Bangladeshi students in India worried about kin in violence-hit motherland

Bangladesh has imposed national curfew following violent student protests that claimed over 100 lives.

Left-wing student leaders march to Bangladesh High Commission amid the violence in the neighbouring country. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Written by: Santanu Chowdhury

3 min readJul 20, 2024 02:53 PM IST First published on: Jul 20, 2024 at 02:03 PM IST

Bangladeshi students at the West Bengal universities on Saturday expressed concern over the safety of their beloved ones in their motherland that is gripped by violent student protests that claimed over 100 lives and imposition of national curfew.

Katha Ghosh, a Bangladeshi student at Visva-Bharati University (VBU), told The Indian Express, that she could not talk to her family ever since the Bangladesh government snapped internet and telecommunication services following the curfew to crack down on the students’ anti-quota protest.

“I just returned to the university four days ago to complete my final semester. The day after the protests broke out in the country, I have failed to establish a contact with my family as internet and telecommunication services have been disrupted. I am worried about my parents,” said Ghosh who hails from Jessore in Bangladesh.

Another Bangladeshi student, Amrita Sarkar who does Masters in Rabindra Nritya at VBU, told The Indian Express that she is praying for the safety of her fellow countrymen and students who have hit the streets to protest against the quota system. “I am deeply worried over the situation in my country. I don’t want to see anymore bloodshed in a students protest. They are my brothers. The genocide must stop,” said the 25-year-old who hails from Mihirpur in Bangladesh.

Sarkar has been lucky to talk to her family for a few seconds through internet last night. “We are also not getting any information as television news channels are also off air. We are only getting updates from social media and internet. We don’t know whether they are real or misleading news,” said Sarkar who returned to the campus in Santiniketan on July 8.

Dipa Saha, a student of Sangit Bhavana at VBU, was also among the unlucky lot who could not contact their relatives in Bangladesh. “The situation back home is grim. We are only receiving reports of deaths. I have not been able to talk to my family and internet is out. I am worried for their well-being,” the Mymensingh native posted on social media.

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On Friday night, Bangladeshi students at VBU held a condolence meet on Santiniketan campus to offer prayers for those who died in the students’ protest.

Rusell Robin, another Bangladesh native at Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) in Kolkata, urged his Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take steps to end violence and bloodshed. “If she takes right measures then this situation will end. I want my country to live in peace,” said the final year student of vocal music at RBU.

The Bangladesh government has announced plans to deploy the Army to tackle the student protests that have killed 105 people so far.

The agitators demand an end to the quota system in Bangladesh which allocated 30 per cent reservation for kin of veterans who fought in the country’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan.