Bangladesh Imposes Nationwide Curfew, Deploys Military As Toll Reaches 105 Amid Ongoing Protests

Dhaka: As deadly anti-quota protests continue to escalate, Bangladesh on Friday imposed a curfew and deployed military to ensure peace and keep the law and order situation in control. The Prime Minister’s Office informed that the order to impose a curfew has come up after the violent demonstration surged in the country taking the total death toll to 105. As per a foreign media house, before the imposition of curfew in Bangladesh, the protesting students stormed into jail and set the establishment on fire.

According to the media reports, the death toll has risen to 105 according to the information shared by the hospitals. A senior government official in Narsingdi district has also confirmed the jailbreak incident, however, refrained from sharing any further details regarding it.

Students Protesters Set Jail on Fire

Reports suggested that during the deadly clashes, the protesting students in the central Bangladeshi district of Narsingdi stormed a jail on Friday and freed hundreds of inmates before setting it on fire. A senior police official stated, "The inmates fled the jail and the protesters set the jail on fire. I don't know the number of inmates, but it would be in the hundreds."

The protests, which were being staged for the past few weeks, escalated sharply on Monday, leaving the law and order situation deteriorated. The deteriorating situation in the country prompted the authorities to stop bus and train services and further shut down schools, colleges and universities across the country.

'Internal Matter’: Calls India

Amidst the ongoing protest in the country, India referred to the violent protests in Bangladesh as an "internal" issue for Dhaka. The MEA spokesperson, also emphasised that it is closely monitoring the situation due to the presence of 15,000 Indians in the country.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "As you are aware, there are ongoing protests in Bangladesh. We see this as an internal matter of the country." He also added that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is himself following the matter closely in the context of safeguarding the Indians. "We have issued an advisory for Indian nationals, including our students, resident in Bangladesh for their safety and assistance if required," Jaiswal said, PTI reported.

"We remain committed to providing all possible assistance to our nationals in Bangladesh," he further added. 

What Protesters Are Demanding?

Fuelled by high youth unemployment, Bangladesh has been witnessing a nationwide agitation, the biggest since Hasina was re-elected earlier this year. The protesters are demanding the state stop setting aside 30 per cent of government jobs for the families of people who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. The demonstrations started last month after the High Court reinstated a quota system for government jobs, overturning a 2018 decision by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government to scrap it.

The protesters have argued that the quota system is beneficial for supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, which led the independence movement and called it a "discriminatory" move. Nearly 32 million young Bangladeshis are unemployed or without education out of a total population of 170 million people. Experts also attribute the unrest to stagnant job growth in the private sector, making public sector jobs, with their accompanying regular wage hikes and privileges, very attractive.

To make matters worse, Hasina refused to meet the students' demands and used the term 'razakar' (volunteers) - a term used for those who allegedly collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 war that perpetrated some of the worst atrocities during the war. The protests turned violent this week following clashes between thousands of anti-quota demonstrators and members of the student wing of Hasina's Awami League party.