Bangladesh has witnessed one of the worst outbreaks of violence in years, as student protests against the government’s controversial job quota system spiralled into a nationwide crisis, claiming more than 160 lives, something Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina might not have anticipated even in her wildest dreams. Protests erupted after the High Court reinstated a quota system that earmarks 56 per cent of government jobs for different categories, including 30 per cent for family members of freedom fighters in the 1971 war for independence. Instead of dousing the agitation, the prime minister added more fuel to the fire by calling the protesters “Razakars”, which refers to the collaborators of the Pakistani army in the 1971 war, besides refusing to meet their demands. The crackdown on protests, which is backed by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has escalated the situation. There were also allegations that, besides the state forces, Hasina’s student wing, the Awami League, was involved in the attacks against the agitators. It’s clear that the government grossly underestimated the demonstrators, for which it had to pay a heavy price. The protests might not have turned gory had the Bangladesh government handled the crisis better, listened to grievances of students and respected dissent. What started as a protest of discontentment has snowballed into an anti-Hasina movement today, thanks to heavy-handedness of ruling dispensation.
Following the unprecedented turn of events, the Bangladesh Supreme Court has suspended the controversial order of the High Court and reduced the reservation for families of war veterans to just 5 per cent and 2 per cent for people with disabilities and backward groups, leaving the remaining 93 per cent government jobs open for all citizens. It’s a major victory for the protesting youth, whose growing frustration has become visible amid unemployment issue, and a hope towards a brighter future through meritocracy. Now, the Bangladesh government should take short term measures like sitting across the table with the protestors to sort out the issues at hand and initiate an independent probe into the incidents that led to the death of many people. Long term measures should include addressing the ever-increasing unemployment issue and upholding democratic principles like citizens’ participation, freedom of expression, accountability, transparency, political tolerance, free and fair elections, etc. Surprisingly, many countries that take pride in democracy are said to be witnessing a significant erosion of democracy quality, with India leading the rating at 3.5, while Poland has a score of 2.3 and the US 2.1, as per the Authoritarian Threat Index released by anti-authoritarianism group Protect Democracy. This trend is alarming. Autocracy, in the name of democracy, is a threat to democracy.