Bangladesh authorities have urged all universities to close on Wednesday, following the deaths of at least six people in protests over government job allocation. These protests occurred the day after police raided the headquarters of the main opposition party.
Dhaka University, which has been at the center of the violence, has decided to suspend classes and close its dormitories indefinitely, a university official told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The University Grants Commission has requested all public and private universities to close until further notice, citing the need to protect students. However, this request does not have legal force, and it remains unclear how many universities will comply.
Authorities reported that at least six people were killed on Tuesday in widespread violence across the country. Student protesters clashed with pro-government student activists and police, with violence reported in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Rangpur.
Overnight, Dhaka police raided the headquarters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), accusing the party of playing a role in the violence.
Detective chief Harun-or-Rashid told reporters that police had arrested seven members of the party’s student wing in connection with two buses that were set on fire on Tuesday. He added that detectives found 100 crude bombs, 500 wooden and bamboo sticks, and five to six bottles of gasoline during the raid.
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior BNP leader, accused the government of “staging” the raid to divert attention from the protests.
The protests began late last month, demanding an end to a quota that reserves 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. These protests turned violent on Monday when protesters at Dhaka University clashed with police and counter-protests organized by the student wing of the governing Awami League party, leaving 100 people injured.
Violence spread overnight to Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, outside Dhaka, and was reported elsewhere around the country on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, isolated protests took place at Dhaka University and other locations in the country. Police have been deployed on the campus, while paramilitary border forces patrol the streets in Dhaka and other major cities.
Protesters argue that the veterans’ families quota is discriminatory, claiming it benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement. Ruling party leaders have accused the opposition of backing the protests, while protesters have maintained that they are apolitical.
The quota system also reserves government jobs for women, disabled people, and members of ethnic minorities, but protesters have focused solely on ending the quota for families of veterans.
While job opportunities have expanded in Bangladesh’s private sector, many people prefer government jobs due to their perceived stability and high pay. Each year, nearly 400,000 graduates compete for 3,000 such jobs in the civil service exam.
The quota system was temporarily halted in 2018, following a court order that came in response to an earlier wave of mass protests. But last month, Bangladesh’s High Court nullified that decision, angering students and triggering renewed protests.
Last week, the Supreme Court suspended the High Court’s order for four weeks, with the chief justice asking students to return to classes.
Hasina defended the quota system on Tuesday, stating that veterans deserve the highest respect for their sacrifice in 1971, regardless of their current political affiliation.
“Abandoning the dream of their own life, leaving behind their families, parents and everything, they joined the war with whatever they had,” she said during an event at her office in Dhaka.