New Age | Student protests against quotas intensify

Thousands of students in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country continued their street protests on Thursday, blocking the capital’s Shahbagh intersection and major highways including Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Chattogram, Chattogram-Khagrachari, Dhaka-Barishal and Dhaka-Rajshahi, demanding the quashing of the High Court order to restore a 30 percent quota for children and grandchildren of freedom fighters in government jobs.

Meanwhile, Dhaka University students alleged that leaders and activists of the student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League, backed by the ruling Awami League, have banned students from different university hostels from joining the protests.

The day’s protests intensified after the Supreme Court’s appellate division refused in the morning to stay the high court’s verdict on June 5 that asked the government to restore the 30 percent quota for children and grandchildren of freedom fighters in recruitment of cadre and non-cadre officers in the civil service.

DU students took out a procession in front of the university’s central library around 11:00 am and after marching around all the university’s hostels, teachers and students’ centre, Raju memorial sculpture, ended at Shahbagh intersection around 12:00 pm.

The students then blocked the intersection from noon to 6:10 p.m. for the third day in a row, defying the rain.

The six-hour blockade at the capital’s main junction caused severe traffic jams in and around Banglamotor, Karwan Bazar, Kataban, Elephant Road, Hatirpool, Nilkhet, Segun Bagicha and Press Club areas and people and vehicles, including ambulances carrying dying patients, suffered immensely.

Nahid Islam, coordinator of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, an anti-quota movement platform, announced a new three-day program through Sunday, including Friday’s online and in-person program.

“We urge all students to hold protest marches in all universities and colleges at 3 pm across the country,” Nahid said, urging all students to boycott all classes and exams on Sunday.

The four points demanded by the protesting students include quashing the High Court order that restored the quota system, upholding the 2018 government circular, ensuring merit-based recruitment in civil services, appointing qualified candidates from the merit list if no eligible candidate is found in the quota for marginalised communities.

A large number of Dhaka University students tried to join the protests and were reportedly intimidated by BCL leaders and activists.

At Surja Sen Hall, BCL leaders and activists closed the hall door and stood there and the situation became tense when the protesting students took out processions to join the protests.

The angry students opened the door and came out of the hall to join the movement, chanting slogans against the BCL activists, calling them “fake”.

Along with Surja Sen Hall, BCL leaders also took position at the gate of Bijoy Ekattor Hall to hinder the agitating students.

According to reports, the BCL created obstructions in several other halls, including Kabi Jasim Uddin Hall, AF Rahman Hall and Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall.

Denying the allegations, BCL DU unit general secretary Tanbir Hasan Shaikat called them baseless and fabricated.

He said the BCL had not prevented anyone from joining the quota reform movement.

Several hundred students of Jahangirnagar University blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway for about an hour for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday as the appellate division refused to issue an order staying the HC verdict, New Age correspondent reported in JU.

About three kilometers of traffic jams were created on both lanes of one of the country’s busiest highways due to the blockage from 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. that day.

In Cumilla, a five-kilometre-long traffic jam was created on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway when students of Cumilla University erected barricades on the highway and many vehicles were seen stranded till 4 pm on both sides of the highway.

In Barishal, vehicular traffic on the Dhaka-Barishal highway remained suspended since noon as students of Barishal University erected barricades, United News of Bangladesh reported in Barishal.

Braving heavy rains in Rajshahi, several thousand students of Rajshahi University staged protests and blocked the Rajshahi-Dhaka highway in front of the university’s main gate for an hour and a half to press their demands.

Around 10:40 am, they took up positions on the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway in front of the university’s main gate and blocked the highway until 12:10 pm, witnesses said.

Chittagong University students blocked the Chattogram-Khagrachari highway while Shahjalal University of Science and Technology staged rallies and sit-ins in front of the main gate of the university.

On October 4, 2018, the government issued a circular removing all 56% quotas in the civil service following street protests by public university students and job seekers demanding reforms to the quota system introduced in 1972.

Until the abolition, about 56% of government jobs were reserved for candidates from various quotas. Of these, 30% were for children and grandchildren of freedom fighters, 10% for women, 10% for people from underdeveloped districts, 5% for ethnic communities and 1% for physically disabled people.