The View From India

Bangladesh: Crushing student protests

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“Massacre going on. 100s killed. Please get the story out.” – that’s the message well-known Bangladeshi photojournalist and civil-rights activist Shahidul Alam hurriedly sent out to a few media outlets on July 20, via whatsapp, when he managed to briefly bypass the internet and telecommunication blackout imposed by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina government.

The violence and unrest are in the context of recent student protests, which escalated over the past week, against a quota system in government jobs. The agitations come months after Ms. Hasina won a controversial election in January, securing an unprecedented fourth, consecutive term, amid concerns among sections over the shrinking space for democracy, dissent, and freedom of expression in the country. Even during the recent student protests, the first instinct of authorities was to unleash a violent crackdown, block the internet, and impose a curfew.

Over the past week at least 150 people have been killed in the brutal police violence against student protesters challenging the controversial quota system that reserved 30 % of government jobs for descendants of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. Human rights watchdogs fear that the death toll could be much higher, since there is very little information coming out amid the internet and telecommunication shutdown. In this explainer, Kallol Bhattacherjee tells us why Bangladeshi students took to the streets in the first place. The protests escalated after Ms. Hasina termed agitators opposed the quota system as ‘razakars’ or traitors, linking them to the Pakistani military’s large-scale atrocities against men and women in 1971. This enraged the students who demanded an apology from her and occupied public squares.

India said it was “closely” tracking the protests, but refrained from commenting on the brutal violence, as it was Bangladesh’s “internal matter”. With New Delhi’s assistance, more than 4,500 Indian students have returned home, even as solidarity protests were held in India. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 21 said the State would open its doors to people in distress from the neighbouring country. 

Meanwhile, on July 21, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh scaled back the quota system, but students have vowed to continue demonstrations, demanding justice for those killed in the past few days, in one of the deadliest unrests under PM Hasina’s rule.    

Polls watch:

Ending much speculation and debate, President of the United States Joe Biden on July 21 announced he is ending his reelection campaign, making way for Vice President Kamala Harris’s nomination. 

Trump rises, Biden shaky: Why India should pay attention – in this week’s Worldview by Suhasini Haidar.

The date of Sri Lanka’s presidential election will be announced next week, the country’s Election Commission said on July 19, amid fresh speculation in the wake of a gazette issued by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

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