Photo : Messenger
This is also causing public suffering colossally!
University students across the country began protesting against the quota system for government jobs earlier this month after the High Court on June 30, 2024, ordered to restore quota for descendants of freedom fighters, a system that was abolished in 2018. The High Court on June 5 ordered the government to retain the 30% freedom fighter quota in government jobs. It also declared illegal the circular issued on October 4, 2018, cancelling the quota system. Soon after the court order, students announced their indefinite movement. The quota system, originally introduced through an executive order in 1972, has been amended multiple times over the years.
Students of Dhaka University, Dhaka College and nearby institutions blocked the capital's Science Lab, Shahbagh, Banglamotor, Farmgate areas, et al., since July 7, 2024, as part of a day-long agitation; these ignorant pupils called it the ‘Bangla Blockades’ movement to press home their one-point demand of a quota reform for government jobs. But every time, they are trying to create law and order situations, picking up big quarrels with the law-enforcing agencies.
After the very recent order of the Appellate Division, there is no effectiveness of the judgment of the High Court Division now. So, there is no justification for the students' movement to continue. The evil spirits of the anti-liberation forces have entered this movement under cloak-and-dagger. We don't believe that all soft-minded students want to violate the directives of the apex court of the country. Only the politically motivated ones are trying to show muscle by ignoring the court's directives.
As a very long-time political observer (since 1966–67), I also visited Dhaka’s Shahbagh, Science Laboratory, Nilkhet, et al, to see for myself about the protest movement against Quota systems in our country.
In point of fact, Quota systems for employment, disabled persons, voting, etc. are existing in France, Mexico, UK, Pakistan, China, Norway, Spain, Iceland, Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, UAE, India, Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Greece, et al.
While visiting some protest spots, I found the protestors’ standing posture, slogans and placards, etc. are utterly anti-Bangladesh and anti-Bangladesh liberation. I found they were pronouncing ignominious slogans, “Mukti-joddhader gale juta maro tale-tale (Hit the shoes on the faces of freedom fighters in the rhythm).
Our National Flag was found under their feet. They were also using the National Flag to raise subscriptions for them. This is the situation of quota opponents. If they have jobs, they will sell the country. If they had minimal respect for Bangladesh’s flag, they would not have committed this Brobdingnagian crime. Shame on them! Punish them severely!!
If the freedom fighters didn’t fight with patriotism and valiantly against the roughshod Pakistani army and their dreaded local mango-twigs, especially Jamaat-e-Islami Al-Badr mass-murderers in 1971 and established Bangladesh at the bay of blood, can these students be able to organise this assemble of protests? Some young students, both girls and boys, were found playing cards with smiling faces. It seems to me that the ill-gotten money from Jammati hellers was working well with them.
The Jamaati hellions and their cruel buddies do not observe our national days, sing our national anthem, or hoist our national flag. So, no clemency is to them for their colossus misdeeds.
While returning from those protest spots, something like nailing was striking into my mind: for attaining Bangladesh in 1971, we had to lose 3 million of our people; 300 thousand of our mothers and sisters lost their chastity; 10 million of our people had to take shelter in India and 30 million of our people were internally displaced inside the remote hamlets in the country. After 53 years of our independence, has everything has gone astray?
Being a frontline freedom fighter of the 1971 war field with a bullet-wounded left leg and having narrowly escaped murder attempts five times at the wretched hands of the Pakistani army and their direful local collaborators, particularly Jamaati mass-liquidators, I couldn’t digest such untitled audacities by those pupils on the streets in those places at the abetment by Jamati mass-liquidators and their paisanos!
We are cognizant that Vietnam made a law after American soldiers fled away from Vietnam. That was Collaborator Law! Those who went against the country and helped the enemy, America, they will remain as third-class citizens for three generations. They will not receive any state benefits. After independence, the government of Bangladesh should have made such a law. Instead of giving quota to freedom fighters, cancel all civic facilities up to three generations of the killers and brokers of 1971. At least the chastity of Dhaka University, Shahbagh Science Laboratory, Nilkhet, et al, would have remained intact. But that was not done by the war-ravaged country. A big for the-then government! But it can still be done now by the present government.
It is very deplorable that the new generation in the country do not know event do not try to know about the history of how much painful was the birth of Bangladesh in 1971?
We are not against quota, but we are saying that the implementation of 56 percent quota in government jobs cannot be acceptable at this time. Such an absurd number of quotas clearly violate the state's equal responsibility towards all citizens. We have said it before and we are saying it now.
The original copy of the High Court verdict on the restoration of quota was already published, it was also said that the government can change the quota system if it wants. If the quota is not met, recruitment can also be made from the general merit list.
In fact, the time has come to make the quota system time-befitting, sustainable and inclusive by properly reforming and coordinating it. In the reality of the present time, it is seen that during the recruitment of almost every BCS, it is becoming very difficult to find the successor of the existing 30 percent freedom fighters. Rather, it is seen that the number of them, descendants of freedom fighters, is almost never going above 8/10 percent.
In such a situation, considering the reality, their quota can be reduced from 30 percent to 5 to 8 percent and a maximum of 15 to 20 percent quota can be continued for the disabled and small ethnic groups, or other backward people of the society.
The saddest thing is that those who are protesting against quota are reluctant to accept this logical combination! They want to say that no quota can be kept, or even if it is kept, a very small quota can be kept, which can only be applicable for the disabled, small ethnic groups, or backward people, but no quota can be kept for the descendants of freedom fighters! All their allergies are only about the freedom fighter quota!
The writer is a freedom fighter who writes on politics and international issues.
Messenger/Fameema
