The turning of anti-quota movement into a movement for wiping out discrimination proved far-reaching. This change was not only in name but in action, too, and it could go to such a length stretches imagination. But it has happened. And the agenda for change towards a better, ethical and fair society free of any type of discrimination are coming up every day. This is a new Bangladesh never seen after 1971.

The change of name of the students' movement from quota reform to anti-discrimination held the seed of change which rapidly took on a revolutionary spirit. The movement, therefore, did not content itself with the success of ousting the ruling party from power only, but also insisted on changing the corrupt, exploitative and rotten structure of major institutions of the country. It is hard to say how much success will smile on us, but hopefully the dismantling of the old has started. Building new structures is of course going to be a lot harder than the job of demolition of the rotten one.

Yet, the success of the regime change is itself a great historical job accomplished by the young generation of Bangladesh. This change has saved the country from being an apartheid state-Muktijoddha (freedom fighters) vs. Non-Muktijoddha of Rajakars (Collaborators of the Pakistani army in 1971). This was the hole Sheikh Hasina and her roguish followers had been digging for the country and her people.

Preserving 30 percent quota for children of the freedom fighters in government jobs was ridiculous after so many years of liberation of the country. But this simple did not enter the head of the head of the ruling party. The price paid for this mistake has been very high for Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League. There was no alternative to paying this price, however, today or tomorrow.

The country was being led into a dangerous path of splitting the nation into two, on one side descendants of freedom fighters and descendants of collaborates on the other on a flimsy ground of possessing or not possessing freedom fighter certificates. And most of the benefits were reserved for the former and the later were looked down upon everywhere, whereas the liberation war of Bangladesh was a mass war in which almost everyone contributed one way or the other. Except a small number of collaborators, every Bangali in 1971 fought for freedom directly or indirectly. The dangerous attempt of dividing the people of this country by a piece of paper called certificates and letting a portion of people to use that certificate for permanently discriminating against their fellow citizens was extremely ill motivated.

So, one the one hand, Muktijoddha or liberation fighters were being born everyday in the country, and some real freedom fighters were being reluctant to hold up their identity as Muktijoddhas. This discrimination itself goes against the spirit of the liberation war of Bangladesh. It hurt students so much that having government jobs became illusionary because after 56% quota (Muktijoddha and others like women, indigenous communities etc.) there remained far less than 44% taking bribes, question paper leaks and other things into account.

Student protest against this unfairness did not meet sympathetic hearing from the head of the government. Sheikh Hasina rather taunted protesting students as grandchildren of rajakars, which in contradiction to her thought congealed the movement into a single issue of ousting her from power. Students were backed by mass people who had been deprived of all rights freedom so many years under her oppressive rule. Her mad effort of staying in power at the cost of hundreds of lives through mass murder made her fall to the ground rapid and inevitable. She and many of her ministers fled and many others were caught on the way of fleeing.

Here, one has to keep in mind that not all quotas are unfair. Ensuring quota for women and indigenous people in order to make up for the backwardness imposed upon them by the course of history is necessary. This type of positive discrimination should be maintained for fair distribution of resources and wealth. Anti-discrimination movement must stand for such discrimination in order to eliminate discrimination rooted deep in history.