Bangladesh students protest against discrimination - Part 3

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Amidst this tense situation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave some irresponsible remarks. She twisted the facts and asks why do the protesters hate the freedom fighters?

If the grandchildren of the freedom fighters do not get the reservation benefits, will the grandchildren of the 'Razakars' be given benefits?

Not only Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but also her Social Welfare Minister Dipu Moni and State Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Muhammad Ali Arafat, made similar statements about Razakars.

What does Razakar mean? Friends, 'Razakar is a Persian word which means volunteer or helper.

But in the war of 1971, Razakar Bahini was a paramilitary group which was supporting the army of West Pakistan.

On the other hand was Mukti Bahini fighting for the freedom of Bangladesh.

In this Razakar Bahini, there were about 50,000 people who supported the West Pakistan army and in the atrocities committed against the people of East Pakistan they encouraged them and even took part in them.

In 1973, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's government was formed, he introduced the International Crimes Tribunal Act to find and punish these Razakars.

Anthropologist Nayanika Mukherjee notes that around 37,000 volunteers were identified.

Around 26,000 of them were pardoned by the government and the remaining were punished.

They were imprisoned or their trial is still going on. Some trials were so long that even in 2022, 6 members of the Razakar Bahini were sentenced to de@th for crimes against humanity.

In Bangladesh, the word 'Razakar means treacherous and anti-national.

And if someone is protesting against the government because of this reservation, does it make sense to call them a traitor?

No, it doesn't. It's the same old strategy where if the government doesn't like people criticising them, then they are declared a traitor.

But the truth is, as American author and activist Edward Abbey had written, "a patriot must be ready to defend his country against his government."

A true patriot defends his country even from his government. Democracy doesn't only mean that you go to vote once every 5 years.

Democracy is a dynamic system where people should be politically aware. People should continue to hold the government accountable and keep monitoring if the government is doing the right thing or not.

The Bangladeshi reservation for the descendants of Freedom Fighters is not a separate ethnic minority.

They weren't being oppressed for thousands of years. In fact, they are the socially respected section of the country.

If any of them is economically weak, then there can be a 5-10% EWS quota for them.

On 21st July, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh said the same thing.

That the Freedom Fighter descendants quota should be reduced to only 5%.

And the other quotas for ethnic, minorities, transgenders, and disabled people should be reduced to 2%, so that the total reservation is limited to only 7%.

Improving the reservation system is only the first step. If they want a long-term solution, the government needs to focus on job creation.

Yesterday Sheikh Hasina have resigned from her position and left the country in a army flight as per the demand of students movement.

Hope students will now get equal opportunity in government jobs and be free from all obstacles.