Diabolic Destruction and Anti-Quota Movement in Bangladesh

The Appellate Division stayed the status quota for one month on the judgment given by the High Court upholding the quota in government jobs on July 10.

However, the anti-quota activists rejected it and announced they would continue the movement. The agitators said they would remain on the streets until the Executive Division met this demand. From July 14 to 15, the agitation turned violent. But from July 17, it took a destructive form. Police, Ansar, students, pedestrians, and many people of different professions have been killed and injured. No death is desirable. Any death is painful, and it has also been observed that the deceased is the sole bread-earner of the family. All in all, everyone's position in the quota reform movement was very much like self-preservation. 

Many people feel that since the beginning, neither the police nor the administration has done their duty to the government. Awami League's ideological allies have stayed away. Later, however, the Prime Minister met with the leaders of 14 parties at Ganabhaban. Before that, the leaders of 14 parties were not seen to be active in putting their pride aside. Unity of power in the spirit of liberation war is now essential, and Awami League should lead it. Using the quota reform movement, miscreants have carried out destructive activities in various districts of the country, including the capital, Dhaka, to oust the democratic government of Bangladesh in a state of terror. 

They do not want the well-being of Bangladesh. They do not wish for the welfare of the country. Law enforcement forces are identifying and arresting the terrorists. BTV Building, Setu Building, Disaster Management Building, Data Center, Metro Rail, and various government buildings were attacked and destroyed. The attackers did not want the development of Bangladesh. They planned to turn the country into a dysfunctional state by carrying out hellish activities. Law enforcement agencies have vowed to bring to justice those who created chaos around the innocent students' quota reform movement. The anti-government took advantage of the lack of coordination between the party's Awami League and organizational leaders during the violent situation caused by the quota reform movement. The agitators destroyed the crucial structures of the country and disrupted the way of life of the people, but except for a few leaders of the ruling Awami League, most of them remained hidden. 

According to media reports, these two issues have shocked party president Sheikh Hasina, starting with ordinary leaders and activists. Party President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed the leaders and activists to overcome this situation immediately. Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader recently presented this directive to the responsible leaders of the party in a closed-door meeting in the auditorium of the party's central office on Bangabandhu Avenue. Apart from the instructions of the Prime Minister, the general secretary expressed his anger over the negligence of the leaders and workers of the party and allied organizations. He expressed anger towards the organization's president and general secretary mainly because of the organizational weakness of various educational institutions and district-upazila, including Dhaka University of Chhatra League.

Obaidul Quader will hold a series of meetings with the leaders and activists of the areas affected by violence in the name of the movement and the areas where the organizational base of Awami League is weak. Accordingly, a meeting was held with the leaders and activists of the Awami League and allied organizations at the Dhaka District Awami League office in Tejgaonthe call for foreigners to intervene in the country's internal issues. Muhammad Yunus said it was against the state foreign minister, Hasan Mahmud. He said that such behavior by a Nobel laureate is sad. Hasan Mahmud visited various affected buildings in Dhaka along with foreign diplomats working in Dhaka. 

He said, 'How the rumor was made and spread abroad due to the lack of internet was very unintended. Various kinds of rumors are being spread by making their content. We have warned our missions about this. Through some of our missions, we have appealed to the community there not to listen to this rumor they are working. At the same time, our state has been attacked. State wealth is the wealth of the people. We have informed the respective countries through our mission about the attacks on those resources. Forty heads of missions and 85 diplomats arrived. We expressed our issues before them. At that time, as the joint general secretary of the party, he condemned the attack on the media and the killing of media workers. The home ministry is listing the death toll. The police were taken from the house, killed in Taliban style, and hanged. The BNP-Jamaat militant group did these acts. They had contact with international terrorist groups. Army and law enforcement are working.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Ambassador of Qatar. They have been asked to speak to Al Jazeera authorities to confirm that the news reports that local offices provide for Al Jazeera from or through Bangladesh are false. The Government of India has already been given a note in this regard even after the confusion caused by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's speech. Hasan Mahmud also said that we have asked our workers not to go into conflict. We asked to guard the highway. Our personnel guarding the roads have not engaged in conflict and, in many cases, have been attacked. As far as it was printed in the newspaper, a statement by Dr. Muhammad Yunus did not condemn the attack on the state. Instead, he pointed out that only law enforcement officers died and called on world leaders to take the initiative in this regard. He called upon foreigners to interfere in our country's internal issues. It is anti-state. 

He called on everyone to extend their helping hands to the poor and working people affected by the nationwide quota reform movement. Due to the recent events centered around the quota movement and the 'Complete Shutdown' program, the lives of familiar people across the country have come to a standstill. Besides, the BNP-Jamaat camp jointly set fire and vandalized various public and private buildings and houses, including Metrorail, Expressway, BTV Building, Setu Building, and Disaster Management Building. Government and private vehicles, including buses and trucks, have been destroyed by fire. In this situation, the government was forced to temporarily issue a curfew from July 20 to restore the safety of people's lives and livelihood.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that for this reason, the everyday earning activities of low class, working people are being temporarily disrupted. Especially those who support the family with daily earnings, such as rickshaw pullers, van drivers, hawkers, petty traders, daily laborers, transport workers, etc., people of various professions face severe hardships. He said that in such a situation, I call on my party, Bangladesh Awami League, and all its affiliated organizations from the center to the grassroots level to extend a helping hand to the affected people. At the same time, he calls on the rich people of society to stand by the poor and the suffering people. 

Some international media outlets spread the news by presenting false information about our country. A section is taking advantage of the absence of the internet to engage in inactivity. Everyone expects a more responsible role for all the country's media to report correct information and news and speak out against wrong news in the international press. The government had no choice, given the violence across the country, including Dhaka, on July 17, 18, and 19, around the quota movement. The anti-independence forces hijacked this movement from the students. How government buildings are attacked and set on fire is a medieval monstrosity. It is possible for those who do not believe in the existence of Bangladesh to be jealous of the progress of this country. 

It is neither a movement nor a war against the state. It must be strictly suppressed. But the situation was not to be. Why such a critical situation? Awami League is in power for the fourth consecutive term and faces a complex crisis. The problem is worse than the BNP-Jamaat agitation 2013 for a non-partisan caretaker government, the 2014 arson attacks, or the opposition's one-phase agitation last year. The scope of this movement is much more than that of the quota movement of 2018 or the Safe Road movement. Attack on metro rail, attack on an elevated expressway, fire at BTV, etc., are all comparable to the brutality of 1971. Government buildings and monuments of development were set on fire. Students were not behind any of these incidents. 

A chaotic situation has been created in the country by hiring terrorists. This movement is under the control of freedom fighters. There is no less failure of all to make such a situation. Any movement takes a turn for the worse in a moment. Students, especially university students, have been at the forefront of all the movements that the Awami League has achieved since its birth. However, due to being in power for a long time, the Awami League has considered everything trivial due to overconfidence and arrogance; this is the opinion of political analysts. A culture of ignoring everything has been created among some Awami League leaders and workers. Awami League has made such a hybrid generation who did not march, did not protest, did not get beaten by the police; they are pretty tidy. They are isolated. To them, politics means organizing everything themselves. 

Many people think that Awami League leaders act arbitrarily in the hope that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will do everything. Some collect unethical benefits; some commit corruption, some loot, and some are busy harvesting their interest.

According to many, there has been a rift between the leaders and activists of the Awami League and other organizations. Everyone has been asked to stay alert and avoid this situation. This alert should be realistic. Moreover, a large part of the Awami League has started to think that they are indestructible and indestructible. Will be in power forever. However, this movement gave a strong signal to the ruling Awami League, which is the opinion of all political analysts. Everyone hopes that the Awami League, the party that led the liberation war and gave unprecedented development, will understand these messages and decide on future strategies.

Written by Hiren Pandit

Hiren Pandit is an essayist and research fellow.

×