New initiatives needed in violence-hit Bangladesh...

India's close neighbor Bangladesh has been in violence in the past few days. The situation cannot be called comfortable after 28 people were killed in protests demanding improvement in the provision of reservation in government jobs. However, the supreme court has decided to reduce the limit of reservation. The reservation controversy in bangladesh is linked to the memory of the heroes who contributed to its creation. The protest was against the system of reserving some public sector jobs for the relatives of these heroes. The protesters believed that this system is discriminatory and only the supporters of prime minister Sheikh Hasina get its benefit.

Decision of Bangladeshi supreme Court

According to the decision of the supreme court, 93 percent of government jobs should be allocated on the basis of merit based system. While five percent seats should be reserved for the relatives of those who participated in the bangladesh Liberation war in 1971 and two percent seats for other categories. Even after the decision of the apex court, security forces are patrolling in other cities including Dhaka. Governments of other countries including india are eager for the safe return of their citizens from the troubled Bangladesh. malaysia has evacuated 123 of its citizens from Bangladesh. Also, the operation for the return of the remaining stranded Malaysian citizens is going on. India is also trying to evacuate its citizens from Bangladesh. According to the Border Security Force, till now it has helped in the return of 572 Indian, 133 Nepali and four Bhutanese students. Trade between india and bangladesh is also getting affected due to violent protests. The current crisis in Bangladesh is reminding us of those days when the supporters of West pakistan present in east pakistan not only opposed the establishment of the bangladesh nation but also supported the massacre of Bengalis.

Pakistan's broken dream

Pakistan, a country formed on the basis of religious identity, had faced a tough challenge in 1971 from its own Bengali-speaking citizens. The ill effect of linking the urdu language with the existence of Muslims in South Asia was that the people of east pakistan started feeling cheated. east Pakistanis, who gave top priority to their bengali language and culture, felt the need for a separate country for themselves due to the neglectful behavior of the leaders of West Pakistan. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League had received an absolute majority in the National assembly of Pakistan. In fact, voters tired of military rule had voted for democracy, change, progressive policies and a political system responsible to the people. The newly elected assembly had to prepare a new constitution for the country within 150 days. But President Yahya Khan's intentions were not good. He was not interested in encouraging the process of constitution making, rather he was exploring possibilities for the continuation of military rule.