On July 11, 2024, students from Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) and police clashed during a student protest over the government jobs’ quota system reform, injuring 10 people.
On the afternoon of July 11, students gathered to march outside of SAU’s central library. Police stopped them, hitting them with batons and injuring several, as the students attempted to leave the university’s campus.
Early that evening, the students pushed past police into the road, blocking the traffic for about one hour. During that time, students began to throw bricks at police, injuring several.
On July 21, the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station sub-inspector filed a case against 20 SAU students, charging them with unlawfully demonstrating in front of the campus and with assaulting the police.
The protest was part of the quota reform movement, a set of widespread student protests that began on the campus of the University of Dhaka, after a June 5, 2024 ruling by the High Court of Bangladesh reinstating a quota system – previously abolished in 2018 – which allocated government jobs to certain favored groups. Under the system, 30% of government positions went to people who had fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan and their family members, creating a shortage of sought-after positions for others. The protests ultimately led to the resignation of Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the establishment of a new interim government.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the use of force during a student protest. While state authorities have the responsibility to maintain order and prevent disruption, they must refrain from the disproportionate use of force and endangerment of civilians and must respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. Students and members of the public must refrain from violence, especially on campus, and also respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. Such actions, beyond harming the immediate victims, have a chilling effect on academic freedom.
Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/44akwke6ec
https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/anti-quota-protest-begins-amid-strict-warning-police-bcl-897121
https://barta24.com/details/national-en/235062/the-police-lathi-charged-the-protest-of-the-students
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/agri-university-20-students-sued-attack-police-3662791
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/351795/quota-movement-10-injured-as-police-protesters