We want solutions from govt, not court: Students on SC’s status quo order

Students of Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University have announced they will continue the “Bangla Blockade” movement despite the Appellate Division’s order for a month-long status quo on the High Court order reinstating quotas in government jobs.

They said their demand is with the executive branch of the government not the court.

“Our protest is not related to the High Court order, but to the executive branch of our government,” Abdur Rashid Jitu, Joint Convener of JU wing of Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement told TBS following the Supreme Court order.

While the High Court’s order on upholding the quota of freedom fighters in government jobs (grades 9 to 13) has been suspended for four weeks, the blockade programme will continue until the “one-point” demand of the protesting students is implemented, said Abdur Rashid Jitu.

He said, “Our movement in 2018 was for quota reform, our demand is still the same. Our demand is to abolish the unreasonable and discriminatory quotas in all grades of government jobs and maintain a minimum quota for the disadvantaged groups as mentioned in the constitution by passing a law in the parliament.”

“Therefore, our ongoing movement will continue until a clear decision is made in favour of the implementation of our ‘one-point’ demand”, he added.

Following the order, Hasnat Abdullah, one of the leaders of the students’ movement for quota reforms in DU, said the Appellate Division’s stay order on the High Court order was a strategy to stop the movement.

He said, “We are reviewing the order. Our demand is to the executive branch of the government. We want a commission to be formed. Quota should be brought to a rational level.”

“The agitation will continue until a decision is taken from the executive division,” he added.

Convenor of JU unit of “Anti-discriminatory student movement” Arif Sohel said, “Our demand is to reform the quota system and pass a law in the parliament keeping a maximum quota of 5% in government jobs. We will not leave the streets until there is a concrete statement regarding the quota reform.”

“We don’t want repeated back and forth on this issue. We do not want to create public suffering by creating blockades. We want to be good citizens of the country. Through this movement we want to establish a non-discriminatory quota system in government jobs, which will not need to be changed again and again,” he added.

Another protesting student, Anwesha told The Business Standard, “Our agitation has nothing to do with the Appellate Division. Our demand is not the abolition of quota system, but its reform. The executive branch can form a committee to take our demands into consideration and subject to the committee’s recommendation, the quota system can be reformed through legislation in Parliament.

“After 2018, we are having to protest on this issue in 2024. If there is no permanent solution to the quota system today, then our future generations will have to agitate for the same demand. We don’t want that. Our place is not the street, we want to go back to the reading table. Accept our demand and give us that opportunity.

Since 2 July, university students have been holding sit-ins, organising marches and blocking roads and highways, demanding the reinstatement of the 2018 quota cancellation circular.

The 2018 rounds of quota reform protests were called off when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared the abolition of the system in April of the same year. 

Although protestors had sought reformation, the PM said, “If we go for reforms [of the quota system], another group will come up after a few days and say ‘we want further reforms’. This issue will keep coming if the quota system remains. But if it ceases to exist, there will be no problem. So, there’s no need for having a quota system.”

The High Court on 5 June ordered the government to retain the 30% freedom fighter quota in government jobs. 

It also declared illegal the circular issued on 4 October 2018 cancelling the quota system.

Soon after the order, students announced their non-stop movement.

The quota system was introduced through an executive order in 1972 and was amended several times.