Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has made a significant decision by rolling back most of the controversial quotas on government jobs that had sparked violent protests in the country. The quota system had reserved 30% of coveted civil service positions for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971, a move that had caused discontent among many, especially students and young people, due to high unemployment levels in the country.
The protests, which turned violent, resulted in dozens of casualties and hundreds of injuries, with demonstrators gathering in the capital Dhaka and other cities. The civil service quota system had been scrapped in 2018 following similar protests, but the High Court reinstated it in June, deeming its removal unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court intervened by suspending the quotas for one month to review the case.
