Indian residents in Bangladesh urged to avoid travel amid anti-quota protests.

Six people were killed as the protests against the quota system in government jobs in Bangladesh turned violent. Indian citizens in Bangladesh have been advised to avoid travel and minimise their movement outside the premises they are residing at amid a nationwide strike against the government’s job quota system. “In view of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Indian community members and the Indian students residing in Bangladesh are advised to avoid travel and minimize their movement outside their living premises,” the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in an advisory. In case of any urgency or need for assistance, the Indian residents in Bangladesh were urged to reach out to the High Commission and the Assistant High Commissions at 24-Hour Emergency numbers. At the heart of the protests are demands to end of a quota system for lucrative government jobs that opponents say unfairly benefits members of Bangladesh’s ruling party as it reserves positions for specific groups, including descendants of those who participated in the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. Bangladesh students vowed Thursday to continue nationwide protests against civil service hiring rules, rebuffing an olive branch from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who pledged justice for six killed in the demonstrations. “We will go ahead with our plans for complete shutdown … All establishments will remain closed,” protest coordinator Nahid Islam told Reuters. “Only hospitals and emergency services will remain operational, with ambulance services being the sole permitted transport.” The protests are the first significant challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government since she won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). On August 7, the Supreme Court will hear the government’s appeal against a High Court verdict that ordered reinstatement of the 30% reservation for the families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, she added. Hasina asked the students to be patient until the verdict.