—Capt. Hussain Imam—         

The quota reform movement of the student community has come to its more than expected conclusion with the historic judgment of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court directed the government to bring down the quotas for the freedom fighters, and their children to 5%, ethnic minority to 1% and the retarded and the third gender people combined to 1%. It suggested as high as 93% of government services (9th to 20th grade) on a merit basis. The Supreme Court has also declared the High Court judgment retaining the quota system as null and void. The Supreme Court verdict has led to a win-win situation for both the government and the students. The students have won their battle for quota reform and the government has been able to come out of the impasse created by the High Court verdict. It is now time for the students to go back to their classes without any hesitation.

The students have won their rightful battle, alright, but they ought to remember at what cost.  The damage to life and property has been colossal. The national television centre BTV has been severely damaged and burned. Many of its valuable equipment and assets have been destroyed. Not only innumerable public transports have been completely burned but many of the public offices including valuable files and documents have also been destroyed or burned.

The question has risen as to who were behind these heinous crimes that made every attempt to make the country non-functional. The students have denied their involvement in such activities.  They have repeatedly mentioned that their movement has been non-political and peaceful and they have nothing to do with looting, killings, arson and sabotage.

The answer to the question points out to those defeated forces that actively collaborated with the Pakistan occupation forces during the Liberation War, to those who did not believe in the independence of Bangladesh. The miscreants, whatever we may call them, did not hesitate to break into the Narsingdi jail and set free 826 prisoners, including nine of banned militant organisations. They did not hesitate to loot arms and ammunition from the jail.  They have burned or damaged at least two of the Metro Rail stations, the repair of which will take more than a year or so. They have attacked and set on fire a number of police booths and damaged the Mayor Hanif Flyover and the Dhaka Elevated Expressway toll plazas. They have not spared any sector worth naming. They have burned or destroyed the internet installations making internet service totally non-functional. The damage caused to the electricity sector alone is reported to be more than taka one thousand crore.

These are acts of organised crime. These are acts of treason that can only be committed by people who do not believe in the independence of the country. They are certainly the defeated forces bent on destroying the economic and social fabric of the country.

The Awami League government, as well as the vast majority of people in this country, has every reason to believe that the Jamaat-Shibir cadres with the active support of the BNP were behind these anti-state activities. The government has already constituted a one-man judicial inquiry commission headed by a senior judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the matter.

The law enforcement agencies have also begun combing operations to find out the real culprits and masterminds behind these criminal activities. We have to wait for their findings before we can come to a clear-cut conclusion about the whole incident.

The students who were engaged in the quota movement must have by this time realised that there was no difference of opinion between the Awami League government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the students on the quota issue. Sheikh Hasina had promulgated an order abolishing the quota system way back in 2018. It was the High Court that revived the quota system against a writ petition submitted by some of the off-springs of freedom fighters.

Sheikh Hasina did not give in.  Her government filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of the High Court. The outcome is what the students wanted.

The students might have realised by now that their movement for quota reform went too far for no tangible reason, and thereby allowed the defeated forces of the country take advantage of the situation, engage in acts of violence and devastation, making the students as their shield. It is time for them to work hand in hand with the government to root out these evil forces from the country once and for all.

The students of the country have always played a historic role in any movement for national interest starting from the 1952 language movement to the 1962 education policy reform movement, the1969 mass upsurge to the 1971 Liberation War that led to the emergence of independent Bangladesh. The defeated forces of the Liberation War are still in the country in various attires. It is time to root them out once and for all if we want to see a developed country by 2041, and for that to happen, the students undoubtedly have a vital role to play.

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The writer is a retired Merchant Mariner. Email: [email protected]