Bangladesh Supreme Court scraps most quotas for government jobs

Bangladesh's Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling on July 21 effectively eliminating most of the quotas for government jobs that had been a source of widespread protests and unrest.

The Appellate Division overturned a lower court's decision to reinstate the quota system, declaring that 93% of government positions will now be filled based on merit alone. In its verdict, it has also urged student protesters to return to class. 

This ruling comes in the wake of prolonged student-led demonstrations against the quota system, which had resulted in violent clashes and over 130 fatalities.

The protests started in response to a verdict by the High Court on June 5 which declared the 2018 government circular cancelling the 30 per cent quota for freedom fighters’ descendants in government jobs, illegal. The quotas originally reserved 30% of positions in the civil service for the families of people who fought for independence from Pakistan in the so-called Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

The protests had escalated following a lower court's decision last month to reinstate the quotas, despite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government having scrapped them in 2018.

In response to the unrest, authorities implemented stringent measures, including a curfew and the deployment of military personnel in Dhaka, the epicentre of the protests. Internet and SMS services have been suspended since Thursday to curb the organization of further demonstrations.

The government had extended the curfew leading up to the Supreme Court hearing, allowing only a brief two-hour window for citizens to gather essential supplies. The continuation of these restrictions remains uncertain in light of the new ruling.