The heat of the quota reform movement gradually accumulated and culminated in a mass explosion across the country including the capital. According to the latest updates published in the media, at least 6 people were killed in clashes between BCL and police in the capital Dhaka, Chattogram and Rangpur on Tuesday. Many were injured.
Last Sunday (July 13) there was a glimpse of some kind of explosion. On Monday, Dhaka University took the shape of the battlefield and the speculation became reality. On Tuesday, the fire of violence spread across the country. According to the latest news, all schools and colleges in the country have been announced to be closed. BGB has been deployed in several places of the country.
The overall situation and casualties are undoubtedly tragic. We have noticed that for the last few weeks, students have been on the field protesting for quota reforms. So far only the students of public Universities have taken this movement forward, but after the attack on the agitators on Monday, private Universities and even college students have joined the movement.
What has been revealed about the quota reform movement is a kind of dichotomy among the common people. This dichotomy is mainly accentuated by the question of not keeping the freedom fighter quota in the job. Many MP-Ministers of the government or leaders of the ruling party identified the agitators as anti-spirit of the liberation war. But the thing to consider is that although it was possible to take this quota movement to the stage of settlement long ago, no one concerned has taken initiative to solve it. On the contrary, many have found the matter to be stubbornly in its own right. A solvable issue became increasingly complicated in front of everyone.
It is worth noting that, apart from the government or the rulers, no other political party, organization or civil society has taken the lead in mitigating the heat of the movement. Especially the movement developed from a completely non-political platform, why could not a solution or consensus be reached at a relatively stable time, this question is getting bigger now.
In the era of social media dominance, any incident takes no time to reach the masses. But common people don't have time to check how reliable the information spread on social media is. As a result, there is a lot of confusion with the information. This public confusion made matters more turbulent.
Overriding all such facts, the fact that comes into consideration is that neither the government nor the concerned individuals or institutions have taken the quota reform movement seriously enough. And they didn't feel the need to talk to the students who had been protesting for weeks because they didn't take it. Attempts have been made by the government or the ruling party to say that the matter is within the jurisdiction of the courts to decide. How can the government decide there? But when we saw that the court observed that the government could decide on the issue of quota, the government's position remained unchanged.
The movement which has the involvement of a large part of the young generation, that the movement can grow gradually, should not be unknown to the leaders of the ruling party or the Ministers. But why it did not matter to them is the big question. In this case it will not be wrong to say that it is the failure of the concerned.
Another trend observed in recent years is that the head of government or the Prime Minister has to intervene in all matters. But even if there are so many levels of different departments in a government or under it, why couldn't they play a role in resolving the movement? Just as it is not a good sign that all the decisions are concentrated in the chief executive of the country, the lack of duty on the part of the officials is also not desirable. Because of this, many people think that the people involved are silent spectators as one of the reasons for this mass explosion.
We know that all the countries of the world are going through more or less turbulent times due to economic crisis during the war. There is no doubt that the newly created instability of the country will make the situation even worse, as we have been hearing the concerns about the economic crisis of Bangladesh in recent years or months. The country's instability also poses major challenges to foreign investment and trade.
There is no doubt that the stability of the country will be further disrupted in the coming days as the signs of the student movement turning into a mass movement were seen today. On the other hand, the negative role of many influential countries in the world is not unknown in Bangladesh's way forward. Before the student protests in Bangladesh happened, we saw the statement from US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. In the recent past too, the country has shown a tendency to stick its nose in the internal issues of Bangladesh.
With the goal of transitioning from LDC in 2026, Bangladesh is developing as a country with great potential in South Asia, so we need to be vigilant about anything that can hinder development. Where our educated youth are always concerned about the unemployment crisis, considerable sensitization on the quota reform movement was desirable.
Analysts are of the opinion that the crisis could not have reached this far if the discussions with the agitators had started to maintain discipline and study environment in the country's educational institutions. As the government does not take advantage of that opportunity, it is known that opposition political parties or organizations will try to use it. Everyone knows that the Jamaat or the anti-independence forces, which are known as the opposing force in the Great War of Liberation, are active in exploiting this opportunity. But why was that opportunity given to them in ignorance, this is The question is now swirling.
In the current situation, the government Ministers or leaders of the ruling party will surely understand this reality. But what many top leaders of the 14 party alliance and many progressive academics insist today is that the opportunity for dialogue with the agitators is far from over. Young people are the future - not denying this fact, the responsible people should guide their future.
The hindrances created in the past decades to practice the universal history of the freedom struggle in the independent sovereign Bangladesh gained through the Great War of Liberation must be taken into consideration. If the young generation has to take responsibility for not knowing the correct history, then it is the responsibility of the state because the failure of not telling the correct history to the generation rests on the state. Above all, all concerned should work together to resolve this anarchic situation arising out of the ongoing agitation for quota reform. That is why sensitivity is expected from all responsible, not incitement.