Why Deadly Protests Are Roiling Bangladesh

Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi citizens took to the streets on Thursday, joining university students demanding an overhaul of how government jobs are distributed.

The protests have turned increasingly violent in recent days, resulting in a groundswell of anger against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after she deployed the police and paramilitary forces to tame protesters. As of Thursday, at least 17 people, mostly students, had been killed and hundreds of others injured. Large areas of Dhaka, the capital, remained empty, and the city shut down its only metro rail service.

The students have been agitating for weeks about a quota system for government jobs that benefit certain groups, including the families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan.

Anisul Huq, the law minister, said on Thursday that the government favored overhauling the quota system and would work with student leaders to find a resolution, but added that the Supreme Court would make the final decision.

The protesters, who have begun counterattacks on the police, said they would not negotiate with the government. On Thursday, they targeted the national television station headquarters, setting fire to it.

Here’s what to know about why the quota system has become such a point of contention.

Students at the University of Dhaka, the country’s top institution, started the demonstrations on July 1, and they later spread to other elite universities. The protests turned violent when members of the pro-quota student wing of the governing party, the Awami League, began attacking the protesters, said Zahed Ur Rahman, a political analyst. Mr. Rahman said the group’s assault on female students further inflamed the situation.