Bangladesh students defy orders, occupy universities as tensions spiral

Students and police are locked in a tense standoff on campuses across the country as a deadline for protesters to vacate universities looms.


Students wearing headbands with Bangladesh's national flag shout slogans during a protest against quotas in government jobs at Dhaka University [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Armed with sticks and cricket stumps, Mahin Sarkar stood guard at the gates of Dhaka University with fellow students. Anyone who wanted to enter had to show them identification proving they were from the university.

Just outside the gates, several police platoons were positioned, one police officer said on condition of anonymity, to “prevent any further acts of vandalism”.

On Wednesday afternoon, Bangladesh’s oldest functioning university was a fortress with opposing forces stationed on either side of the gates and the prospect brewing of the tense standoff descending into clashes.

The government ordered all schools and colleges shut down on Tuesday, a day after nationwide protests against a quota for government jobs turned violent with student activists of the ruling Awami League engaging in street fights against demonstrators and riot police unleashing tear gas. At least six people have died, and hundreds have been injured in the clashes, most of which occurred near or inside university campuses, the central hubs of protests against a quota system that many students insist is discriminatory.

More than half – 56 percent – of government jobs are reserved for descendants of Bangladeshis who fought for independence from Pakistan, women, people from districts with poor socioeconomic indices, ethnic minorities and people with physical disabilities. The student protesters oppose the quota for veterans’ families.

Yet hours after the order demanding that students vacate university premises, many students have refused to leave. Instead, they have hunkered down in their dormitories and occupied key locations on campuses. At Dhaka University, for instance, students have moved towards the area near the vice chancellor’s residence to try to pressure authorities to reverse the decision to shut the campus down.

But hundreds of police and paramilitary officers were also positioned in the area near the vice chancellor’s residence, even as students chanted slogans, demanding they withdraw from Dhaka University. The university has given students until the evening to vacate the campus.

But what happens if students don’t leave by then?

‘We want commitments in writing’

Mohammad Shohagh Mia, a student, said he wouldn’t budge until the demands of protesters are met. He said they include not just reforms to the quota system but also freedom on campus from “the ruling party’s toxic politics”.

“We want these commitments in writing,” Mia told Al Jazeera after activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the Awami League’s student organisation, clashed with the student protesters on Monday and Tuesday. The student protesters have since driven BCL activists out of the campus.

“We have liberated our campus from the Chhatra League, and we intend to keep it that way,” Sarkar said.

Students in almost all other public universities have defied the eviction order as well.

“We refuse to leave the campus,” said Abu Hasnat, a student resident at Rajshahi University, the largest public university in northern Bangladesh. “If we depart now, the government will suppress our protest.”

In Jahangirnagar University on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, protesting students said they weren’t sure they would be able to return safely if they left campus.

“The Chhatra League attacked us, and neither the state nor the university administration has ensured our safety,” said Arif Sohel, a leading protester at Jahangirnagar University. “Now, if we leave the dormitories and campus, we have no guarantee of returning home safely. Until justice is delivered for the assaults on us and the campus is rid of threats, we refuse to vacate the dormitories.”

‘Fitting response’

Meanwhile, leaders and activists of the BCL have pledged to deliver a “fitting response” to the students protesting against the quota system.

Hundreds of activists from the student organisation participated in a funeral in absentia for one of their members who was among the six people killed on Tuesday near Dhaka University’s main gate.

On Wednesday afternoon, these BCL activists positioned themselves along a key thoroughfare of the capital armed with hockey sticks and other makeshift weapons.

Saddam Hossain, BCL president, accused the quota protesters of disrupting educational institutions and endangering the lives of other students.

“In the effort to ensure the safety of ordinary students and preserve a conducive academic environment, over 2,000 BCL activists sustained injuries,” he told the media.

He highlighted instances when BCL leaders and activists were assaulted and their dormitory rooms vandalised and attributed the vandalism to activists of student wings of the main opposition parties.

He also declared that the BCL would respond to the attackers through both street protests and legal action.

Heading towards more confrontation

Independent observers said the current situation surrounding the quota protest has reached a deadlock.

Talking with InfoGlobe, Rezaul Karim Rony, editor of Joban magazine, said that initially, many Bangladeshis were largely indifferent to the protests.

However, the fatal violence on Monday has shaken people, Rony said.

“I believe it has transcended mere quota reform at this point. People have found a platform to voice their frustration against the Awami League’s autocratic rule over the past decade and the erosion of their voting rights,” Rony added. Many rights groups have accused the Awami League of crackdowns on political opponents during its 15-year rule.

Political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman said he expected the government to eventually resort to using force to quell the protests and regain control.

“They have no alternative now because they understand that the protesting students are desperate due to the severe decline in employment opportunities and the country’s struggling economy,” Rahman told Al Jazeera. “Therefore, the government sees no choice but to employ force.”

However, Rahman cautioned that such a move could potentially backfire on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.

“The events of the past two days have demonstrated the unpopularity of the current administration and the widespread dissatisfaction among the people. Taking drastic measures could further exacerbate their situation.”