Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday canceled the majority of government job recruitment quotas, which ultimately calmed the nationwide unrest triggered by the quota system and resulting in the deaths of up to 151 people in the South Asian country.
According to the Attorney General of Bangladesh, AM Amin Uddin, the Supreme Court’s appellate division rejected the lower court’s order, instructing that 93% of government positions should be open to applicants based on individual qualifications, without being restricted by quotas.
The students who participated in the protests claimed they were not involved in any violent incidents, and the government has promised to investigate the perpetrators.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government had abolished the civil service quota system in 2018, but a lower court reinstated the system last month, setting the quota at 56%, leading to public protests and subsequent government crackdown.
Following the court’s ruling, streets around the Supreme Court quickly returned to calm, with military deployment in various corners of the capital, Dhaka, including a military tank parked outside the Supreme Court gate.
The civil service quota system in Bangladesh has long been criticized for excluding other qualified candidates and leading to vacant positions if designated candidates fail recruitment tests.
Currently, 56% of government positions are reserved for specific groups, with 30% reserved for descendants of freedom fighters who participated in Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Liberation. The students expressed anger over this, sparking nationwide unrest.
The Attorney General stated that the Supreme Court has directed the government to reduce the job quota for independent fighters’ families to 5%, with the remaining 2% reserved for so-called disadvantaged groups and disabled individuals.
It remains unclear how the curfew will be enforced following the court’s decision.
According to local media reports, sporadic clashes occurred between protesters and security forces earlier in the day. The government extended the curfew hours to accommodate a hearing on job quotas by the Supreme Court. Patrolling soldiers were deployed on the streets of Dhaka, the epicenter of the protests that later escalated into conflicts.
While official casualty figures have not been released by authorities, Reuters reported at least 114 deaths, while Agence France-Presse reported fatalities as high as 151.
Following the nationwide crackdown on disobedience to the ban on public gatherings, internet and SMS services have been forcibly disrupted across Bangladesh since Thursday.
This demonstration marks the largest since Hasina’s fourth consecutive term as prime minister this year. With nearly one-fifth of the total population being unemployed, the youth have played a significant role in fueling the protests.
Given the current situation in the country, the Hasina government declared Sunday and Monday as “public holidays,” permitting only emergency service operations. Universities and colleges in Bangladesh have been closed since Wednesday.
The US Department of State raised its travel advisory for Bangladesh to Level 4 on Saturday, urging American citizens not to travel to Bangladesh.