By July 3, 2024, Bangladesh had been gripped by discontent. Hundreds of public university teachers continued a strike demanding the cancellation of the Universal Pension Scheme, leaving campuses non-functional. Students from major universities blocked highways and railways, demanding a return to merit-based recruitment and the abolition of the quota system for government jobs, causing severe traffic disruptions across the country.
Amid the volatile situation, the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina's plan to visit China sparked sharp criticism, with many accusing her of neglecting the nation in escalating turmoil. Many failed to grasp the rising pulse of the nation due to mounting suffering as simmering frustration over injustice, inequality, and political tension erupted into mass protests across Bangladesh.
Though the response was slow at first, it soon became undeniable, the demands were not only urgent but they were deeply justified.
Against this tumultuous backdrop, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court was gearing up to hold a hearing the next day on the government's appeal challenging the High Court verdict that declared illegal a 2018 circular, which abolished the quota system for government jobs.
On June 5, 2024, the HC declared the verdict, consequently restoring the 30 percent quota system for the children of freedom fighters in government jobs. It did so after disposing of a 2021 writ petition that challenged the legality of the quota abolishment.
On the other side, students stepped up their protest on July 3, demanding the reinstatement of the government's 2018 circular that abolished the quota system in public service.
Protesters and activists were ratcheting up in numbers and intensity because the Supreme Court ruling on the HC verdict would be on the following day.
The students of Jahangirnagar University blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway with various demands, including cancelling the quota system and maintaining the merit-based recruitment circular.
At the same time, children of freedom fighters were standing in front of the Raju sculpture at Dhaka University demanding that the quota system remain in place.
Jagannath University students also held a procession from the university premises to the Taantibazar intersection and blocked the road from there to Jatrabari, obstructing vehicles from entering the capital for about an hour.
Students from other public universities (Barishal, Rangpur, Chattogram, Rajshahi) also blocked different regional highways throughout the day as part of the ongoing movement.
In Rajshahi, members of the Muktijoddha Sontan O Projonmo of Rajshahi University formed a human chain to defend the quota system and protest derogatory remarks about the Liberation War and families of freedom fighters.
These were still just demonstrations, but a fuse would be lit the following day, and fuel would be added by the PM herself in the coming weeks, with unprecedented consequences.
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