In Bangladesh, the students’ protest which started with the demand of ending reservation in government jobs has taken a very serious form. At least 100 people were killed and hundreds injured last Sunday in violence that broke out between protesting students and government supporters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladeshi economist and Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus has expressed concern over the situation in the country. Expressing his displeasure over India’s response to the protests, he said that the turmoil in Bangladesh can spread to neighboring countries as well.
In fact, last month India had refused to comment on the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal declined to comment on the protests at the weekly press briefing, saying, “We view this as a domestic matter of Bangladesh.”
‘If brother’s house is on fire…’
Disappointed with India’s response, Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus told The Indian Express, ‘I feel sad when India says this is a domestic matter. If your brother’s house is on fire, how can you tell him about a domestic matter? Many things come into diplomacy and it cannot be said that this is their domestic issue.
Yunus said that people in Bangladesh, with a population of 17 crore, are 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 the neighboring countries.
Yunus has been critical of Hasina government, which has lifted millions of people of Bangladesh out of poverty. 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 prosecution is politically motivated.
‘India should criticize Bangladesh government’
Yunus urged India to support the democratic process in Bangladesh and criticized the Bangladeshi government for lack of transparency in elections.
While praising India’s successful elections, Yunus expressed regret over ‘India’s lack of support for democratic goals in Bangladesh’. He said that he is planning to discuss all these issues with the Government of India.
Student demonstration started in Bangladesh last month
Protests by students started last month in Bangladesh demanding abolition of reservation in government jobs. The protesters demand that the 30 percent reservation quota for the families of 1971 freedom fighters should be abolished. In view of the violence, the court reduced the reservation limit, but by then the students got angry 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 tenure of 20 years.
Critics and human rights groups have criticized Hasina’s government for using excessive force against protesters. Although. 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.
In the advisory, all Indians present in Bangladesh have been advised to exercise utmost caution, not to leave their homes and to remain in touch with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka through emergency phone numbers.