Anti-quota supporters clash with police and Awami League supporters at the Rampura area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Indian High Commission in Dhaka issued an urgent advisory for members of the Indian community and students residning in Banlgadesh amid violent protests that have killed seven.
“In view of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Indian community members and the Indian students residing in Bangladesh are advised to avoid travel and minimize their movement outside their living premises,” the Indian High Commission said in an advisory on July 18.
The Commission has also put out 24-Hour Emergency contact numbers in case of any urgency or need for assistance.
Bangladesh students continue protest
Bangladesh students continued their nationwide protest against civil service hiring rules and rebuffed an olive branch from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who vowed for justice for the seven killed in the demonstrations.
Schools and universities were shut in the country on July 17 as the government stepped up efforts to contain the violent rallies with riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
In televised address to the nation, Ms. Hasina condemned the ‘murder’ of the protesters and vowed that those responsible will be punished regardless of their political affiliation.
But Students Against Discrimination, the main group behind the rallies called Ms. Hasina’s words insincere and called for a nationwide shutdown on July 18.
The call was widely observed in the capital Dhaka, with barely any vehicles seen on the city’s usually traffic-choked roads.
More than 500 others were injured in clashes around the country on July 17, while six people were killed on July 16.
Why are students protesting?
Thousands of Bangladeshi university students threw roadblocks across key highways on July 7, demanding the end of “discriminatory” quotas for coveted government jobs, including reserving posts for children of liberation heroes.
The current system reserves more than half of posts, totalling hundreds of thousands of government jobs.
That includes 30 percent reserved for children of those who fought to win Bangladeshi independence in 1971, 10% for women, and 10% set aside for specific districts.
Students said only those quotas supporting ethnic minorities and disabled people – 6% of jobs – should remain.
