Bangladesh awoke on Friday to the grim reality of the deadliest day in ongoing student protests, with widespread destruction and a nationwide internet blackout. The unrest, which has claimed at least 39 lives this week, including 32 on Thursday alone, is expected to escalate further as reports of clashes emerge from nearly half of the country’s 64 districts. The intensity of the protests reached a new peak on Thursday as demonstrators set fire to several government buildings, including the state broadcaster BTV and the national disaster management agency. Police in Dhaka, the capital, issued a statement condemning the arson and vandalism, labeling the perpetrators as “miscreants” and vowing to use “maximum force” if the destruction continues. However, they also acknowledged exercising “maximum restraint” thus far.
Fresh violence erupted in various parts of the country on Friday, prompting police to deploy tear gas to disperse protesters. India’s Economic Times reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government was forced to call in the army to restore order, though Reuters could not independently verify this information. While the immediate trigger for the protests was student anger over the controversial quota system, analysts point to deeper economic woes as contributing factors. High inflation, rising unemployment, and dwindling foreign reserves have added fuel to the fire, further inflaming public discontent.
The protests have also reopened sensitive political wounds between those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971, including Hasina’s Awami League, and those accused of collaborating with Islamabad. Hasina’s use of the term “Razakar,” referring to the collaborators, has intensified these fault lines.
The internet shutdown, initially implemented to quell the unrest, has effectively severed Bangladesh’s communication with the outside world. Mobile services, already disrupted on Thursday, were completely cut off on Friday morning. International calls were disconnected, internet-based calls failed, and the websites of several Bangladesh-based newspapers ceased updating. Mobile data and broadband services were also unavailable, rendering communication within the country equally difficult.
Despite the shutdown, a group calling itself “THE R3SISTANC3” managed to hack the official websites of the Bangladesh central bank, the prime minister’s office, and the police, displaying messages demanding an end to the violence against students. They proclaimed it a “war for justice” and urged citizens to stay informed despite the government’s efforts to silence them.
The protests, the most widespread since Hasina’s re-election earlier this year, stem from high youth unemployment, with nearly one-fifth of Bangladesh’s 170 million population out of work or education. Students are demanding the government abolish the quota system, which reserves 30% of government jobs for families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence. While the government scrapped the system in 2018, a high court reinstated it last month, prompting the current wave of protests. Despite offering talks, the government has been met with protesters’ refusal, citing the ongoing violence.
This week’s unrest has left hundreds injured as police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, who retaliated by setting fire to vehicles, police posts, and other public property. The capital’s main university campus was initially the epicenter of the protests, but demonstrations have since spread to other parts of the city.
Bangladesh, already grappling with the economic fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war, secured a $4.7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January 2023. The IMF conducted a second review of the bailout program in June, providing Bangladesh with immediate access to $928 million in loans for economic support and $220 million to combat climate change. However, the current protests highlight the deep-seated social and political tensions simmering beneath the surface, threatening to further destabilize the country.
