I came to Dhaka on the 13th of July 2024 for work, and I was informed by a Bangladeshi friend that there had been ongoing protests rejecting a quota system for Government Jobs. 56% of all jobs are reserved for various groups, and the remainder was provided to the candidates on pure merit. The key beneficiaries are the freedom fighters and their descendants, for whom 30% of all Government vacancies are reserved. This is in addition to a lifelong pension for the freedom fighters, which I have no problems with. The other 26% is allocated to women, indigenous people, LGBTQ, and disabled populations. It is interesting to note that there are allocations for women and the LGBTQ community in a Muslim dominant country,
Protesters in front of the Hotel Intercontinental at 1:30 AM
My concern is the effect of a quota system, which will deny positions to those better qualified than to those who are less qualified. I think the less qualified will introduce mediocracy within the Government Bureaucracy and trigger a vicious cycle of decline in productivity.
Furthermore, it reminded me of the quota system introduced in the 1970s in Sri Lanka, which led to a civil war that lasted for 30 years. Will Bangladeshis lose the fruits of the sacrifices during their liberation war to their self-inflicted quota system?
As I pondered, my meetings with government functionaries were held as planned, on the 14th and the 15th. Then, the protests started affecting my meetings. On the 16th, as I finished a meeting at the USAID Bangladesh and was about to exit the building, the siren went off, and the PABX announced to everyone to duck under a table and stay away from windows. Security personnel, including a few armed US Soldiers, were running around, and building doors and compound gates were shut electronically. I was in a modern prison with US Embassy and US AID staff for about two hours. Finally, I was granted special permission to be escorted outside the building.
I called a UBER to return to my hotel. Communication in Dhaka in English was much more difficult than in Delhi or Colombo. What makes it more difficult is that even the number plates of cars carry Bengali numerals instead of Arabic numerals. So, I would not know when the ride I booked will arrive and will be unable to communicate with the driver. Fortunately, UBER provides real-time car movement on its App, and the fare to be paid is displayed at the journey's end.
The journey back to the hotel from the Embassy had many hurdles. Several roads were blocked, and traffic was not moving on roads that were not blocked. The driver struggled. At times, he must do a U-Turn, come to a point he had been there before, and chart a new course. The journey, which was to take 30 minutes, took about 75 minutes, and I reached the hotel.
On the 17th, I was advised to stay at the hotel. Meetings were arranged at the hotel or online. I managed to go to a market about 2 km from the hotel on a cycle rickshaw for a haircut and lunch. I used the remaining time to catch up with documentation.
The Government hosted a dinner for my delegation at the hotel. While we were at dinner, the news broke that six protesters had been killed. The PM was on TV, promised necessary actions against the perpetrators, and appealed to the students to wait until the Supreme Court decides on the applicability of the quota system on Sunday, the 21st. The appeal was to no avail.
The students called for a national strike on the 18th. Again, I used the time for paperwork, had a meeting online, and met with personnel from another government agency who defied the restrictions and came to meet with my delegation. I went to sleep at 8 pm but woke up at midnight to find out that 29 students had been killed, and the Government TV station had been set alight.
All communications within and outside Bangladesh had been cut – no internet, no phones, etc.
As I write this on the 19th morning, I am still in the hotel without access to the rest of the world, especially my wife and daughters! While taking a lift to the lobby, I met a few Indian youngsters, discussing how to contact families at home and sharing my concerns. One of them sounded optimistic; he was telling his friends that he could send messages to his family. I sought his help, and he obliged. I sent a text message to my wife. The Indian also told me that I could use the hotel phone to make a call internationally, but after dialing the number, I had to wait about 30 seconds to connect. I tried, and it worked, but the connection was scrambled and too poor. It was good enough for my wife to recognize me and for me to recognize her. We understood that all was okay at both ends.
Now, I am a Prisoner of events. I spent the day listening to Donald Trump rambling at the RNC Convention. I also learned that an IT outage disrupted flights in Australia and Europe.
There was no letdown of protests in Dhaka. Now, the death toll has risen to 50, and a high-profile Opposition leader has been arrested. I was woken up by the hotel reception at 1:30 am on the 20th to be informed that the Government had issued a curfew order, and I should not leave the hotel until further notice.
I began to appreciate the power the technology, the Internet, in particular, has over us. With no Internet access and IT outages affecting travel, we are now prisoners to technology. Although alone, I cannot use my time effectively without access to the Net. The way we deal with academic issues has changed. Before the Internet days, we did a literature search and assembled the necessary information and data before starting writing. Now, we have a narrative in mind and seek information on the fly, as it is available for us to access anytime. The Internet has changed the way our brain works!
The only consolation during this semi-confinement was the access to BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera to understand how the world is moving on without me.
7:30 AM 20th July. Al Jazeera reported the deployment of the Army on the streets and a death toll of over 105, and the arrests were about 70. The situation is not improving. Still, I have no access to the Internet. The curfew was lifted at noon but reimposed at 2 pm.
The panic is about to set inside of me. I asked how I could go to the airport on Monday, two days from now. The hotel receptionist said to wait another day before I made reservations for hotel transport. For a trip that should cost 800 BDT, I am paying 6800 BDT to be safe and use hotel transport.
I was told my ticket would be the curfew pass, and I needed a hard copy. I can't send emails, as I would have done if I had access to the Internet. So, I copied my e-ticket to my USB drive and returned to the reception, only to find out the PCs at the reception do not have USB ports. I was sent to the Business Center; USB ports were present on the PC but had been disabled on their PC. The Officer brought a laptop and connected it to the printer but failed to pick the correct printer for printing the file. There were four printers on the desk! Finally, I got my ticket printed and returned to my room.
Joys of our dependence on continuously changing technology. Fifteen years ago, USB drives were state-of-the-art and a potential source of viruses and security breaches.
My friend visited me during the curfew. He lives about ten minutes' walk from the hotel. He said it was safe to go out walking to a local market near the hotel, so we did. He took me to a kitchen bazaar, where essential food commodities are sold. It appears there are a few kitchen bazaars in Dhaka.
My favourite Vegetable at Kitchen Bazzar near Karwaan Bazzar
I wanted to shorten the length of my trousers and took that with me. The bazaar was active and full of street vendors despite the curfew. No protests, though. Young men were playing cricket in a half-empty market space. We found a street tailor who agreed to mend the pants. While waiting, one of the acquaintances of the tailor lamented that the Bangladeshis were destined to suffer. He is not very wrong. Over the past 55 years, it had a liberation war, the assassination of the PM and family, military rule for more than 15 years, and few changes of Government. The current party has been in power for more than 15 years and got re-elected about six months ago. Many feel that the election was rigged in its favor.
Street Side Tailor
I bought a couple of sarongs, a mango, a pineapple cut into bite sizes, and a lunch pack. Tropical fruits in Bangladesh are delicious. We returned to the hotel by motorized cycle rickshaw, a local invention.
Motorised Cycle Rickshaw
Now it is 7:10 am on the 21st. Still no internet, and the curfew will be lifted in a few hours. The Supreme Court's verdict on the legality of the quota system is expected in a few hours. If the SC voids the quota system, the original call from the students will be met. But, over the past day or two, they are calling for the resignation of the PM for mishandling the protests, which will not happen. No one relinquishes power so easily.
I feel very bored and dejected this morning. There appears to have been a jailbreak, and 826 prisoners have escaped. I am beginning to understand how a prisoner would feel. Isolation is horrible for the human mind. I have plenty to do, but I can't without access to the Internet. It had been well over 48 hours without the Internet. This technology underpins almost every aspect of our lives and has been rudely denied by the Government. I wonder if denying access to the Internet these days is a human rights violation. I have nothing to look forward to for the day except a lunch meeting with fellow team members who are also staying at the hotel. They will leave the hotel in about 12 hours, and I will leave it in about 24 hours, Insha Allah.
Around 2 pm, the Supreme Court decided in favor of the students' demand. Allocation to freedom fighters' kin is reduced from 30% to 5%. Indigenous, disabled, and LGBTQ population gets 2%, and the remaining 93% is allocated on merit. The noticeable drop is the special allocation to women, probably because they are academically doing well as well or better than their male counterparts.
The competition is for about 3000 Government jobs annually. For a country of 151 million, this is a small number. Yet, the revision of the quota has cost over 140 lives and caused enormous property losses. A government TV station, a Data Analytics Center, and two newly built metro stations are damaged, and the repair is expected to take a year. The interest in obtaining these rare government jobs tells us that the private sector is yet to be an attractive employment sector in Bangladesh, which is the case now in Sri Lanka.
As I expected, the students wanted more. They have an additional eight demands; one of them is the release of about 70 leaders who were arrested, and the other is the resignation of two key Ministers. I'm not sure if the Government will agree to the second demand.
My team members left at 7:30 pm. I felt a bit sad; I had become accustomed to their company over the past week. A hotel staffer said that there was only one foreign Guest remaining. That's me. I am the last man standing at the hotel. I, too, will leave in about 12 hours.
I left for the airport in the morning, and the roads were empty. The hotel provided me with a car, a driver, and a security guard. There was only one roadblock on the way, and soldiers recognizing the hotel car let it pass without delay. Thanks to the curfew, a journey that would take about 90 minutes took only 15 minutes. The driver had special access to the terminal, so he took my bags, cleared security, and let me at the check-in counter. I felt that it was a good service for the extra 6000 BDT. I will be genuinely relieved once I board the Plane.
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