Bangladesh Violence — A Glimpse Into History

How did the Bangladesh violence start and where it is now? Let’s look at the key events.

Student Protests

First is the students' protest. The student protests began in mid-July 2024, primarily driven by students demanding reforms to the quota system for government jobs.

The existing system had reserved a certain % of positions for relatives of veterans from the 1971 independence war (who were called as “muktijoddha”), which many students saw as discriminatory and limiting their job opportunities in Government jobs.

Why was the Quota in the first place?

This quota was introduced by Bangladesh’s first PM Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972 and was originally set at 10 percent and slowly rose to 30% before being scrapped by Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2018 after many protests, only to be raised to 30 percent again via a High Court order in June 2024.

Under the system, 44 percent of first- and second-class government jobs are “merit” based. The remaining 56 percent are reserved for specific communities:

• 30 percent for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters
• 10 percent for women
• 10 percent “zila quota” for “backward” districts
• 5 percent for ethnic minorities
• 1 percent for people with physical disabilities

The government appealed the high court’s decision, but the prospect of the quota system’s return drove students to the street.

Slowly But Violently

The protests initially started peacefully at Dhaka University but quickly escalated when students were attacked by individuals “believed to be affiliated with” the ruling Awami League.

The situation turned violent, with police and security forces using tear gas, batons, and even live ammunition against protesters. This led to a significant number of casualties.

The Spark Of Razakar

During a press conference at PM Sheikh Hasina’s residence on July 14, when the prime minister was asked about the student protests, she responded, saying: “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not receive (quota) benefits, who would get it? The grandchildren of Razakars?”

This was a political blunder!

Between 1968 and 1971, Bengali freedom fighters and political leaders came up with several slogans against Pakistan, its Armed Forces and its enablers.

Among them was the iconic “Tumi Ke Ami Ke, Bangali, Bangali (Who are you? Who am I? Bengali, Bengali!)”, to assert their own identity and independence against Pakistani oppression and to inspire and encourage civilians during the country’s freedom struggle.

The Razakar in Bangladesh comprised of Biharis and poor people who were socio-economically deprived. Most of them were Urdu-speaking migrants who had migrated to East Pakistan between 1946–1947. They became informants for the Pakistan Army and had weapons to fight against the Mukti Joddha (pro-independence freedom fighters).

Among the Anti-Liberation forces, there were many groups and the Razakars were one. They supported the Pakistan Armed Forces and maintained a pro-Pakistan stance, opposing the independence of Bangladesh, as well as the language movement of the Bengali Muslims. So, Razakar meant an insult to anyone in Bangladesh.

The protesting students, already angry with the Hasina government, only became more enraged after hearing the term ‘Razakar’ in the PM’s July 14 address. In protest, they came up with several different slogans to deride Hasina’s statement:

While one was: “Tui ke? Ami ke? Razakar, Razakar!” (“Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar!”)

Another was: “Chaite gelam odhikar, hoye gelam Razakar.” (“I went to ask for rights; instead became a Razakar.”)

Sheikh Hasina was actually not calling the students Razakar, but it was taken in that sense.

As the protests spread, the Supreme Court hurriedly stepped in on July 21 to scale back the quota to 5 percent. Even though the Government said it will roll the quota back to 5%, the student protests continued.

Protests Spread And Become Violent

The protests spread across the country, leading to a nationwide curfew and internet blackout. The government deployed the Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, and the Army to control the situation.

Over 200 people were said to be killed, and thousands more injured during these protests. Thousands of students and protest leaders were arrested.

The protests evolved into a broader movement against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, with widespread anger over economic distress and perceived autocratic rule.

PM Leaves The Country

Once it became too violent, everyone started advising her to leave the county. But Sheikh Hasina wanted to keep “two options” open. While there were preparations for her to leave the country, she wanted to stay in power until the last moment — by force. The armed forces were also not ok with this.

On August 5th, On Monday morning, Sheikh Hasina got in touch with government officials in Delhi to request sanctuary. The advice from India, a staunch ally throughout her long career, was for her to leave Bangladesh immediately.

A day earlier, Washington had reportedly been telling Indian foreign ministry officials that time was up for Ms Hasina. She had run out of options.

At about 10:30 local time (05:00GMT), the authorities shut down the internet so that no news about Sheikh Hasina’s movements could spread on social media. It was only reactivated after she had made her getaway.

It is said that they went to Agartala, the capital of India’s eastern state of Tripura and were flown from there to Delhi. After 15 years as Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid the turmoil and what followed was carnage.

Rampant Loot

Social media is flooded with visuals showing the devastation that followed. Protesting students stormed Sheikh Hasina’s official residence in Dhaka following her resignation and departure from the country.

The protestors looted the official residence of the Prime Minister, and vandalized the property. They looted food, dresses, utensils, and even dustbins from the PM’s residence.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed to head an interim government following the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amid the mass protests.

So what does all this mean to India?

India shares a 4096 km border with Bangladesh. It is not all a fenced border. We also have significant infrastructure connectivity to north-eastern states from near Bangladesh.

On an average, over 20% of our foreign tourists for medical tourism are from Bangladesh.

India is giving easily over 130 crore rupees as grants and loans to Bangladesh every year. Plus there is the question of imports and exports from Bangladesh in the order of hundreds of crores of rupees per year.

What is most concerning for Indians is the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. Hindu minorities in Bangladesh are largely viewed as supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s secular Awami League party and are often attacked by rivals in a country where Islam is the state religion and 90% population are Muslims.

A Bangladeshi human rights group, Ain o Salish Kendra, reported at least 3,679 attacks on the Hindu community between January 2013 and September 2021, including vandalism, arson and targeted violence.

Indian Government says that there are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals of which about 9000 are students while ensuring the country that the government is in close contact with the Indian community in Dhaka.

After External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar briefed the Parliament over political unrest in Bangladesh, the Opposition parties extended their support to the government in whatever decision it takes while pressing for the safe return of Indian Nationals stranded in the neighbouring country.

What Stands Out

Out of this whole thing, a few items stand out:

• What started as student protests in Bangladesh spiralled out of hand pretty soon, whether it was a conspiracy or it happened organically, we do not know yet.
• The USA and UK denied Visa to Sheik Hasina indicating their probable hand in toppling the Government.
• What started as student protests should not have targeted local Hindus but it is happening. So, there is something else like a Genocide on Hindus being unleashed.
• India has 4–5 bordering states with Bangladesh and is expecting a large influx of refugees coming into India. This could be a big security risk for India.

Are we looking at a genocide or mass influx of refugees or a resurgence of militancy or a new Islamic state in Bangladesh, we have to wait and see how this whole thing pans out.