'This lava was brewing for a long time': Why are people so angry at Hasina Wajid's government in Bangladesh?
Anbarson Ethergen
Designation, Regional Editor for South Asia
July 20, 2024
There is severe unrest in Bangladesh these days.
Street protests are nothing new in the South Asian nation of 170 million people, but last week's protests are being described as the worst in Bangladesh's history due to their intensity.
Thousands of university students have been protesting for weeks against the quota system in government jobs.
Since the separation from Pakistan in 1971, a third of the public sector jobs in the country have been reserved for the families of war veterans.
The students say the system is discriminatory and are demanding merit-based recruitment. The issue, which started as a peaceful protest on the university campus, has led to nationwide unrest.
Protest organizers claim that the police and the student wing of the country's ruling Awami League (also known as the Bangladesh Chhatra League) are using force against peaceful protesters, sparking widespread public anger. .
The government denies these allegations.
More than 100 people have been killed so far in these violent protests, of which more than 50 were killed on Friday alone.
The government has banned the internet and restricted telephone services.
On the first day, only the police were deployed to deal with the protesters, but at one point the Border Guard Force (BGB) was also called in to help them. However, the situation could not be brought under control and now the army has been deployed after imposing a curfew.
According to the general secretary of the ruling party Awami League, Obaidul Qadir, "It is definitely a curfew in which rules will be followed and orders to shoot on sight have been given."
This lava had been cooking for a long time
Dr Samina Lutfa, Assistant Professor of Sociology (Civil Engineering) at Dhaka University, told the BBC that 'It is not just the students who are protesting now, it seems that people from all walks of life have joined the protest movement.'
This lava had been cooking for a long time.
Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but experts say this growth has not led to job creation for university graduates.
It is believed that around 1.8 million Bangladeshi youth are looking for jobs. University graduates have a higher unemployment rate than those with less education.
Bangladesh has become a powerhouse for exports of ready-made garments. This country exports clothes worth about 40 billion dollars in the world market.
More than 4 million people are employed in this sector, most of whom are women. But these factory jobs are not enough for the educated young generation.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid's 15-year rule has largely set the country on the path of development by building new roads, bridges, factories and metro rail in the capital city of Dhaka.
Per capita income in the country has tripled over the past decade, and the World Bank estimates that over 25 million people have been lifted out of poverty and are now living better lives in the past 20 years.
But many believe that some of this progress has benefited only those close to Hasina's Awami League.
Dr. Lutfa claims that: "Corruption has become a lot in the country, especially people close to the ruling party are more involved in it." He says that corruption has been going on in the country for a long time without any accountability.
Most of the people involved in corruption are close to Hasina Wajid
In recent months, social media has been the subject of debate in Bangladesh over corruption allegations against some former top officials close to Sheikh Hasina. They include a former army chief, former police chief, senior tax officials and recruitment officials in the country.
Hasina Wajid said last week that corruption is a longstanding problem and she is taking action against it.
During this press conference in Dhaka, Hasina said that she has taken action against her henchman, who allegedly withdrew Rs 400 crore from his account.
He said he used to work in my house. Mine was chapadasi and now he owns 400 crore rupees. He can't get anywhere without a helicopter. But the question is, how did he make so much money? I took action immediately after knowing this.
However, he did not reveal the name of the person.
Bangladeshi media believe that this amount could have been raised only by taking bribes to lobby for government contracts.
Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an investigation against former police chief Benazir Ahmed, who is believed to be a close associate of Hasina Wajid. He is accused of allegedly earning millions of dollars through illegal means, but he denies these allegations.
The ordinary citizens who are fighting with inflation in the country have reacted very strongly to this news.
Hasina has been accused of adopting an authoritarian style of government, dissident opinion and controlling the media
Human rights activists say that in addition to corruption, freedom for democratic activities has also decreased in the country over the past 15 years.
Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, while talking to the BBC, claimed that "in the last three elections, there has not been a single credible free and fair poll."
Ganguly says that "Sheikh Hasina probably has no idea how much the deprivation of the democratic right of not being able to choose their own leader is causing dissatisfaction among the people of Bangladesh."
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the elections in 2014 and 2024, saying free and fair elections were not possible under Hasina and wanted the elections to be held under an impartial caretaker administration. go
Hasina Wajid has always rejected this demand.
Human rights organizations also say that over 80 people, the majority of whom are government critics, have disappeared in the past 15 years and their families have no information about them.
There are concerns in the country that Hasina Wajid is adopting a highly authoritarian style of government and the government is also accused of controlling dissent and the media, but government ministers deny these allegations.
Dr. Lutfa says that the anger against the government and the ruling party has been flourishing for a long time.
People are now showing their anger. And if they have no other option, they are resorting to protest.
Hasina Wajid's ministers say that despite the provocative actions of the protesters, the government has shown extreme restraint.
They claim that these protests have been fueled by their political opponents and Islamist parties and they have initiated the violence.
Law Minister Anisul Haque has said that the government is ready to discuss the issues.
Earlier this week, Anees-ul-Haq told the BBC that the government was in touch with the students involved in the protests. If there is a reasonable argument, we are ready to listen.
The student protest is perhaps the biggest challenge Hasina has faced since January 2009.
What will be the solution to this situation? It will depend on how Hasina Wajid deals with the unrest and, most importantly, what path she takes to defuse the growing public anger.
Related Topics
#Violence #Human rights #Bangladesh #Politics #protest
No comments: