State TV building set ablaze, 32 lost lives as student protests roil Bangladesh

Smoke rises from the burning vehicles after protesters set them on fire near the Disaster Management Directorate office, during the ongoing anti-quota protest in Dhaka on July 18, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Agencies, 19 July 2024, Dhaka: Protests in Bangladesh have intensified into violent confrontations, claiming the lives of at least 32 individuals and leaving over 2,500 injured. The unrest began over demands to reform civil service hiring rules but has grown into wider dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. 

On Thursday, demonstrators set fire to state-run Bangladesh Television Bhaban’s headquarters in the Rampura area in Dhaka after overwhelming riot police who had fired at them with rubber bullets. The government has closed schools and universities indefinitely in an attempt to control the situation. 

Despite Hasina’s televised appeal for calm, violence intensified. Hospitals reported numerous casualties, many from police weaponry. Clashes occurred in several cities, with protesters blocking roads and highways. 

The protests initially focused on quotas in civil service hiring, which critics say unfairly benefit pro-government groups. However, experts suggest the unrest now reflects broader discontent with Hasina’s perceived autocratic rule. 

Fifty-six per cent of government jobs are reserved under the current quota system. A maximum 30 per cent is for the descendants of the 1971 Liberation War freedom fighters, 10 per cent for backward administrative districts, 10 per cent for women, five per cent for ethnic minority groups and one per cent for physically challenged people. 

Every year some 3,000 government jobs open up to nearly 4,00,000 graduates. The government has restricted internet access, including blocking Facebook, citing concerns about misinformation. Both police and pro-government students have confronted protesters. Amnesty International has accused Bangladeshi security forces of using excessive force, based on video evidence from the clashes. 

The situation remains tense, with the death toll rising and hundreds injured as the protests continue. India, meanwhile on Thursday, advised its citizens in Bangladesh to avoid travel and minimise their movements following violent protests. 

“In view of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Indian community members and the Indian students residing in Bangladesh are advised to avoid travel and minimise their movement outside their living premises,” stated the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. 

The mission has provided multiple 24-hour emergency contact numbers for assistance. According to the high commission’s website, there are approximately 7,000 Indians currently residing in Bangladesh.