Freedom from authoritarianism: Nation salutes students

Students rally in front of the central Shaheed Minar on 04 August 2024.

The one-point movement of the student community has been crowned with success as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country on Monday in the face of their glorious and fearless agitation at the cost of supreme sacrifice of hundreds of them since 16 July last.

The victory has come on the final day of their movement when they called gherao of Ganabhaban, the Prime Minister’s official residence, defying indefinite curfew imposed from 6 pm on Sunday, the second bloodiest day of the movement costing more than 100 innocent lives. In the first spate of the movement from 15 to 21 July about 300 deaths were counted, 19 July being the bloodiest, although people say the deaths must be much higher. 

The movement was against discrimination in government jobs 56 percent of which was reserved for different groups of people. The students said the situation was further vitiated by corruption in the recruitment process to the extent that few people from outside the ruling coterie managed to get recruited.

The issues of quota in government jobs, was closed in 2018 when in the face of a rapidly unfurling student movement in the universities the Prime Minister had cancelled the quota system. The issue was reopened on June 5 last when the High Court upon a petition filed by heirs of freedom fighters declared the government decision on the job quota system null and void.

The anti-discrimination students’ movement formally resumed on July 1 with the submission of their demand to the President and relevant ministries but none paid heed to them. The movement got electrified on 14 July when the PM at a news conference at Ganabhaban sought to know “if the descendants of freedom fighters do not enjoy job quota benefits would the offspring the razakars enjoy the same.” The students responded by bringing out spontaneous protest processions in all universities that very night.

Fuel was added to the fire by a leader of the ruling party who threatened to suppress the movement by members of their student wing – Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). BCL activists started attacking job quota protesters from the next day. The movement was further fuelled by the shooting to death of unarmed coordinator of student movement of Rangpur Begum Rokeya University, Abu Sayeed in point-blank shots as he brandished his chest spreading arms before police on 16 July.

The sacrifice of Abu Sayeed emboldened students from all over Bangladesh to take to the street - at least 20 million of them studying in secondary schools, college and universities – and BCL members who ruled the public university halls for the last 16 years were evicted from those by 18th July. The government imposed curfew and called in the army that very evening. But the students refused to give in. 

After the curfew that slowed down the movement to some extent and secret police resorted to enforced disappearance of the key leaders of the movement with the aim of compelling them to end the movement on the government’s terms as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on 21 July revoked the High Court ruling and instead earmarked 7 percent of government jobs for heirs of freedom fighters and members of some backward communities while 93 percent remained open to merit. The students by then has submitted a 9 point charter of demands that would have required the Prime Minister to apologise, four ministers, administrations of those universities which obstructed the movement to resign, and arrest of those responsible for the killings plus guarantee of taking no administrative or academic actions against the coordinators of the anti-discrimination movement.

After some silly maneuvers by the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to cause calling off the movement by six coordinators who were taken into custody failed, the coordinators who were still at large called fresh agitations. The Prime Minister then made an offer of talks saying that doors of Ganabhaban were open for them. The job quota movement leaders stuck to their nine-point demand.

As their complete shutdown movement across the country met with resistance, the students called one-point movement on August 4. The government deployed its ruling party cadres across the country to resist the students and this led to more than a hundred deaths. Curfew was imposed again on August 4 evening to resist the ‘take to Dhaka Movement for gherao of Ganabhaban’ on August 5. The students and the people defied curfew and started coming to Dhaka from different directions. 

Army troops deployed all over the country changed their posture in the field as the demonstrators showed them friendly gestures. Police barricades gave in and by noon it became clear that some changes were taking place as the TV stations announced a likely address to the nation by Army Chief Gen Waker uz Zaman. By 2-15 PM news broke that the PM had left the country after submitting her letter of resignation to President Shahabuddin Ahmed. Victorious students’procession reached the Ganabhaban and entered its premises without resistance.

The student community has risen to the occasion, braving all risks and challenges and proved up to the challenge making supreme sacrifices. The nation salutes them. 

General Waker Uz Zaman has assured students, political leaders and the people that all killings will be tried and an interim government will take charge to bring back normalcy in the country. The nation would repose their trust in the patriotic Army and love to see all obstacles to democracy, freedom of assembly and freesom of expression would be removed and the unanimous system of election under caretaker government would be restored. The economy would be freed from the griefs of thugs and the patriotic forces emancipated from bondage.