Bangladesh Unrest: Supreme Court Scales Back Job Quota That Triggered Deadly Protests

On Saturday, the police were granted "shoot-on-site" orders amid a strict nationwide curfew that had been imposed till Sunday morning to control the escalating situation.

Bangladesh's Supreme Court has ordered to lower the job quota system that triggered deadly protests in the country.

Source : X

Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday scaled back the job quota that triggered deadly protests by anti-establishment students in the country killing over a hundred people, reported, attorney-general A.M. Amin Uddin told AFP. The top court scaled back but did not abolish, a contentious quota system for civil service job applicants where children of the 1971 Independence war veterans are entitled to 30 per cent reservation.  

The month-long protest erupted in Dhaka and other cities of the country turned violent last week killing at least 115 people and leaving scores injured. The violence broke out after anti-quota student protestors clashed with the student wing of the Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh Awami League, Chhatra League and the police. 

On Saturday, the police were granted "shoot-on-site" orders amid a strict nationwide curfew that had been imposed till Sunday morning to control the escalating situation. The students are protesting against 30 per cent reservation in government jobs to the children and grandchildren of veterans of the 1971 War of Independence. The matter was sub-judice in the Supreme Court and in its Sunday judgment, the top court scaled down the quota. 

The attorney-general told AFP that five per cent of civil service jobs would remain reserved for children of independence war veterans and two per cent for other categories. 

Given the deteriorating situation last week, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka issued an advisory to the citizens urging them to stay indoors. On Friday, 363 people including 88 Indians and the rest from Nepal, crossed the border to India via Meghalaya's Dawki Integrated Check Post.

New Delhi dubbed the situation in Bangladesh as Dhaka's "internal matter" but also stated that it was closely monitoring the situation as 15,000 Indians reside in the neighbouring country. Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that all the 15,000 Indians including 8,500 students are safe.