INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
At least two people died and thousands were injured after police fired teargas into crowds of protesting students, and paramilitary forces
were deployed across the country.Protests first broke out on university campuses across Bangladesh a fortnight ago as tens of thousands of
order.The reintroduction of the quotas provoked fury among students, who say the job market in Bangladesh is already extremely tough amid
high unemployment, heavy inflation and a flailing economy
With the private sector diminishing, government jobs have become the most secure and sought-after form of employment yet are heavily
restricted, with 50% allocated through quotas.The new ruling on quotas was paused by the supreme court last week, but students said they
would continue protesting until they were permanently overturned
Many blocked highways and railways and broke through police barriers to stage demonstrations across the congested capital, Dhaka.On Monday
night, the protests turned violent as police and heavily armed members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the
governing Awami League party, attacked the protesting students.In Dhaka, police fired teargas and charged at the protesters with batons
while pro-government groups attacked them with machetes, bamboo rods and hockey sticks, injuring thousands
Paramilitary forces were also deployed across the country.The violence continued to escalate on Tuesday as campuses across the country
became battlegrounds, with at least two deaths confirmed by the Guardian
Local media reported that five people have been killed.In the city of Rangpur, Abu Sayeed, a student involved in the protests, sustained
fatal injuries, while another man caught up in the violence at Dhaka college was dead on arrival at hospital.The situation was further
accused Hasina of authoritarianism
If anyone fits that description in this context, it is the prime minister herself and her forces who are steering this country toward a dark
fullscreenAnti-quota protesters flee as people clash with police
despite her family benefiting from the system
from lower to lower-middle class backgrounds, have striven for excellence in their education and aspire to serve the country
direct response to prolonged repression under the authoritarian regime of Hasina and her Awami League party, who have ruled consecutively
In January, Hasina won a fifth term in power after an election that was widely documented as rigged, with tens of thousands of her political
fighter descendants.Zahed Ur Rahman, a Dhaka-based political analyst, said that the protests had been fuelled by student anger at soaring
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
