Born out of War: a History of Violence in Bangladesh

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bangladesh was recently hit by another wave of violence as thousands of students who flooded the streets to protest against quotas in government jobs were met with state forces. The deadly protest has brought focus to a history of violence in a country born out of a war between India and Pakistan in 1971 in which nearly 3 million people were killed.

In 1975, Bangladesh’s founding father and first prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was assassinated in a military coup which brought in a long period of military rule. Though democracy was restored slowly by 1990, the country of nearly 170 million people has been rocked by sporadic periods of sectarian or political violence in recent years.

2009

Revolting border guards killed more than 70 people, most of whom were army officers, in the capital Dhaka. They were unhappy with their wages and living conditions. The "mutiny", as it was called, which had spread to nearly a dozen towns, ended after six days as the angry guards surrendered following a series of discussions.

2013

A few years later, Bangladesh saw about 100 people being killed in political violence under the Awami League party's rule, which is led by Sheikh Hasina, daughter of first prime minister Rehman. Election announcement in November of the same year and the hanging of an Islamic leader Abdul Quader Mollah, leader of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party for crimes during the 1971 war, resulted in nearly 100 more deaths.

2016

After months of attacks on people advocating for a liberal lifestyle in the country, twenty hostages, most of whom were foreigners, were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group. The militants attacked an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic area, resulting in a 12-hour standoff, until security forces stormed the place. The dead included nationals of Italy, Japan, the United States, and India.

2021

At least six people were killed and their houses destroyed in one of the worst instances of communal violence against minority Hindus by extremist Muslim-majority in the country in over a decade. Hindu temples were previously attacked as violence spread with thousands of hardline Islamist group members protesting a visit by neighboring India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's nationhood.

2024

Hasina returned to power in an election boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which accused the Awami League of trying to legitimize sham elections. Attacks on poll booths and train arson killed four people during this time.

In July, more than two dozen people are killed as security forces clamp down on thousands of students protesting against quotas in government jobs.

REUTERS

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