The student protests that started in Bangladesh demanding the abolition of reservation in government jobs have taken a very serious turn. At least 100 people were killed and hundreds injured last Sunday in the violence that broke out between the protesting students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the government supporters. Bangladeshi economist and Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus has expressed concern over the situation in the country. Expressing displeasure over India’s reaction to the protests, he has said that the turmoil in Bangladesh can spread to neighboring countries as well.
In fact, last month India refused to comment on the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal refused to comment on the protests in the weekly press briefing and said, ‘We see it as a domestic matter of Bangladesh.’
‘If brother’s house is on fire….’
Disappointed with India’s response, Bangladesh Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus told the Indian Express, “I feel sad when India says that this is a domestic matter. If your brother’s house is on fire, how can you call it a domestic matter? Many things come into diplomacy and it cannot be said that this is their domestic matter.”
Yunus said that Bangladesh, with a population of 17 crore, is facing conflict, youth are being killed by government forces and law and order is deteriorating. He warned that the turmoil in Bangladesh will not be limited to its borders but will also affect neighboring countries.
Yunus, who has lifted millions of people out of poverty in Bangladesh, has been a critic of the Hasina government. Sheikh Hasina keeps accusing Yunus of sucking the blood of the poor. Recently, a corruption case was filed against Yunus. Yunus’s supporters believe that this case is politically motivated.
‘India should criticise Bangladesh government’
Yunus urged India to support the democratic process in Bangladesh and criticised the Bangladeshi government for lack of transparency in elections.
While praising India’s successful elections, Yunus lamented the “lack of support from India for democratic goals in Bangladesh”. He said he plans to discuss all these issues with the Indian government.
Student protests in Bangladesh began last month
Last month, students started protesting in Bangladesh demanding the abolition of reservation in government jobs. The protesters demand that the 30 percent reservation quota for the families of the 1971 freedom fighters be abolished. In view of the violence, the court reduced the reservation limit, but by then the students were enraged over the excesses of the police and the insensitivity of the government and started demanding the resignation of PM Hasina.
In view of the protests in Bangladesh, the government has shut down the internet. For PM Hasina, the ongoing protests in the country are her biggest test in her 20 years of tenure.
Critics and human rights groups have criticized the Hasina government for using excessive force against the protesters. However, she has been denying this allegation.
India issued advisory
In view of the ongoing violence in Bangladesh, the Indian government has issued an advisory for its citizens. India has said that citizens should not travel to neighboring countries.
The advisory advised all Indians in Bangladesh to exercise utmost caution, not step out of their homes, and stay in touch with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka through emergency phone numbers.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)