6700 Indian Students Return from Bangladesh with Help from PM Sheikh Hasina’s Government
More than 6700 Indian students have returned to India from Bangladesh, thanks to the cooperation of the Bangladeshi government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This was announced by Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), during a weekly media briefing.
Jaiswal explained that the Indian High Commission arranged for the safe and secure travel of these students to border crossing points or airports. He expressed hope that the situation in Bangladesh would return to normal soon.
He also mentioned that both the Indian High Commission and Assistant High Commissions are operating 24/7 helplines to assist Indian nationals and students in Bangladesh. The MEA is closely monitoring the developments in Bangladesh, considering the situation an internal matter of the country.
The protests in Bangladesh began due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans. The unrest escalated when students opposed a new policy allocating government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, leading to violence and government intervention.
Following the protests, which resulted in over 100 fatalities, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court reduced the quota for relatives of war veterans from 30% to 5%, allowing 93% of jobs to be allocated based on merit. The remaining 2% will be reserved for ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and the disabled.
Doubts Revealed
PM Sheikh Hasina -: Sheikh Hasina is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, a country next to India. She is the leader of the government there.
Ministry of External Affairs -: The Ministry of External Affairs is a part of the Indian government that handles India’s relationships with other countries.
Indian High Commission -: The Indian High Commission is like an embassy. It is a place in another country where Indian officials work to help Indian citizens and manage relations between the two countries.
civil service quota system -: The civil service quota system in Bangladesh is a way to reserve jobs in the government for certain groups of people. Some people in Bangladesh want to change this system, which led to protests.
protests -: Protests are when people gather to show they are unhappy about something and want it to change. In Bangladesh, people were protesting to change the civil service quota system.
violence -: Violence means when people hurt each other or damage things. During the protests in Bangladesh, some people became violent, which made the situation dangerous.
government intervention -: Government intervention means when the government steps in to try to control a situation. In Bangladesh, the government tried to manage the protests and stop the violence.