Bangladesh job quota protesters call for nationwide shutdown

At least four protesters have been killed in Bangladesh as thousands call for a complete shutdown across the country. Violence has erupted between police and students in several locations in Dhaka and on the outskirts of the capital. Hundreds of people have been injured over the past week. Angered by high youth unemployment, with nearly 32 million people out of work or education in a total population of 170 million, the students have demanded the abolition of a quota of 30 percent reservations for the families of veterans of the 1971 independence war.

Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury joins us live from Dhaka to discuss the latest updates. For more insight, we are joined by Reaz Ahmad, Executive Editor at Dhaka Tribune, live from Dhaka.

#Bangladesh #BangladeshProtests #AntiQuotaProtests #JobQuotaProtests #AntiQuotaDemonstrations #SheikhHasina #DhakaUniversity #Dhaka #Chittagong #AwamiLeagueParty #BangladeshChhatraLeague #QuotaReform #Save_Bangladeshi_students #StudentsUnderAttack #StepDownHasina #bangladesh_quota_movement #AlJazeeraEnglish

[saeedk]

Not 4!!! Now the number is 41!!!
Plz save Bangladesh Students...
More than 6, 300 students are injured!!!!

[aimanghazi]

While the country is reeling from this mess, the dictator decides to run away to Spain.
What a coward.

[AZ-jsob]

I am from Bangladesh.. The government started genocide...
They stopped every mobile network and bandwidth connections..
The police fires on student's...
We are really in danger... please please help us, please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏, our mental situation is not good please we need help from other countries 🙏🙏🙏

[mowcugz]

Save Bangladeshi students from government

[KINGSS_]

For all the laymen out there, let me elaborate everything from the scratch:-
1) Firstly, there's a so-called, "Quota system for freedom fighters" in Bangladesh which *only* favours the Children and Grandchildren of the Freedom fighters that fought in the 1971 war. The current quota is 30% and it massively favours students and employees, it's basically like position/seat reservations for prospects while finding a job. So you can clearly understand that, even the "low-skilled" individuals gets a pass and are much easily able to pursue their dream careers without *proper merits*.
2) Obviously, no Disrespect to all the Beloved Freedom fighters, but to me personally, it serves total injustice to the rest of the students who are hardworking, bright and has much more potential to offer and be the building blocks for our country's future generations.
3) That being said, it's literally a 'Now or Never' situation, hence the students of Bangladesh are demanding to fully abolish this 'freedom fighter quota' to come to a fair level playing field when it comes to prospects finding their jobs. The job market is already very saturated in the first place, so there is a dire need to abolish this unfair, quota system.
(Please note that, Students are fully in support of the 'Handicapped/Physically & Mentally disabled quota', 'women's quota', though because Disabled or Differently-abled people deserves a better chance, otherwise it's literally an inhumane thing to do!!)
4) So the students especially from the well-reputed Dhaka University and Jagannath University first decided to organise a fully 'Peace protest' as an attempt to cover and expressing all their demands to the government.
(P.S: Our PM Sheikh Hasina, blatantly tried to flip the topics up in a press-briefing and in return decided to term all the people without quota as "razalar" which is almost like a slang term used for " a War Traitor "!)
5) On the 15th of July, 2024, there were groups of police trying to control student crowd if things go wrong. But when the so-called organisation, "Chatro League" decided to intervene in the 'Students peace protest', things escalated from 0 to 100 instantly and became a total ruckus! From innocent students not only verbally, but physically harassed by the Chatro League! That being said, the police just decided to just sit and watch the entire commotion and even favouring the Chatro League members to bring in Weapons like Bricks, Bamboo Sticks to even Steel rods to attack Innocent students!!!!
6) Students were left totally Bloodied on the streets, from facing massive bruises and cuts to fractures. Students were literally begging and hiding under the Scarves of fellow, female students just to evade from the 'Murder-Hungry' Chatro League members! Please note that the chatro League had no business at all in the first place to be amongst the peace protesters and then brutally attempting to murder these students like WTF!?!
7) Why do we think that all of this commotion was 100% scripted and well-planned? It's because most of the Chatro League members came with protection gears like helmets and weapons like I already mentioned, bamboo sticks, Steel rods and even Guns!! (Yes you heard that right, Guns too in a peace protest!)
This has to be a clear order from the government to the Chatro League to suppress all of the protests even if it required by means of murdering! The electric supply as well as the Internet supply in these Universities has been totally disrupted so that the peace protesters won't be able to publish the acts of violence, Online through Live streaming on Facebook/Twitter. Sudent accomodation halls were broken into, barricaded and attacked yesterday during late midnight, 'Stealthily'!!
8) The current number of injured students already crossed 400-500 and the number of innocent students deaths are creeping up every single day! (Already 5-6 students passed away and is officially confirmed). The peace protests has extended to a lot more Universities & institutions, today... In the same time, the Chatro League members are in the rise too with their Violent nature, trying to suppress these peace protesters everywhere in this country, even at the cost of Blood shedding!
9) So to conclude all of this, all we require at this moment is a "Voice to be heard from" from all the international organisations and Media coverages. If awareness is not conveyed in time, there will be much, much more blood sheds resulting in more innocent losses of lives, every single day! Massive respect and support to Al Jazeerah for being the first international coverage to this story as innocent students are in dire need of all the support that they can get.

THIS TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED AND HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES LIKE CHATRO LEAGUE NEEDS TO BE BANNED, FOREVER!!!

(P.S:- Comment and like on this Thread for more visibility and also rectify me, if I made mistakes in any of the points above)

[OmarFaruk-qjrd]

I'm from Bangladesh
Save Bangladesh students place🇧🇩🙏🙏
Save Bangladesh 🇧🇩

[mdpayelislam]

আজকে ৪৩ জন শহীদ!

AIUB এর ৩জন শহীদ
IUB এর ৫ জন শহীদ
BRAC এর ১জন শহীদ
BUFT এর ১জন শহীদ
শান্ত মরিয়ম ইউনিভার্সিটির ১জন শহীদ
IUT এর ১ জন শহীদ
MIST এর ১জন শহীদ
Northern এর ৩ জন শহীদ
East West এর ১ জন শহীদ
DRMC এর ১ জন শহীদ
Madaripur Govt College এর ১ জন শহীদ
মাদারীপুর এরিয়ার স্কুল ছাত্র ৩ জন
সরকারি দেবেন্দ্র কলেজ=১জন
সরকারি মহিলা কলেজ=১জন
টঙ্গী কলেজের ১জন শহীদ
কুমিল্লা বিশ্বরোডে ৭জন শহীদ
টাঙ্গাইলে ২ জন শহীদ
নরসিংদীতে ১ জন শহীদ
উত্তরা হাইস্কুলের ২জন শহীদ
নারায়ণগঞ্জ মহিলা কলেজের ১জন শহীদ
বগুড়া আজিজুল হক কলেজের ২ জন শহীদ
হবিগঞ্জ -২ জন
মোট: ৪৩জন।

এই মুহুর্তের পরিসংখ্যান!
(Collected)

[Robi]

It’s not just 4!!! It's 40+ now😢
Please save Bangladesh students 🙏🙏

[AsifKhan-dybr]

For last 1 hour or so the entire mobile network has been shutdown throughout Bangladesh. Being living in outside the country can’t call to any of my family, friends and relatives in Bangladesh. No one knows what Hasina Gangs are doing to innocent students. International help is needed in an emergency basis….

[kishoreganjtv]

We need International support plz. Save Bangladesh students

[naturebd]

43 people are already dead in Bangladesh. Thousands are injured!! We need help😢😢

[fahmah]

It's 41
It's 41
HELP US PLEASE!!!!

[mubin]

Bd Government killing students by today 65+ were + student was seriously help😭😭😭

[polasmia]

No network & no electricity in Bangladesh right now. It's a complete intentional blackout by the government. A massive clash in going on with the students and the government forces. Rest of the world

[Itskimgmg]

Not 4. Now the number is 41. Please help us.🙏

[hamidaakter]

It's not about quota anymore. They have killed 41 Students till now.

[mdshohagshosen]

Not 4 guys, more than 50+ students deaths for 3 day's. And more than 10 thousand students is injured.! Please save our students and save our country 🙏

[Ishhtiakkk]

I got 4 rubber bullets in Mirpur of Dhaka todays afternoon.

Step down Sheikh Hasina, how dare you to kill innocent peoples?It's 50+ now

[ArushiAdhikari-kunp]

All the network connection even wifi has been shut down since 9 No one can make any kind of communication with the general citizens & students of Bangladesh 😢😢

[ShakilAhammed-qzrk]

Not 4: now almost 42 :please help our country 🙏