Washington:

 The United States has expressed deep concerns about the continued violence in Bangladesh including attacks on members of religious or political groups.

“We are deeply concerned about continued reports of violence in Bangladesh – including violence directed at members of religious or political groups. We are equally concerned about reports of violence against police and law enforcement,” a State Department spokesperson told PTI on Tuesday.

“We repeat our call for de-escalation on all sides and a return to calm. This is not a time for retribution or revenge,” the spokesperson said in response to a question. “As a friend and partner to the Bangladeshi people, the United States will continue to support Bangladesh’s democratic aspirations and promote respect for human rights for all,” said the spokesperson.

Bangladesh is going through an unprecedented crisis with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was in power for 15 years, resigning and fleeing the country after a protest against a jobs quota scheme snowballed into a massive agitation against her and her government. More than 300 people have died during the past few tumultuous weeks.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said reports about such incidents including ransacking, and in some cases burning, of Hindu temples have come from across Bangladesh.

While the full extent to which religious minorities are being targeted in this greater unrest is not yet fully clear, the picture is deeply concerning, the HAF said in a statement.

“These attacks are heartbreaking, but unsurprising. It is well documented that prior to the toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s government, Bangladesh’s Hindu population has been targeted and harassed in sections of the country for many years now,” HAF director of Policy Research Anita Joshi said.

“The Bangladesh military is reportedly forming an interim government, and so we urge local law enforcement and military leadership to ensure the safety of all Bangladesh’s religious minorities, protecting their homes, business, and places of worship in this moment of turmoil,” Mr Joshi said.

“The HAF has also called on the US State Department to work with Bangladesh’s military leaders and interim government to immediately protect religious minorities from violence as the country seeks to restore order,” Mr Joshi said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Air India will operate its scheduled flights from Delhi to Dhaka on Wednesday and is also likely to operate a special flight to bring back people from the Bangladesh capital, according to sources.

Vistara and IndiGo will also operate their scheduled flights on Wednesday to Dhaka, which is witnessing a volatile situation amid protests.

On Tuesday, Air India operated its evening flight to Dhaka. It had cancelled the morning flight to the city.

Bangladesh has been witness to dramatic developments in the last couple of days. Sheikh Hasina, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 15 years, resigned as prime minister on Monday following massive protests that initially began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but weeks later morphed into a mass movement demanding her ouster from power.

Sources said Air India will operate its scheduled two daily flights from Delhi to Dhaka on Wednesday. The airline is also likely to operate a special flight to bring back people from Dhaka, they said.

Vistara and IndiGo will operate scheduled services to the Bangladesh capital from Wednesday, the sources said.

As per schedule, Vistara operates daily flights from Mumbai and three weekly services from Delhi to Dhaka.

Both Vistara and IndiGo had cancelled their Tuesday flights to the Bangladesh capital.

Normally, IndiGo operates one daily flight from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to Dhaka, and two daily services to the Bangladesh capital from Kolkata.

On Tuesday evening, Air India said it will operate its evening flights AI237/238 on the Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi sector.

In a statement, the carrier also said that due to the prevailing situation there, a one-time waiver on rescheduling is being offered to passengers having confirmed bookings on any of its flights to and from Dhaka between August 4 and 7.

The offer will be applicable for tickets booked on or prior to August 5. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dhaka:

Bangladesh’s Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus has been tapped to lead an interim government after the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the country’s presidency announced early Wednesday. 

The decision “to form an interim government with Yunus as its chief” was taken at a meeting of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders and the heads of the Students Against Discrimination group, Shahabuddin’s press office said. 

Nahid Islam, a leader of the student group, confirmed the decision to reporters after three hours of talks at the presidential palace. 

“The president has asked the people to help ride out the crisis. Quick formation of an interim government is necessary to overcome the crisis,” Shahabuddin’s office said in a statement.

Shahabuddin also sacked the national police chief in the wake of deadly protests that sparked Hasina’s departure and named a replacement, his office said.

Islam called the talks “fruitful” and said that Shahabuddin had agreed that the interim government “will be formed within the shortest time” possible.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bangladesh’s uncompromising ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia has been released from years of house arrest after her bitter enemy Sheikh Hasina was ousted as premier and fled as protesters broke into her palace.

The ferocious rivalry between the two women — born in blood and cemented in prison — has defined politics in the Muslim-majority nation for decades.

Zia, 78, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under Hasina’s rule.

Hasina, 76, was ousted on Monday after mass protests, with the army chief declaring the military would form an interim government.

Orders were then issued for the release of prisoners from the protests, as well as Zia.

Zia is chairperson of the key opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Party spokesman AKM Wahiduzzaman told AFP Tuesday that she “is now freed”.

She is in poor health, confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and struggling with diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver.

Decades-long feud

The enmity between Zia and Hasina is known popularly in Bangladesh as the “Battle of Begums”, with “begum” a Muslim honorific in South Asia for powerful women.

Their feud has its roots in the murder of Hasina’s father — the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — along with her mother, three brothers and several other relatives in a 1975 military coup.

Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman was then the deputy army chief and effectively took control himself three months later.

He kickstarted economic recovery in poverty-stricken Bangladesh with privatisations but was killed in another military coup in 1981.

The BNP mantle fell to his widow, then a 35-year-old mother of two young sons who was dismissed by critics as a politically inexperienced housewife.

Zia led opposition to dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad, boycotting sham elections in 1986 and mounting street protests.

She and Hasina joined forces to push Ershad out in a wave of protests in 1990 and then faced off in Bangladesh’s first free polls.

Zia won and led from 1991-96, and again in 2001-2006, as she and Hasina alternated in power.

Mutual dislike

Their mutual dislike was blamed for a January 2007 political crisis that prompted the military to impose emergency rule and set up a caretaker government. Both were detained for more than a year.

Hasina won elections in December 2008 by a landslide and led uninterrupted until she fled to India in a helicopter on Monday.

She had tightened her grip on power by detaining tens of thousands of BNP members. Hundreds also disappeared.

Zia was convicted and jailed in 2018 on graft charges her party rejected as politically motivated.

She was later released into house arrest on condition she neither took part in politics nor went abroad for medical treatment.

Son in exile

Zia’s first cabinet was hailed for liberalising Bangladesh’s economy in the early 1990s, sparking decades of growth.

However, her second term as the premier of an Islamist-allied coalition was marked by graft allegations against her government and sons.

There was also a series of Islamist attacks, one of which killed more than 20 people and almost claimed Hasina’s life.

The anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion police unit Zia created has been accused of hundreds of extrajudicial killings.

Her eldest son Tarique Rahman led the BNP from exile in London while she was in jail but he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison over his alleged role in a bomb attack on a Hasina rally in 2004.

The BNP says the charges were a politically motivated attempt to expel Zia’s dynasty from politics.

Zia won respect for her resolute attitude, although her inability to compromise left her unable to cut deals with important allies at home or abroad.

That defiance extended even to the death of her youngest son from a heart attack in Malaysia in 2015.

Hasina went to her home to offer sympathy and condolences but Zia did not open the door.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dhaka:

Grief-stricken widow Fatema Begum wept when hospital staff said her husband had been killed in the unrest that has roiled Bangladesh for nearly a week. She wept again when they refused to hand over his body.

Islam is the majority religion in the south Asian country, where 155 people have died since Tuesday in clashes between student protesters and police over contentious civil service hiring rules.

The faith’s customs dictate that anyone who dies must be given a prompt burial.

But staff at one of the biggest hospitals in the capital Dhaka has a longstanding requirement to only release bodies to relatives with police permission, and that is no longer easily forthcoming.

“Where is my husband?” Begum, 40, shouted at staffers outside the hospital’s morgue, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Give me his body.”

Begum’s husband Kamal Mia, 45, eked out a tough living as a pedal-rickshaw driver, transporting people around the sprawling megacity of 20 million people for the equivalent of a dollar per fare.

The family says he was not taking part in any of the clashes that have wrought widespread destruction around the city, but was killed by stray police fire.

Begum and her two daughters were told to go to a nearby police station for clearance. When her eldest daughter Anika went there, it was barricaded shut.

Officers had closed the station after arson attacks on dozens of police posts by protesters.

Anika was then sent to another police station farther away – a 10-kilometre (six-mile) round trip from the hospital – despite a nationwide government-imposed curfew.

Police there refused to give the necessary permission for the release of the body.

“My father was not a protester,” Anika said. “Why did my father have to die?”

Tested to the limits

Mia was among more than 60 people whose deaths in the unrest were recorded at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the country’s largest healthcare facility in the heart of the capital.

The relentless influx of patients since the start of the police crackdown on protesters has stretched the hospital to its limits.

Ambulances, private cars and rickshaws carrying the wounded were at one point arriving an average of once per minute, an AFP correspondent at the scene saw.

The entry gate of the emergency department, guarded by paramilitary Ansar forces, was blood-stained.

As soon as casualties arrive, staff rush with stretchers and trolleys. Some wounded people were given first aid for a rubber bullet, while others who were hit by injuries had to wait — sometimes for hours — for the doctors on duty.

Some are brought in already dead. Loved ones burst into tears as soon as a doctor or nurse makes it official.

A group of volunteers stood by the emergency department using loudhailers to call for blood donors after the hospital’s stocks were depleted.

Among the dozens of grieving relatives at the hospital, the steps the police took to quell the student demonstrations have prompted untempered fury against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.

“Hasina’s police have killed my son to keep her in power,” the father of a 30-year-old mobile phone shop owner shot dead in the capital, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.

“God will punish her for this unjust torture.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Violence in Bangladesh has left over 130 dead as students demand reforms to a quota system governing the allocation of government jobs in the country. The protests intensified following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s controversial remarks, where she labelled the protestors as “Razakars”. This term, historically loaded and carrying a negative connotation, harks back to the East Pakistani volunteer force that opposed the creation of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation during its 1971 War of Independence.

The Spark

The protests, which began late last month, reached a boiling point earlier this week when student activists at Dhaka University, the largest university in the country, engaged in violent clashes with police and counter-protesters aligned with the ruling Awami League.

The controversial quota system reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. Protesters argue that this system is discriminatory and disproportionately benefits supporters of Prime Minister Hasina’s Awami League party. They advocate for a merit-based system to replace the existing quota. Prime Minister Hasina’s fiery remarks at a public gathering ignited further protests.

“If not the grandchildren of the freedom fighters, then who will get quota benefits? The grandchildren of the ‘Razakars’?” the Bangladeshi PM asked. “This is my question. I want to ask the people of the nation. If the protesters don’t comply, I can do nothing. They can continue their protest. If protesters damage properties or attack cops, the law will take its course. We can’t help.”

PM Hasina’s intent was to highlight the importance of preserving benefits for the descendants of those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence. However, the term “Razakar” struck a raw nerve. It is a term that conjures up memories of widespread violence from the 1971 War of Independence, during which the “Razakars” collaborated with the Pakistani army against the Bengali nationalist movement.

Historical Context Of The Term “Razakar”

The “Razakars” were a paramilitary force recruited by the Pakistani army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Comprised primarily of pro-Pakistani Bengalis and Urdu-speaking Biharis, the “Razakars” were involved in numerous atrocities, including mass killings, rapes, and torture. The 1971 war saw immense suffering, with estimates of civilian deaths ranging from 300,000 to 3 million. The scars of these events are still evident in the national psyche.

In 2010, Prime Minister Hasina’s government established the International Crimes Tribunal to prosecute those accused of war crimes during the 1971 conflict. This move was part of her strategy to address historical injustices and was widely seen as a fulfilment of her party’s electoral promises. The tribunal has since convicted several individuals, predominantly from the now-banned Jamaat-e-Islami party.

In December 2019, the government published a list of 10,789 individuals identified as “Razakars”, marking the first official recognition of these collaborators. This list included prominent figures and was intended to ensure that future generations understand the historical context of their actions.

The Contentious Quota System

The current protests are rooted in the quota system for government jobs, which allocates significant portions to descendants of freedom fighters. This system, established in 1972 and abolished briefly in 2018 before being reinstated, has been a source of contention. Critics argue that it disproportionately benefits Awami League supporters and limits opportunities for other qualified candidates.

“They are protesting against the repressive nature of the state,” said Mubashar Hasan, a Bangladesh expert at the University of Oslo in Norway, as quoted by news agency AFP. “Protesters are questioning Hasina’s leadership, accusing her of clinging onto power by force. The students are in fact calling her a dictator.”

Student protests against the quota system have a history in Bangladesh. The latest wave began after the decision to reinstate the system, which was followed by the Supreme Court suspending the order pending a government appeal. This legal limbo has left many students frustrated, feeling that their demands for a merit-based system are being ignored.

The students’ grievances extend beyond the quota system. High youth unemployment and a stagnant economy have all contributed to a sense of frustration and despair. Public sector jobs, with their regular wages and benefits, are highly coveted in a country where economic opportunities are limited.
 

Indian students, who study in Bangladesh, in a bus upon their arrival at Akhaura check post of the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura on Saturday, following protests against government job quotas in Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Since the beginning of the clashes between students and security forces in Bangladesh, India has evacuated 978 nationals who were studying in various institutions in Bangladesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said.

The evacuation is part of security measures that the Indian officials in the High Commission in Dhaka and in the Assistant High Commissions are taking to ensure the safety of around 8,000 Indian students.

An MEA press note has informed that Indian officials are also assisting students from Nepal and Bhutan to leave Bangladesh as educational institutions have shut indefinitely in view of the ongoing clashes that have left at least 105 protesters dead.

Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X that around 800 Nepali students have been evacuated from Bangladesh by air or via land border posts.

Coordinating with airlines

Indian officials are coordinating with airline companies and the law enforcement officials in the violence-hit country to evacuate Indian nationals from Dhaka and Chittagoing airports. “Security escorts have also been arranged, where necessary, for their travel by road during repatriation through select land ports,” the MEA said in the press note. Officials said more students were crossing through land ports on Saturday evening.

Bangladesh continued to remain cut off from the world as the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blocked mobile internet as part of the crackdown against student protesters. Along with the internet facilities, major news outlets of the country like Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune have also continued to remain inaccessible.

The U.S. State Department has announced that the “situation is extremely volatile and unpredictable” adding that the “US Embassy Dhaka continues to offer only limited services at this time”.

“All but emergency consular services are cancelled until further notice. Mission personnel have been advised to shelter in place until further notice,” declared the US State Department in a Facebook post.

With the blocking of mobile internet and broadband services, freedom of expression has also come under a shadow prompting several international figures to comment on the deteriorated law and order situation in Bangladesh. Former US ambassador to Bangladesh William B. Milam has called upon the U.S. government and the international community “to make clear to the Bangladesh Government that it will be held accountable for its actions.”

Two journalists killed, several others injured

The violence between the protesters and the security forces continued on Saturday that left at least 30 journalists with serious injuries and at two journalists dead, said editor of Bhorer Kagoj Shyamal Datta to The Hindu while speaking over telephone. “The protest by the students has been taken over by the political opponents of the government and has turned into a war-like situation. We are expecting that the case on the quota system will come up in the Supreme Court on Sunday when a step towards dialogue will be taken,” said Mr. Datta.

Among many incidents that have taken place over the past few days, it is the attack on a prison in Narsingdi in the country that was most alarming, said Mr. Datta, while adding that hundreds of inmates escaped from the prison that included some hardened extremists.

The anti-quota movement has broadened with the support from civil society movements and NGOs like BRAC that have been providing relief to the students who came under attack from the police forces. Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC, had expressed sympathy with the protesters cautioning about trust deficit for Ms. Hasina’s government saying: “In these uncertain times, empathy and fellow feeling and direct dialogue was necessary, instead the students got sticks and kicks.”

Hasan Mehedi. File image: Special Arrangement

GUWAHATI

A global media safety and rights body has sought a fair probe into the circumstances that led to the death of Hasan Mehedi, a digital media reporter, during the violent students’ protest in Bangladesh on July 18.

In a statement issued late July 19 night, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said the 35-year-old Mehedi, who worked for Bangla portal Dhaka Times, was killed while covering the clashes between the agitating students and security forces in the Jatrabari area of Dhaka.

Also read | Bangladesh imposes nationwide curfew as deadly protests over government jobs escalate

The Dhaka Times management confirmed that he died from a bullet injury in the head.

Mehedi was the 72nd journalist killed across the world since January 1.

“We demand a fair probe into the incident that led to Mehedi’s killing. As the populous country burns with anti-reservation protests by the youth, the authorities must take precautions to safeguard the media persons on the ground,” PEC president Blaise Lempen said.

“The journalists in Bangladesh continue to work in an adverse situation because of many laws formulated by Dhaka in recent years. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina must look into the matter seriously and adequately compensate the bereaved family as early as possible,” he said.

Nava Thakuria, the Guwahati-based South Asia representative of PEC, said many Bangla media outlets remained unresponsive since Thursday when the country witnessed massive protests by the student community.

Mehedi was the first journalist to be killed this year in Bangladesh. Its neighbour Myanmar lost a scribe (Ko Myat Thu Tun) to military atrocities during this period.

India witnessed the killing of two journalists, Shivshankar Jha and Ashutosh Shrivastava. Pakistan lost eight journalists —Hassan Zaib, Khalil Afridi Jibran, Nasrullah Gadani, Kamran Dawar, Mehar Ashfaq Siyal, Maulana Mohammad Siddique Mengal, Jam Saghir Ahmad Lar, and Tahira Nosheen Rana — to assailants this year.