresses and kidnap both men and women.
The Mukti Jodhhas battled for the East Pakistani people’s dignity. for acknowledgment of their unique language, identity, culture, and ethos—all of which the Pakistani government intentionally eradicated, giving preference to the western region.
It appears that the Pakistan Army’s Operation Searchlight, which took place on March 26, 1971, when Punjab Regiment contingents surrounded the university campus and killed over a hundred unarmed students who were in the resident halls, as well as ten professors, has been conveniently forgotten by these young Dhaka University rioters who are yelling “Razakar! Razakar.” LMGs, tanks, and rocket launchers were all employed to wreak devastation and crush any resistance among the Bengalis.
Unfortunately, the female students of Dhaka University’s Rokeya Hall, who have become enraged and are now referring to themselves as “razakars,” are dehumanizing and abusing the memory of the other female students who were carried, undressed, assaulted, and sexually assaulted by the Pakistan Army on October 7, 1971, in that exact hall. To honor those ladies, the name “heroines of war,” or “Brangona,” was coined.
However, it appears that these female “protestors” have quickly forgotten and erased them from their memories. The phrase “war was rape” gained notoriety in 1971 after hundreds of Bangladeshi women were raped by the Pakistan Army and Razakar rebels.
About 300 girls who had been imprisoned by Pakistan Army forces for their “entertainment” were found in various districts of Dhaka. Renowned American feminist Susan Browmiller claimed in her book “Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape” that the Bangladesh Liberation War was special because it was the first time that the world acknowledged that systematic rape could be used as a weapon to terrorize people.
Right now, a wide range of anti-liberation supporters are quite active on social media, making disparaging statements, comments, podcasts, and vlogs criticizing the government. “Tumi ke ami ke.. Razakar Razakar” has become a rallying cry for rioters and those who support them, and its popularity is growing every day. It is similar to “Hum dekhenge,” which occurred during the violence in Shaheen Bagh, and “From the River to the Sea,” which applies to the current pro-Hamas disturbances.
It’s easy to argue that the ongoing social media narrative is wholly anti-Hasina and that there is a political motivation behind the call for “Hasina [to] step down.” Despite the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of the demonstrators, Sheikh Hasina and her government continue to be the target of intense hostility and contempt, and this movement is more about them than it is about quota.
It wouldn’t be incorrect to argue that demonstrations against quotas serve as a pretext for thoroughly demeaning Mukti Jodhha and the Liberation War, as well as for undermining the establishment by acts of street violence.
The political basis of these riots is also evident in Tarique Rahman, the eldest son of Khaleda Zia and the exiled Acting Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who made a call on social media platform X.
Tarique called for all pro-democracy political party leaders, activists, and common members, including the BNP, to support the students and continue this campaign in solidarity with the demonstrators. Additionally, on July 19, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was detained by police after they used tear gas on a few hundred party members.
Naturally, in this era of instantaneous “content” dissemination, similar anti-establishment riots spread to other regions of the globe.
Large groups of men fought on July 18, in the UK’s Whitechapel neighborhood of London, which is home to a sizable Bangladesh-origin minority in the Tower Hamlets district. During this altercation, rocks were hurled and cars were destroyed.
Additionally, authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have mandated an investigation and a hurried trial for citizens of Bangladesh who were detained for participating in anti-Hasina protests throughout the Gulf nation.
Also Read: How hundreds of Indian students escaped violence-hit Bangladesh
The eulogy of the war criminals in the guise of protesting against the Awami League government is what makes these riots ironic. resurrecting the Razakars in national and international discourse, undermining authority via a prime minister’s speech, and intimidating families who have battled for the independence of Bangladesh.
The social and political climate of Bangladesh is so unstable that even the Supreme Court was forced to hurry the announcement of the ruling and issue a call for the students to return to class on August 7.
Democracy in Bangladesh is in such a pitiable condition that a group of rioters with political motivations can hold national institutions hostage.
