The Job Quota System and Similar Provisions under Man-Made Ruling Systems are Designed to Preserve Corruption

News:

“Bangladesh’s top court has scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that had sparked violent clashes across the country that have killed more than 100 people. A third of public sector jobs had been reserved for the relatives of veterans from the country’s war for independence from Pakistan in 1971. The Supreme Court ruling orders that 93% of public sector jobs should be recruited on merit, leaving 5% for the family members of the veterans of the country's ‘independence’ war. A remaining 2% is reserved for people from ethnic minorities or with disabilities.”

(Source BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6p27g628k6o)

Comment:

The regimes in the Muslim world have intensified their campaigns to suppress any voice that challenges their oppression. Bangladesh is no exception. Protests erupted after 5 June, 2024 when the High Court ordered the reinstatement of the 30 percent quota for descendants of the officers who participated in the war for separation from Pakistan in 1971. The quota system has been in place since 1972. It was abolished by Hasina in 2018, as a result of student protests, before the court brought it back in June 2024.

What started as peaceful protests on university campuses transformed into nationwide unrest. “It’s not students anymore, it seems that people from all walks of life have joined the protest movement,” said Dr Samina Luthfa, assistant professor of sociology in the University of Dhaka. Rather than conceding to public pressure, Hasina’s regime used force. The protesters were attacked by activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party. This made the protests violent. The government used the police force brutally who fired rubber bullets and hurled sound grenades to scatter protesters. More than 115 people died, with more than 50 people killed on Friday 19 July alone.

As for the job quota system itself, a third of public sector jobs had been reserved for the relatives of veteran army officers. The bulk covered groups such as ‘freedom fighters’ families, with women and those from underdeveloped districts receiving a share of a tenth each, with 5 per cent allotted to indigenous communities, and 1 per cent for the disabled. As a matter of fact, the quotas shrink the number of government jobs open for all, hurting aspirants who want them filled based on merit. They have sparked anger among students grappling with high youth unemployment, as nearly 32 million young people are out of work or education from a population of 170 million. The economy, once among the world’s fastest-growing, has stagnated. The growth translated into jobs for university graduates, inflation hovers around 10pc, and dollar reserves are shrinking. Estimates suggest that around 18 million young Bangladeshis are looking for jobs. University graduates face higher rates of unemployment than their less-educated peers. The reality of such quota systems is that they are always needed to benefit the ruling elite, especially when the economy goes stagnant. The rulers of Bangladesh are exposed badly over corruption charges and still want to prolong their reign. Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, who led its ‘freedom’ movement. This quota system is one of many such tools through which she managed to rule for the fourth consecutive term. The unrest is also linked to stagnant job growth in the private sector, making public sector jobs, with their accompanying regular wage hikes and privileges, very attractive.

This quota system is an outcome of the rotten nationalism that separated a Muslim brother from the other on the basis of Bengali and Pakistani. This seed of division was sown by the British Raj in the Muslim lands. The British also used the heinous tactic of suppressing one community just to benefit her rule. As a result, when a deprived community gets a chance to rise again and finds space especially under colonialist’s legacies, its takes any path to do so. It was Siraj-ud-Dowlah, the Nawab of Bengal, who mounted resistance against the British East India Company. As a result of traitors in his ranks, the British managed to martyr him and defeated his army.

After this incident, the British never allowed Bengalis in general to reach senior bureaucratic or military positions, creating resentment. After the British left the subcontinent, the British system remained and resentment was fueled by the colonialist agents in Pakistan. The resentment was exploited by regimes in Bangladesh after 1971 partition from Pakistan, on the basis of racism. It is this resentment that triggered a quota system, that every ruling class in Bangladesh has used to safeguard their rule.

In contrast, Islam doesn’t allow any such discretionary and discriminatory powers to a ruler just to prolong his rule. Even in the case of special provisions to secure certain individuals, it is according to the commands of Islam and for the best interests of all Muslims. Consider the category of Zakah regarding those hearts are to be reconciled (Al-muallafatu qulubuhum). These are types of leaders, chiefs, influential people or heroes whose beliefs are not yet settled, where the Khalifah or his walis (governors) see it fit to give them from the Zakat as reconciliation for their hearts, settling their beliefs, utilizing them for the benefit of Islam and Muslims or to influence their communities. This is similar to what the Messenger (saw) gave to Abu Sufyan, Uyayna b. Hisn, Al-Aqr’a b. Habis, Abbas b. Mirdas and others. Amru b. Taghlib said “that some money of captives reached the Messenger of Allah (saw) and he distributed them. He gave to some men and left some others.”

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Muhammad Malik – Wilayah Pakistan