Quotas necessary based on principle of social justice

The country is currently embroiled in a heated debate over reservation or quota issues. Students and job seekers are staging daily protests and road blockades. Dhaka city has been paralyzed for the past few days due to these protests, leading to severe traffic congestion in various places. The public’s frustration is directed at the government, with many questioning why it isn't addressing the quota issue. Government officials maintain that the decision to abolish or retain quotas is currently under judicial review and that it is up to the courts to decide.

In 2018, there was a massive movement against the existing quota system, leading to its abolition by the government. However, following a recent High Court ruling in favor of several freedom fighters’ children who appealed against the abolition, protests have reignited. Around the world, quota or reservation systems are implemented to provide equal opportunities in employment and other sectors to marginalized communities. In Bangladesh, this system was introduced after the Liberation War, primarily to integrate disadvantaged groups into the mainstream by ensuring equal opportunities. Quotas are not permanent and are subject to reform based on a country's overall situation, social and economic growth, and other factors.

The notion that no group needs quotas or reservations is unjustifiable. Even after 53 years of independence, nearly 40 million people in Bangladesh live below the poverty line, necessitating special measures for their advancement. The argument that reservations should not exceed 50% is also flawed, as seen in Tamil Nadu, India, where reservations still account for 68%. In Bangladesh, a large section of the population, including freedom fighters, women, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and Dalits, have not yet fully benefited from reservation systems and continue to live in poverty, illiteracy, and superstition.

After independence, Bangladeshi policymakers chose reservation as a means to address long-standing exploitation, deprivation, and associated injustices. The core of the reservation is ‘affirmative action,’ rooted in the theory of distributive justice. This theory ensures that no one is deprived due to circumstances beyond their control. Freedom fighters, women, disabled individuals, and Dalits have historically been excluded from development opportunities in education, health, and professional freedom. Reservation aims to rectify this exclusion by offering special provisions for these groups, ensuring that no one is disadvantaged due to factors beyond their control.

Reservations are essentially state reparations, aiming to correct the historical underrepresentation of certain groups in various economic sectors due to systemic discrimination by more powerful groups. Therefore, those responsible for the historical wrongs, or their descendants, must accept the responsibility of rectification. Without such measures, affirmative action cannot be realized. The state is responsible for ensuring that no one who faces sudden misfortune falls to the bottom and that marginalized communities are brought to the forefront.

Bangladesh was established to take on this responsibility, aiming to provide equal development opportunities to every child and ensuring everyone has equal rights to education and nutrition. The reservation is about opening the gates of opportunities to those outside the privileged circles. This process was hoped to be furthered by post-independence policymakers. To create equality of opportunity, robust state intervention is necessary, which cannot be achieved through general policies alone.

While reservation is not a panacea for all inequalities and does not solve every issue faced by marginalized groups, it is essential for creating opportunities and equal capabilities for everyone. As long as a section of society remains subject to discrimination, reservation systems are necessary. Affirmative action is indispensable for communities historically subjected to exclusion and deprivation. Excluding marginalized groups from social, cultural, and political narratives would render any country's history incomplete.

The reservation quota for freedom fighters is the subject of significant criticism. Families of martyrs and freedom fighters consider the 30% quota allocated to freedom fighters to be justified. They argue that from 1975 to 1996, the ruling governments after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did not implement the freedom fighter quota. Due to the deprivation faced by these heroic freedom fighters over these 21 years, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power in 1996, she extended the quota benefits to the children of freedom fighters, as many freedom fighters had already surpassed the age limit for employment. Consequently, their children were made eligible for these benefits.

It has been observed that even their children faced discrimination in many cases. Therefore, the quota benefits were later extended to the grandchildren of freedom fighters. From 2001 to 2009, during the rule of the BNP-Jamaat alliance and the caretaker government, children of freedom fighters were deprived of these quota benefits. To compensate the freedom fighter families for the 30 years of deprivation since independence, the 30% freedom fighter quota remains necessary. Thousands of children of heroic freedom fighters are still unemployed.

Many countries worldwide provide quota benefits across generations. Freedom fighters are regarded as the nation's greatest heroes. The love, sense of duty, bravery, and immense sacrifices they made for the motherland resulted in the independence of this nation. It is because of them that we have gained the right to move and speak freely and have the opportunity to flourish in our country's land and waters. We even have the opportunity to hold jobs. Thus, the state has a special obligation towards freedom fighters. The freedom fighter quota is merely an attempt to repay that debt. Are we going to deny that responsibility?

Chiroranjan Sarker: Columnist