The slogan “Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar!” echoed through the streets of Bangladesh as thousands of protestors took to the streets, their anger fueled by the allocation of government jobs. The protests, which have led to the death of over 100 people, have forced the government to impose a curfew and deploy the army to maintain law and order. The violence has escalated, with the death toll reaching 115, forcing over 800 Indian students to return to their country. 778 Indian students returned through various land ports by Friday, while an additional 186 individuals, including 98 from Nepal and 88 from India, returned via Dawki integrated check post in Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district on Saturday.
The term ‘Razakar’, chanted by the protestors, is deeply controversial in Bangladesh. It was used by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to describe those opposing job quotas for relatives of freedom fighters. In Persian and Urdu, Razakar means ‘volunteer’ or ‘helper,’ but in Bangladesh, it carries a heavy historical weight. It is associated with those who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 War of Independence. Anthropologist Nayanika Mookherjee describes the term as an insult, highlighting that the Razakars were primarily Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslims and religious parties opposed to the separation of East and West Pakistan, including Jamaat-e-Islami, Al Badr, and Al Shams. Dr. Muntasir Mamoon, Bangabandhu Chair at Bangladesh’s Chittagong University, provides further insight, tracing the term back to Hyderabad (modern-day India) and explaining that it evolved into ‘Razakar’ in Bengali. He emphasizes that these individuals acted as informants for the Pakistan Army, wielding weapons against the Mukti Joddha (pro-independence freedom fighters).
In 2019, Bangladesh published a list of 10,789 Razakars who collaborated with the Pakistani forces. According to reports, AKM Yusuf, a prominent leader of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, is believed to have been the founder of the Razakar force. He was arrested in 2013, charged with crimes against humanity, but died in detention the following year. Accounts from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War describe the Razakars as a locally recruited paramilitary force led by General Tikka Khan, composed of pro-Pakistani Bengalis and Biharis. They aided the Pakistani military in violent acts, including raids, mass rapes and killings, torture, and arson.
The protests in Bangladesh began following the High Court’s reinstatement of a 30% job quota for the descendants of freedom fighters. These protests have persisted despite the Bangladesh Supreme Court suspending the order for a month. Experts attribute the unrest to the stagnant job growth in the private sector, making public sector jobs, with their accompanying wage increases and benefits, highly desirable. The quotas, however, reduce the number of government jobs available to all, causing frustration among those seeking positions based on merit.
The government, however, defends the quota system, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasizing the respect owed to veterans for their contributions to the war, regardless of political affiliation. While the government has expressed willingness to discuss student leader demands, the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has vowed to organize its own demonstrations, denying responsibility for the violence and emphasizing that they do not support any political sabotage. The violence has also taken its toll on the police, with at least 150 officers hospitalized. Two officers were beaten to death, while another 150 received first aid treatment. Protesters have engaged in acts of vandalism and arson, targeting police booths and government offices.
