The internal unrests in India’s neighbouring countries have been a feature of South East Asia’s turbulent recent past — Pakistan’s struggle for power and worsening economy; Sri Lanka and Nepal’s descent to economic crisis, and Myanmar’s military situation. This time, it is Bangladesh, embroiled in violent protests by students over quota systems in government jobs.

The Supreme Court scrapped the controversial quota, but not before 133 lives were lost.

Why did the protest happen in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh’s top court on July 21 scrapped most of the quotas in the government jobs that sparked countrywide friction between police and university students.

The ruling was termed as a ‘partial victory’ for the protestors as it stated 93% reservation seats to be merit-based and just 5% of civil service jobs would remain for the relatives of veterans from the country’s war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, instead of 30%.

The epicentre of the protest is Dhaka University, where students termed the quota system as ‘discriminatory’.

What is the quota system?

To understand the protests, we need to understand the current Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s emotional longing for the freedom fighter’s quota introduced by her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972.

The 30% reservation quota was for the relatives of the veterans who fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

However, in 2018, it was Hasina’s government that had scrapped the quota system in the universities, but a lower court reinstated it.

In response to the High Court’s verdict, the government appealed to the Supreme Court’s appellate division. It became clear that, since the court reinstated the quota system, Hasina would aim to reinstate the previous system, which allocated 30% of quotas to descendants of freedom fighters, into the new quota structure.

The series of events triggered nation-wide protests from the students, demanding admission to the national institutes on merit.

Protest reaches boiling point 

The wounds of the past have come back to haunt the Hasina government, after becoming the PM for the fourth time after the elections in January.

To add fuel to the fire, a speech by PM Hasina triggered the protests after she mentioned  ‘Razakar’ – a term used in Bangladesh for the Pakistani army deployed in Bangladesh during the 1971 war.

In a recent public gathering amid the protests, the Bangladeshi PM said, “If not the grandchildren of the freedom fighters, then who will get quota benefits? The grandchildren of the ‘Razakars’?”

Hasina’s remark on the protestors further led to a protest where women students were seen chanting, “Who are you? Who am I? – Razakar, Razakar” near Dhaka University in Bengali, according to a video that went viral on social media.

Indian students and Bangladesh 

As the protest in Bangladesh birthed a crisis, it prompted the ‘shoot-at-sight’ orders. 

Following that, over 4,500 Indian students have returned to India so far.

Just like Russia and the Philippines, Bangladesh has emerged as the new MBBS hub for Indian students over the years.

Many students from India and other neighbouring countries choose to study medicine in Bangladesh. Moreover, a significant number of nursing students also pursue their education there.

In India, students from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Meghalaya opt to study medicine in Bangladesh. It is also the top choice for medical studies among students from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. 

Over 1,500 students had applied for MBBS/BDS courses in public and private medical colleges in Bangladesh for 2021-2022, according to Bangladesh High Commision.

While medical education course fees are costly in India, Bangladesh offers relatively cheaper medical education, according to reports.

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