Over 300 Indian students crossed via border crossings in the northeast on Friday alone as a result of the deteriorating conditions in Bangladesh, which have seen major protests for weeks. Students in Bangladesh have clashed with security forces and pro-government groups over the reinstatement of reservation in government jobs, resulting in over 100 deaths.
The demonstrations, which have been going on for the past three weeks, got much worse on Monday when there was violence at Dhaka University. After six fatalities the next day, the government ordered all colleges in the nation to close.
The majority of the returning students were from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Meghalaya, and Jammu & Kashmir, and many of them were seeking MBBS degrees.
The students stated that after over a week of internet and phone service disruptions on Thursday, which virtually cut them off from their family, they finally made the decision to temporarily leave Bangladesh. Before then, they had been waiting and observing.
“I am a second-year student at the Marine City Medical College and Hospital in Chittagong. The situation is getting worse and many restrictions have been put in place, which is why we have returned. Many other students have also come back. The internet is not working and we were not able to get in touch with our families. We could not get flight tickets and had to take the road route to Agartala instead of flying home,” said Aamir from Haryana.
Another student from the same college, Mohammed Faiz Abdullah Khan, stated that everything was normal in their eyes up until Tuesday, when they received instructions not to leave their housing or the hostel grounds.
“That’s when we found out a quota movement was on. College authorities said the institution would remain shut and, when we spoke to the principal, he suggested that we could return to India if we were feeling insecure. People at the Indian Embassy also gave us the same advice and asked us to get in touch with them if we found it difficult to arrange transportation. We took a cab to the Agartala border and have just crossed over,” Mr Khan said.
A few Indian students travelled six hours in a taxi with a security guard to get home.
More than 200 Indians, according to Meghalayan officials, crossed the border as a result of the protests. A small number of students have also come to India from Nepal and Bhutan.
According to an official, 67 of the students were from Meghalaya and seven were from Bhutan. The state government was in communication with the Bangladesh Land Port Authority and the Bangladesh High Commission to enable the safe repatriation of Indians.
The conflicts between students, government supporters, and security personnel have resulted in over 2,500 injuries and at least 104 fatalities. After a high court restored a thirty percent reservation in government positions for the relatives of independence fighters and veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence, protests got underway last month.
Opponents of the quota, who point out that it only benefits the ruling Awami League party led by Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had the Supreme Court of Bangladesh suspending the quota later on; however, the government is contesting the verdict. Protesters claim that Ms. Hasina’s use of the reservation to reward party members has hampered their chances of finding employment.
After Ms Hasina addressed demonstrators on television on Wednesday, the state broadcaster’s facility was set on fire by the protestors the next day.
