Bangladesh Imposes Nationwide Curfew As Violence Intensifies

The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government has imposed a curfew in the country amid violent clashes against the government job quota system. The Prime Minister's press secretary told the news agency AFP that military forces were also deployed to restore order. At least 105 people have been reportedly killed in the violent clashes so far in Bangladesh. Amid the violence, several Indian students have returned home.

“The government has decided to impose a curfew and deploy the military in aid of the civilian authorities,” press secretary Nayeemul Islam Khan told AFP. Violence erupted in Bangladesh following student protests against a rule reserving 30% of public sector jobs for the families of veterans of the country's independence war in 1971. In 2018, Sheikh Hasina's government abolished this rule. However, on June 5, the High Court reinstated the quota system. Amid the protest, the Supreme Court paused the reinstatement of the quotas for four weeks. It is to be noted that 56% of government jobs in Bangladesh were reserved under various quotas.

The students across universities in the country are arguing that the quota system is discriminatory, and they demand that recruitment be based on merit. The protests, organised by students, turned violent as clashes broke out between them and members of the student wing of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party. Apart from deploying police and paramilitaries into the streets, the government has locked down schools and universities.