Recently Bangladeshi students and young people demanded reformation of the quota system for government jobs headed by a newly organized BoishommobirodheeChhatroAndolon (Anti-discrimination Students’ Movement)—an umbrella organization for the protesters. As is 2024, a similar student movement was organized by the general students to reform the quota system at all levels of government jobs in 2018, and finally that student movement was successfully able to draw the government’s attention. Therefore, in 2018, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina abolished the quota system for government jobs by applying her executive power by circulating an official circular.
On 05 June 2024, the Bangladeshi High Court restored the 30% quota of the civil service post for the Bangladeshi freedom fighters, their sons and daughters, and their grandchildren. However, the above judgment of the Bangladeshi High Court does not fulfill the constitutional and mass people’s will. So, after publishing the Bangladeshi High Court judgment, Bangladeshi university students started an online campaign against the Bangladeshi High Court verdict and they remarked this movement was “another 2018.”
This “another 2018” quota reform movement was running by Bangladeshi students peacefully. But a planned propaganda that circulated by the terrorist student organization Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir and their mother political party Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami by distorting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s speech.
On 14 July 2024, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina raised a question to the nation, which is, “The grandchildren of freedom fighters will not get the quota, but will the grandchildren of Razakarget it?” during a press conference at her official residence Ganabhaban. Therefore, propaganda was circulated by the terrorist student organization Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir and their mother political party Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami, which is, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called the protesters Razakar. That propaganda circulated widely swiftly, which made general students angry; therefore, they organized immediate protests at the University of Dhaka Campus and announced the slogan “Tumika? Ami ka? Razakar, Razakar (Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar.”
The above slogan at the Dhaka University campus angers not only the Bangladesh Chhatra League and Bangladesh Awami League but also the civil society of the country because the slogans distorted the famous slogan of the Bangladesh Liberation War movement of 1971, which is, “Tumika? Ami ka? Bengali, Bengali (Who are you? Who am I? Bengali, Bengali.” Secondly, those who believe in the spirit of the liberation war of Bangladesh cannot claim himself or herself as Razakar. The Razakar is a shameful term in Bangladesh. In 1971, during the war, Razakar committed war crimes including massacring civilians, looting, and rape. No Bangladeshi citizen can claim himself or herself as Razakar or cannot glorify the Razakarsterm what circumstance has made for them that does not matter. Only anti-liberation forces and collaborators of the genocide of Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami and their student’s wing Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir can glorify the Razakarsterm.
After the aboveRazakar’s slogan by so-called protesters at the Dhaka University campus, the whole picture of the movement was changed. The Bangladesh Awami League general secretary said that “the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling party, was ready to give a fitting reply to quota protesters for their Razakar slogan.” Therefore, the leaders and supporters of the Bangladesh Chhatra League lamed the students. But in this time, student’s wing of the ruling party saw a different picture in the ground. At this time, the general students protested against their unlawful activities in the university campus. Additionally, general students organized counter-attacks to who was lamming them. Therefore, the angry students attacked leaders and supporters of the Bangladesh Chhatra League and pushed out them from university campuses across the country.
Propaganda based on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s question on Razakars that made by the anti-liberation force and collaborators of the genocide Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami and their student’s wing Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir changed the whole scenario of the quota-reform movement. The objective of the anti-liberation force was to create chaos between the government and protesters. Unfortunately, the anti-liberation force Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir was successfully able to do their job. The chaos was made and thus that chaos split blood in the later part of this quota reform movement.
However, most of the international media misunderstood Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s question on the quota reform movement that she raised during her press conferenceat her official residence. For instance, AninditaGhosal, an Associate Professor of History at Diamond Harbour Women’s University, Kolkata wrote an article on the Bangladeshi Quota Reform Movement published in 360info. Ghosal claims that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called “agitating students were Razakars.” But I mentioned above that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did not say that “agitating students were Razakars.” She kicked up a question to the nation, but Ghosal and others mentioned it as a statement and remarked that Hasian called protesters Razakars.
How propaganda destroyed and divided a nation that the world has seen in the last few days. Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami and their students wing Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir have clear ideological goals. For this reason, they circulated propaganda. They succeeded and thus were able to divide the nation, misguided students, and provoke protesters to involve violence. To achieve their ideological win, Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami and their student wing Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir destroyed a peaceful movement and turned Bangladesh into a graveyard. Almost 200 died in this chaos across Bangladesh—most of them were students but police and other law enforcement agency members also lost their lives. Terrorist Islamic organization Bangladesh Jammat-e-Islami and their student wing Bangladesh IslamiChhatrashibir cannot avoid their responsibility to spill blood in Bangladesh.
Md. Abusalah SakenderAssistant Professor, Dept. of Islamic History & Culture, Jagannath University (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
