After independence, then-President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced a quota in government jobs for freedom fighters. This came into effect through an executive order issued by the secretary of the Establishment Ministry (now the Ministry of Public Administration) on September 5, 1972. Before that, the draft constitution included a provision under Article 29(3)(a), mentioning that the state would not be barred from making special provision in favor of any backward section of citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the service of the Republic. The constitution was adopted by the National Parliament on November 4 of the same year and came into force on December 16. This special privilege, offered as a gift to the freedom fighters, was eventually extended over the next five decades to include their children and grandchildren.
In July 2024, the quota reform movement turned into a mass uprising involving students and citizens, leading to the fall of the then-government on August 5. Following the uprising, the interim government took steps to rehabilitate the families of those who were injured or killed. Since the formation of the interim government, several participants of the movement and family members of the martyrs have been appointed on contract in different institutions. Earlier, the government had faced criticism for attempting to provide preferential treatment to affected families in admissions to public and autonomous educational institutions. Most recently, the government announced that family members of the victims would be given special privileges in government jobs. Many have compared this new policy to the previous quota system.
When asked about the matter, Md Rashed Khan, leader of the 2018 quota movement and now the General Secretary of Gono Odhikar Parishad, told Bonik Barta, “After every successful movement or struggle, the victors want to form their own beneficiary group. Sheikh Mujib did the same by introducing the freedom fighter quota. It’s not unusual for something similar to happen after the 2024 uprising. But I fought against quota-based discrimination since my student life, endured jail, torture, and oppression—so I never want to see such a quota system return. That said, brothers and sisters affected by the uprising can certainly be rehabilitated through one-time or monthly allowances, depending on their needs. The state should stand by the victims’ families based on their specific requirements. But this should never happen by giving them a quota or special privilege in jobs.”
At a press conference on June 24, Liberation War Affairs Adviser Faruk-E-Azam said, “A gazette listing 834 individuals as ‘July martyrs’ has been published. Based on that, each family of a July martyr will receive BDT 3 million as a one-time compensation. In the fiscal year 2024–25, each family has already been given BDT 1 million through national savings certificates. The remaining BDT 2 million will be disbursed in the 2025–26 fiscal year, also through national savings certificates. Additionally, the martyr families will receive a monthly allowance of BDT 20,000. Family members who are capable of working will receive priority in government and semi-government jobs.”
Regarding this, Adviser Faruk-E-Azam told Bonik Barta last night, “It shouldn’t be seen that way. Providing special privileges in jobs is not a quota system. If someone is qualified for the job, only then will they be rehabilitated. Suppose a martyr has left behind a wife. Where will his widow go? We’ve thought about people like her who are suffering. This is not a quota system like the one that existed for freedom fighters.”
The history of quota systems in the subcontinent dates back centuries. In ancient India, there were separate quotas for priests, warriors, merchants, and laborers. However, it was Maharaja Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur in Maharashtra who, in 1902, introduced a formal 50 percent quota for non-Brahmins. Later, in British India, a quota system for Indians in the civil service was introduced in 1918. In September 1948, Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of undivided Pakistan, implemented a 40 percent quota in the civil service for the majority Bengali population in East Bengal, who were lagging behind in education.
In independent Bangladesh, the government introduced quotas in 1972 for the recruitment of government employees—30 percent for freedom fighters and 10 percent for war-affected women, with 40 percent allocated to district quotas. At that time, only 20 percent of the posts were filled based on merit. In 1976, the merit-based allocation was raised to 40 percent and the district quota was reduced to 20 percent, while the freedom fighter quota remained unchanged at 30 percent. In 1985, the distribution was adjusted again for first and second-class government jobs: 45 percent based on merit, 10 percent quota for districts, 10 percent quota for women, and the freedom fighter quota remained at 30 percent. For the first time, a 5 percent quota was introduced for ethnic minorities.
In 1997, the Awami League government issued an order allowing the children of freedom fighters or martyred freedom fighters to be recruited under the 30 percent quota if eligible candidates could not be found among the freedom fighters themselves. In contrast, in 2002, the BNP-Jamaat coalition government issued a circular stating that if qualified candidates were not found under the 30 percent freedom fighter quota, candidates would be selected from the merit list. This directive was later reversed by the Awami League-led Grand Alliance government in 2008, which ordered that positions remain vacant if suitable candidates were not available among the children of freedom fighters. In 2011, the quota was extended to include the grandchildren of freedom fighters, and in 2012, a 1 percent quota for persons with disabilities was added through a government notification.
From then until 2018, the quota structure in government jobs included: 30 percent for freedom fighters (including their children and grandchildren), 10 percent for women, 10 percent for district quota, 5 percent for ethnic minorities, and 45 percent based on merit. A provision was also added allowing the 1 percent quota for persons with disabilities to be applied if the 55 percent quota was not fully utilized.
Although students had long been dissatisfied with the fact that quota allocations outweighed merit-based recruitment in government, semi-government, autonomous, and semi-autonomous institutions, the issue reached a boiling point in 2018. Faced with massive public outrage, then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced in Parliament on April 11 that all quotas would be abolished. In October of the same year, the government officially issued a circular abolishing quotas in recruitment for first and second-class government jobs and instructed that third and fourth-class positions be filled from merit if quota candidates were unavailable.
On June 5, 2024, the High Court reinstated the previous quota system in public service following a writ petition filed by children of freedom fighters challenging the government’s decision to abolish quotas. In response, students launched a fresh anti-quota movement on July 1. Under pressure from the mass uprising in July, the government issued a circular reinstating 7 percent quotas in first and second-class government jobs. This included 5 percent quota for the children of freedom fighters, martyred freedom fighters, and Birangonas; 1 percent for ethnic minorities; and 1 percent quota for persons with disabilities and the third gender.
The movement—launched under the banner of the ‘Students Against Discrimination (SAD)’ movement—eventually led to the fall of the government. However, the interim government which came as result of the July uprising, retained the same 7 percent quota. Additionally, it initiated a policy to include family members of those injured or killed in the uprising under the 5 percent freedom fighter quota for admissions to educational institutions. Facing criticism, the interim government eventually withdrew this decision.
At the time, Bin Yamin Molla, President of the Bangladesh Students’ Rights Council (BSRC), said the decision conflicted with the spirit of the uprising. Speaking to Bonik Barta regarding the unofficial quota policies of the post-August 5 interim government, he said, “They appointed advisers under the student quota, claiming they represented the Students Against Discrimination movement. Later, we saw that this movement was a united platform of leaders and activists from all student organizations, but those holding positions in student bodies were excluded. Then they introduced a coordinator quota. After that, another quota was introduced, the student representative quota in various reform commissions. Besides, they have introduced or attempted to introduce quotas in various universities and autonomous institutions. All of these go against the spirit of July and betray the blood of the martyrs.”
Meanwhile, there are ongoing rumors about special privileges in university admissions for families of those injured or killed in the uprising. Last month, the University of Dhaka announced plans to offer such privileges for the 2024–25 academic year in first-year undergraduate programs to family members of gazetted martyrs and registered injured individuals of the July-August mass uprising. Although the grandchildren will not be included—avoiding the same criticism once directed at Sheikh Hasina for extending privileges to grandchildren—the university administration said the spouses, sons, and daughters of the martyrs would be eligible for special benefits. If they are unavailable, siblings of the martyrs or injured individuals will qualify. Under pressure, the university clarified that these benefits would be financial only, not quota-based.
However, the ward quota still exists at the University of Dhaka. Inquiries at other public universities—Jahangirnagar University (JU), Rajshahi University (RU), University of Chittagong (CU), Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) in Mymensingh, Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia, and Comilla University (CoU)—found that 11 types of quotas remain in effect. These include: quotas for persons with disabilities, freedom fighters, athletes, ethnic minorities, underprivileged ethnic minorities, non-tribal hill residents (Bengalis), foreign students, Dalits, tea workers, BKSP (Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan), and the Vice Chancellor’s quota.
When asked about the issue, Professor Dr. Dil Rowshan Zinnat Ara Nazneen, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) of Bangladesh Open University (BOU), told Bonik Barta, “Like ethnic minorities, there should be quota provisions from the state for genuinely underprivileged groups. The quota system was originally introduced to bring society’s most backward sections into the mainstream. But instead of relying solely on quotas year after year, we should adopt a process of decentralization to eliminate inequality. State policy should ensure that every person in remote areas is brought under the umbrella of civic amenities. If that happens, there will be no need for quotas.”
Supporting the idea of retaining the ward quota in educational institutions under certain conditions, she added, “It’s frustrating for someone who has spent their whole life working in an institution not to be able to get their child admitted there. So, a ward quota could be kept for their children. However, the student must meet the basic admission qualifications.”
The quota reform movement began on July 1 of 2024, under the banner of the “Students Against Discrimination.” The students’ four-point demand at the time included: reinstating the 2018 circular that abolished quotas and enforced merit-based recruitment in government jobs; forming a commission to eliminate unreasonable and discriminatory quotas in all grades of public service, while retaining a minimum quota for underprivileged groups; recruiting based on merit when eligible candidates are unavailable for quota positions; and ensuring a corruption-free, impartial, and merit-based bureaucracy. Despite the movement, the 7 percent quotas in public service remain even after August 5.
When asked whether the current quota conflicts with the students’ four-point demands, Mahin Sarker, a former coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination movement and Joint Member Secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP), told Bonik Barta, “Before launching the movement, we conducted surveys to gather student opinions. The general demand was to keep quotas at a maximum of 5 percent. Not more than that—less would be better. After the government announced the 7 percent quota during the movement, it could have been negotiated down to 5 percent. But after Abu Sayed and more than a hundred comrades were martyred, there was no room left for negotiations. Seven percent quota isn’t entirely in conflict with student demands. But it would be better if it was reduced to below 5 percent.” He called on the government to reconsider the matter.