Protests in Bangladesh against job quotas evolved into a nationwide movement, ultimately leading to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.

On July 18, Bangladesh was forcibly unplugged from the world when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ordered an Internet shutdown in response to nationwide protests. Internet shutdowns are acknowledged as an authoritarian tactic that “allows governments not only to abuse human rights under the cover of darkness but also to evade accountability.” In this case, Sheikh Hasina’s government sought both to conceal atrocities and evade accountability for a brutal state-led campaign of violence against student protesters.

Bangladesh’s recent protests began in July as university students across the country voiced their opposition to quotas for government jobs. These quotas reserved 33 percent of positions for descendants of those who participated in Bangladesh’s war for national liberation. Introduced in 1972, shortly after Bangladesh gained independence following a bloody war against Pakistan, the quota system was expanded in the 1980s to include the children of freedom fighters, and later their grandchildren. Despite representing only a small segment of the population, these groups were allocated 33 percent of government posts in a country with high youth unemployment.

Following student protests against the quota system in 2018, the government abolished the quota in 2020. However, on June 5, Bangladesh’s High Court declared the abolition of the quota illegal in response to a case filed by the children of freedom fighters, sparking renewed protests.

While this quota system was being decried by student protesters, Sheikh Hasina used incendiary rhetoric against them, referring to them as ‘children of Razakar,’ a notorious Pakistan-supported paramilitary group that violently suppressed Bangladesh’s national liberation struggle. In local slang, Razakar is a derogatory term for traitors.

In response to renewed protests, the ruling political party, the Awami League, deployed its thuggish student wing, known as the Chhatra League, to dismantle the student movement. The Chhatra League has a history of violence targeting students, including sexual violence and murder. Alongside unleashing the ruling party’s student wing, police arrested opposition party leaders and used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition against protesters.

On July 17, Prime Minister Hasina addressed the nation and tried to draw on the memory of the national independence struggle to divert attention from student demands and state violence by paying tribute to the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War. Undeterred, students continued to protest in the face of escalating state violence. Reports indicated that at least 197 people died in just six days. Children, primary students, high school students, secondary school students, as well as university students, were among the dead. These deaths sparked outrage against the ruling party, and the quota reform protest movement turned into a national reform movement. Disturbing videos showing the brutal torture of students spread rapidly on social media, further fueling public anger against the regime.

With Sheikh Hasina’s government unable to address the demands of the protest movement, on July 19, the military was deployed against the student movement, and the government invoked Article 144 of the national criminal code to impose restrictions on the right of assembly.

That night, in an effort to hide the growing body of digital evidence of atrocities being committed by government forces against protesters, Prime Minister Hasina ordered broadband and mobile Internet in Bangladesh shut down.

Bangladesh was left disconnected from the world. During this blackout period, the killing of students continued. The government kidnapped the coordinators of the student protests, who returned bearing signs of severe torture, including bruises and broken bones. Bangladesh’s military reportedly used UN-marked vehicles to carry out their attacks on the protesting students.

During this blackout period, Bangladesh’s government also sought to intimidate diaspora communities that had expressed support for protesters back home. Protests in support of Bangladesh’s student movement took place in Washington, New York, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and university campuses around the world. However, Professor Ali Riaz cautioned on Facebook that Bangladesh’s government had instructed its embassies to identify citizens who were involved in protests. In the United Arab Emirates, 57 Bangladeshis were jailed for taking part in protests against their own government.

On July 21, the Supreme Court struck down the 30 percent quota rule and declared that 93 percent of government jobs should be open to meritorious candidates. The government hoped this judicial decision would calm the unrest. But Nusrat Tabassum, a coordinator of the quota movement, said, “We welcome the court’s ruling. However, our main demands are directed at the executive branch. Until those demands are met, the nationwide complete shutdown will continue.”

By July 24, Internet services were partially restored, largely due to economic pressure from Bangladesh’s business community, but this did little to calm things.

In the aftermath of Bangladesh’s Internet shutdown, the demand for accountability for student deaths has even led to calls for Bangladesh’s referral to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. These efforts include a digital platform that allows Bangladeshis to directly submit digital evidence of crimes under the Rome Statute. Meanwhile, arrests of student protest leaders and the opening of criminal cases against thousands of demonstrators underline the extent to which the government aims to intimidate students into silence.

On August 4, rejecting the prime minister’s call for dialogue, the student protest organizers issued a one-point demand: the resignation of Sheikh Hasina and her government. On August 5, bowing to pressure, Sheikh Hasina resigned after 16 years in power and fled to India. People celebrated this day as another Independence Day of Bangladesh. After that, the army chief and president addressed the nation, announcing the formation of an interim government, which is now to be led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Sheikh Hasina’s resignation reflects the nation’s enduring struggle for justice and democratic governance. What began as a student protest against job quotas evolved into a widespread movement against corruption and authoritarianism, showcasing the power of collective action. This recent chapter will be remembered for new hope as youth take the lead and continue to grow and reform the system.