Bangladeshi Community Holds Protest at the California State Capitol
By Ras H. Siddiqui
More than a hundred people gathered at the California State Capitol’s western steps on Sunday, July 21, 2024, to protest violence in a distant land. The participants at this rally were almost all Bangladesh origin Americans including many women and children who gathered here to voice their displeasure at recent happenings in their country of origin. In the Western world their country which broke away from Pakistan after a great deal of violence in the year 1971 is best known by the Concert for Bangladesh which was an event spearheaded by George Harrison of the Beatles in August of that year.
But for a country which is the 8 th largest in the world (by population), Bangladesh and its people get very little press coverage in America. The Bangladeshi Diaspora is much more prominent in Britain, where Brick Lane, located in the East End of London, is central to their presence. Another interesting aspect of their presence there is that a very large number of Indian and Pakistani restaurants in Britain are either owned or operated by Bangladeshis. And they do serve great food!
Here in America, people of Bangladesh origin are relatively newcomers, but their numbers are increasing. In the year 2020 the US Bureau of Census reported a population of just over 200,000 which is relatively small compared to other South Asians like Indians and Pakistanis. In the Greater Sacramento region (including Davis) their numbers could be estimated to be close to 1,000. Many are techies, engineers, scientists and IT professionals and have made this area their home mainly through employment with technology companies, especially in Folsom. And over the years their events in the region have been solely cultural in nature including the annual Bengali New Year celebrations to which they have often invited this writer and other local media to cover.
The reason for this long introduction here has to do with this demonstration at the California State Capitol as well. Organized under the banner of the Greater Sacramento Bangladeshi Community (GSBC) the rally made it clear that they wanted to get their message to the local and regional community, especially to their elected representatives, who they hoped would take their concerns all the way to Washington DC.
The heavy-handed approach that the current regime ruling Bangladesh has employed towards students, who had initially started peacefully protesting the established hiring quota system for a limited number of government jobs, has not been taken lightly by the local community. Close to 200 people including many students have been killed and thousands are injured, said the Capitol protestors. And many more have been arrested there.
To summarize the issue, protestors have been demanding the end of a 30 percent job quota for descendants of the 1971 liberation war veterans, commonly known as “Freedom Fighters” (those that fought against the forces of Pakistan in 1971). The protestors both here in Sacramento and in the Bangladesh Capital, Dhaka were demanding that all hiring for these jobs be merit-based. This 30 percent quota they say is no longer needed, as over 50 years have passed since the war. They say that this quota is being utilized by the ruling political party, the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, to further solidify its power base in the country by showing favoritism to its loyalists and their families.
There are two current issues which linger that are not going in the Bangladeshi Government’s favor. First, the economic boom which Bangladesh has recently enjoyed due to its leading role in the manufacture and export of Ready-Made Garments (RMGs) has hit some roadblocks. There are too many educated youths who are unemployed in the country, and the pressure for jobs and their frustration has now shown up on the streets.
The second issue is that Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League have ruled the country for the past 15 years (she is currently the world’s longest female head of state) and people may just want to see some democratic change. Corruption remains a major issue and some of it is associated with the current regime, according to the protestors. And with this recent action against students, human rights issues have also become more visible.
The protest at the State Capitol began with an Islamic invocation and it was good to note that all religious beliefs were invited to participate. Several people made speeches here including women and youth. They all relayed their displeasure at what has recently transpired in Bangladesh, especially action taken against students by the authorities. Dhaka has been under curfew and internet services in the country have also been shut down. The participants here demanded that communication be restored, and that life returns to normal.
There is some good news. The Bangladesh Supreme Court in a recent ruling has reduced the government job reservation quota from 30 percent down to 5 percent for families of Freedom Fighter’s with an additional 2 percent reserved for ethnic minorities, transgenders and the disabled. Henceforth 93% of government job hiring is slated to be on merit. But there remain the continuing issues of human rights, electoral rigging and corruption, which several speakers here also want addressed by the government in Dhaka.
(Disclaimer: No Pakistani had any role in the planning or execution of this protest in Sacramento)
