On Sunday night thousands of students marched through the Dhaka University campus in Bangladesh chanting a provocative slogan that translates to, “Who are you? Who are you? I am Razakar, I am Razakar.”
“Razakar” is a deeply offensive term in Bangladesh, akin to the word “quisling” in the Western world. It refers to those who collaborated with the Pakistani military during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war, a betrayal of their country and a cause they should have upheld.
The students were protesting against a remark by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during a press conference earlier that day.
Since July, university campuses across Bangladesh have been gripped by protests that have disrupted academic activities and daily life in the capital. The demonstrations are in response to a High Court ruling in June that reinstated a controversial quota system for government jobs.
Students and job seekers fear that they are being deprived of opportunities by a 30% quota for family members of freedom fighters of the 1971 Bangladeshi Liberation War. They are also suspicious about the accuracy of the list and feel that many individuals might unfairly benefit from this provision.
This quota system, which was abolished in 2018 following widespread protests, has rekindled anger and frustration among young job seekers.
During Sunday’s press conference at Hasina’s residence, the prime minister was asked about the student protests. At one point, she shot back saying that “if the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not receive [quota] benefits, who would get it? The grandchildren of Razakars?”
Hasina also questioned the criticism of freedom fighters, highlighting their sacrifices and hardship to liberate the country. She pointed out that the freedom fighters enabled the current generation to speak freely and hold prominent positions.
But the prime minister’s comments, perceived as dismissive and insulting, ignited protests. Students felt her remarks unfairly discredited their efforts to revive the quota reform movement after the High Court decision.
Many were also deeply offended by the implication that they were like “Razakars”. As a form of protest, they adapted the iconic Liberation War slogan “Who are we? Bengali!” into “Who are we? Razakar!”
Government backlash
Sunday’s protest provoked a government response, including from Hasina. The prime minister sought to know if the quota protesters, who had sarcastically referred to themselves as “Razakars”, understood the history of Bangladesh well.
“They did not witness the bodies lying in the streets, yet they feel no shame in calling themselves Razakars,” she said angrily. The prime minister also asked if students were aware of the role of Pakistani collaborators in the 1971 genocide and the abuse of women during the liberation war.
Several of Hasina’s ministers also responded sharply. “Those who proclaim ‘I am a Razakar’ have demonstrated themselves to be the ‘true’ Razakars of this era,” Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “They disregard both the court and the government.”
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak said that those who distorted the slogan of the Liberation War should leave the country.
Social Welfare Minister Dipu Moni also expressed her dissatisfaction. “Those who identify as Razakars have no right to march under a flag stained red with the blood of martyrs or to adorn it on their foreheads,” Moni, also the joint secretary general of ruling Awami League, wrote on Facebook.
The ‘autocrat’
While politicians from the ruling party, including Hasina, lambasted the protesting students for identifying themselves as “Razakars” in their slogans on Sunday night, they conspicuously ignored the other chants the students voiced.
Protesting students on Sunday night chanted different slogans – all with the same first line: “Tui ke? Ami ke? Razakar, Razakar!”
Who are you? Who am I? Razakar, Razakar!"
But the first line was followed by different slogans, most common of which was, “Chaite gelam odhikar, hoye gelam Razakar.” Asked for rights and became a Razakar.
Sarjis Islam, one of the leaders of protesting students said the government has completely misunderstood the spirit of their slogan. “We vented our frustration and anger that we were called Razakars because we sought equal rights for all. It seems they want to quash the protest with wrong interpretation.”
Political analyst and commentator Zahed Ur Rahman however believed the government did not misunderstand what the students wanted to say by labeling themselves as Razakars. “They are completely aware of what the students meant by those slogans. But they are conveniently portraying them to make it work in their favour.”
Rahman said Awami League politicians have the tendency of labeling all of the opposition, even ordinary dissenters, as “Razakars” as this word makes rivals appear anti-national. “It’s like the strategy pro-Israel politician or activist use in the Western countries by labeling someone anti-semitic and create a taboo surrounding that person,” he said.
Meanwhile, some of the protesting students also chanted a second line in which they say, “Says who... says who... the government... the autocrat,” seemingly addressing Hasina as an autocrat for inaccurately labeling them as Razakars.
This second line from the protesting students was particularly notable because in the past decade-and-a-half of Hasina’s uninterrupted governance, she had not been openly referred to as an autocrat by the general public in such a direct manner.
Of course, Hasina’s political opponents have regularly labeled her as such, accusing her of keeping a grip on power through three controversial consecutive elections and undermining democratic institutions. But students without apparent political affiliations had never before openly characterised Hasina as an “autocrat”.
Even through the quota reform protests over the past two weeks, the protesting students have consistently called for Hasina’s intervention.
In 2018, during the previous quota reform demonstrations, protesters referred to Hasina as the daughter of “Bangabandhu” – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. They chanted slogans asserting “there is no room for discrimination in Bangabandhu’s Bangladesh”.
“It appears that the ruling Awami League and its supporters are selectively ignoring the second lines from Sunday night’s protests in an attempt to discredit the students,” said Rezaul Karim Rony, editor of Joban magazine. “The message conveyed by the protesting students last night is clear to any unbiased observer, yet ruling party politicians are choosing to overlook it."
Rony also expressed surprise at the students chanting “autocrat” while referring to Hasina. “We have been living in constant apprehension and hesitated to speak truthfully,” said Rony. “But evidently, every situation has its breaking point”.
Faisal Mahmud is a Dhaka-based journalist.
