Bangladesh is the world’s seventh most populous nation. It has the fourth largest Muslim population in the world. It also has a booming textile and garment manufacturing industry. Chances are that the branded shirt or dress you are wearing was made in Bangladesh. To put it in perspective for you, Bangladesh is British retailer M&S’ top sourcing location for apparel products. Bangladesh will graduate from the status of a Least Developed Country, and, officially, become a developing country by the end of 2026.
No doubt, all these are good reasons to be talking about Bangladesh. But that is not the reason why I am writing about Bangladesh. Bangladesh is in the news because of protests that swept the country. Protesters, mostly students, called for reform of a quota system that reserved more than half of highly sought-after government jobs for women, persons with disabilities and descendants of veterans of the 1971 War of Independence. In South Asia, it is called quota or reservation. In other parts of the world, it is known as Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, or, Positive Discrimination.
When protests grew last month, police fired rubber-bullets and hurled sound-grenades and tear-gas to scatter protesters, who blocked railway-tracks and major roads. At least three hundred people died in the protests. Protesters demanded that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Government end a 30 per cent quota for the families of people who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. From 14 July, her supporters began confronting the demonstrators, who had blocked major thoroughfares in Dhaka.
On 16 July, armed cadres of Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League party, along with its student wing, took to the streets of Dhaka to counter the protesters. Brandishing sticks, bats, helmets, and even handguns, the cadres labelled the protesters as traitors while confrontations occurred in multiple locations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere in the country. Not all of the dead were students; a bus-driver and a rickshaw-puller were among the dead. The bus-driver was brought to a hospital with a bullet wound to his chest.
Protests intensified after the Prime Minister refused to meet the students’ demands, citing ongoing court proceedings. The protests were the first significant challenge to Prime Minister Hasina’s Government since she won a fourth straight term in an election held in January that was boycotted by the main opposition.
A brief history of Bangladesh’s Reservation Policy
Bangladesh introduced a Reservation Policy in 1972. Till 1976, 80 per cent of Government jobs fell under the Reserve category and only 20 per cent of jobs were to be filled on the basis of merit. 30 per cent was reserved for freedom fighters, 10 per cent for war-affected women, and, 40 per cent for the backward districts.
In 1976, the quotas were decreased from 80 per cent to 60 per cent. How? By reducing the quota for backward districts from 40 per cent to 20 per cent. That meant that 40 per cent of jobs were to be filled on merit.
In 1982, the quotas were reduced to 55 per cent, with three changes. One, the 10 per cent quota for women was thrown open to all women, not just war-affected women. Two, the quota for backward districts was further reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. And, three, a new five per cent quota was introduced for indigenous communities.
In 1997, the children of freedom fighters became eligible for the reservation. And, in 2010, it was extended to include grandchildren of freedom fighters.
In 2012, the quotas were increased to 56 per cent by giving a one per cent quota to persons with disabilities.
Protests against Bangladesh quota policy were not new. Anti-quota protests took place six years ago. Then, like now, the protests began at Shahbagh in Dhaka, before spreading to other parts of the country.
In January 2018, a petition was filed in the Dhaka High Court seeking re-evaluation of quota policy. In March that year, Dhaka High Court rejected the petition. Protests broke out in April. In October of 2018, the Government abolished the quota for freedom fighters’ families.
On 5 June 2024, the Dhaka High Court ruled that the 2018 Government decision to abolish the quota was illegal, and, re-instated the quota. Subsequently, the Government moved the country’s top court against the High Court ruling. On 1 July, protests broke out. On 4 July, the Bangladesh Supreme Court upholds the High Court ruling. On 11 July, the Supreme Court suspended the High Court ruling, pending a hearing on the Government’s appeal on 7 August.
A combative Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had this to say to the protesters. “Why do they have so much resentment against the freedom fighters? If the grandchildren of freedom fighters don’t get quota benefits, should the grandchildren of Razakars get the benefit?”
Not to be outdone, the protesting students retorted by raising these slogans: “Quota na Medha, Medha, Medha (Not quota but talent; talent, talent!)” and “Chaite gelam odhikar, hoye gelam Razakar (Asked for rights but became a Razakar)”. Now, Razakar is a Persian word meaning volunteer. But, in Bangladesh, it is a pejorative term that stands for traitor. It is used for those accused of collaborating with Pakistan’s Army in 1971 to betray the country. The Razakar was a paramilitary force created by Pakistan to commit war crimes, including massacring civilians, looting, and, rape. The Bangladesh Government brands all collaborators of the Pakistani forces as Razakar.
So, were there strong, compelling arguments for and against quotas in Bangladesh? The short answer is: Yes! The Dhaka High Court said: “The freedom fighters are pride of our nation. Thus, we are of the view that during the period of August 15, 1975, to 1996, the freedom fighters, their children and grandchildren have been suffering socially, economically and politically, which makes them one of the most backward sections of the citizen of this country”.
There were compelling arguments to be made against quotas, too. For one, protesters argued that a problem arises when freedom fighters’ quota-holders use it multiple times: First at the time of university admission and later when applying for coveted government jobs. And, two, Bangladesh is facing high youth unemployment. That, coupled with stagnant job-growth in private sector makes a Government job with a regular source of income that much more desirable to youths.
University libraries are filled with young graduates cramming for the civil-service exam, vying for scarce government jobs that promise job security, good income, and, prestige. In last year’s recruitment test, some 3 hundred and 46 thousand candidates competed for just 3 thousand 3 hundred jobs, according to local media.
Young people make up more than a quarter of the country’s population. Picture this: 32 million people in Bangladesh out of a population of 170 million are not in work or education. That is, one in every five Bangladeshis, between the ages of 15 and 24, is either out of work or education or both. This is according to official statistics from 2023. Moreover, university graduates face higher rates of unemployment than their less-educated peers. About 6 hundred and 50 thousand graduates are among the more than 2 million young people entering the job market each year.
Blue-collar jobs are also harder to come by. The textile and garment sectors are Bangladesh’s biggest employers. Exports have jumped four-fold to 40 billion dollars since 2008, but, employment across private-sector jobs has stagnated. Bangladesh’s economy, once among the world’s fastest growing, has stagnated. Inflation hovers around 10 per cent, and, dollar reserves are shrinking.
Are quotas unique to Bangladesh? Certainly not. There are many examples from the Global South of countries reserving a certain percentage of education and jobs. India has 59.5 per cent reservation. Nepal has 45 per cent reservation. South Africa has an Employment Equity Act to promote diversity and equality in the workplace. It applies to companies employing more than 50 people.
To conclude, there are no easy answers to the vexed problem. But Bangladesh’s top court has since scrapped most job quotas that sparked deadly protests. It ordered that the quota for veterans’ descendants be cut to five per cent, with 93 per cent of jobs to be allocated on merit. The remaining two per cent will be set aside for members of ethnic minorities and transgender and disabled people.
Click here to watch the complete programme:
https://youtu.be/rKXtpkQC6io?si=mjmMyL36rOhDAjHA
By: Ramesh Ramachandran (DD India)