Thousands of foreign students in Bangladesh have been returning home, fleeing campus violence that erupted last week. Mass protests broke out against high quotas for freedom fighters’ children and grandchildren for coveted government jobs, causing unrest across many universities and cities.

Students from South Asian countries, arriving in India and Nepal, described the situation in Bangladesh as tense and deteriorating daily. They felt staying on meant risking their lives.

"We were cut off from communication with the shutdown of internet facilities. The telephone was not working properly and the internet was closed at the same time. That increased our fear," said Sadikshya Basnet, an MBBS first-year student at Enam Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, who has returned to Kathmandu, Nepal.

She explained that initially, local Bengali students stayed with them in the hostels, but left for home after security forces began interrogating students. "Only the Nepali students were left in the hostel," Basnet said. Nepali students reported that security forces regularly entered the college premises in search of protesters, escalating the terror.

On Saturday, the Dhaka government ordered a two-day closure of all offices, schools, and institutions, extending a nationwide internet blackout and imposing a curfew allowing people to leave their homes for only two hours in the afternoon for necessities.

Despite a Supreme Court Appellate Division ruling on Sunday that overturned a High Court verdict reinstating a system reserving 30% of government jobs for children and grandchildren of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence, the situation remained tense.

Students reported that protesters were losing their lives as security forces used excessive force. Over 174 deaths had been reported as of 22 July, according to unofficial figures, with authorities not commenting on the numbers. Initially peaceful protests turned deadly on 16 July after students at Dhaka University clashed with police, and the majority of deaths occurred in the past few days as riot police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and smoke grenades on crowds in several cities.

A statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday said, “Thus far, over 4,500 Indian students have returned to India. The High Commission has been making arrangements for security escorts for the safe travel of Indian nationals to the border-crossing points. Five hundred students from Nepal, 38 from Bhutan, and one from the Maldives have also arrived in India.”

Most of the 8,500 Indian students in Bangladesh were enrolled in medical degree programs, which are considerably cheaper than in India. An estimated 3,500 Nepali students are enrolled in universities and colleges in Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh, primarily studying medicine, as Bangladesh is a preferred destination for Nepali students. Others are pursuing paramedical or agricultural degrees.

Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya, said on 22 July that several Sri Lankan students studying in Dhaka and Chittagong had returned to Sri Lanka.

Malaysia announced on Monday that it would send a plan to evacuate its citizens from Bangladesh on 23 July, responding to urgent pleas from concerned parents of students trapped there. After meeting with the parents on Monday, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated that 124 Malaysian students in Bangladeshi universities remain trapped in Dhaka and neighboring Mymensingh.

Students from Brahmanbaria Medical College in Bangladesh, located just 40 km from the Indian border, have been crossing into India via the Agartala-Akhaura check post. Brahmanbaria district borders India’s Tripura state.

Raima Simrega, a student at Brahmanbaria Medical College from Assam, India, told University World News upon his return: “The situation was not bad where we were staying (Brahmanbaria Medical College hostel). We were completely safe. However, the college notified us that it was shutting down indefinitely. We learned about the violence in Dhaka and Chittagong, but the total shutdown of the internet made it impossible for us to gather more information. We could not call our homes and our family members. They also could not talk to us as the phone and internet lines remained shut. We were living in fear, not knowing what could happen to us. As soon as we got our passports from the college, we immediately came back.”

He noted that the college provided full support, including food, as shops had closed due to the curfew. The college also helped students contact Indian authorities despite the communication blackout.

A family from Haryana, India, expressed concern about their daughter, Tripti Tomar, studying at Rangpur Medical College in Northwestern Bangladesh. According to her family, she feels unsafe and anxious in Rangpur.

Her father, Keshav Tomar, told University World News: “Their hostel in Rangpur was on the main road. Violence erupted there last Monday. The entire market was closed. Later, violence started near the hostel, making it difficult to even obtain food and water. Eventually, they (students) were advised to return home. Their situation was conveyed to the Indian Embassy to help them return home.”