Bangladesh Supreme Court Reduces Jobs Quota That Sparked Deadly Violence

Deadly protests erupted across the Bangladesh demanding improvement in the reservation system in government jobs.

Image: File Photo

Bangladesh Quota Protest: Amidst the widespread protests regarding reservation policies in Bangladesh, the Supreme Court made a significant decision on Sunday to reduce the quota for government jobs. In the order, the court said that 93 per cent of government job positions will now be allocated based purely on merit, while the remaining seven per cent will be reserved for specific categories, including descendants of individuals who fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

Earlier, there used to be a 30 per cent job reservation for relatives of war veterans. Recently, protests erupted across the country demanding improvement in the reservation system in government jobs. As tension escalated, a nationwide curfew was imposed on Saturday, and military forces were deployed in Dhaka to maintain order. Tragically, the protest caused several casualties in Bangladesh. 

Bangladeshi authorities have not released official numbers of the dead and injured. However, according to a report by the newspaper 'Prothom Alo' on Saturday, at least 103 people have been reported dead.

Responding to the continuous violence in Bangladesh,  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Mamata Banerjee expressed her willingness to welcome refugees into the state. Banerjee stated that Bengal will certainly provide shelter to those in need. 

“I should not be speaking on the affairs of Bangladesh since that is a sovereign nation and whatever needs to be said on the issue is a subject matter of the Centre. But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on the doors of Bengal, we will surely provide them shelter,” She said.