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Based on what the Western media is reporting over one hundred people have been killed protesting a new government quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.

https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-student-protests-curfew-government-jobs-quota-9af35994b4855ffac9bd962861447cda

As an outsider to Bangladesh politics this seems perplexing. Governments make unpopular hiring quotas all the time but don't receive that type of response. The policy, whether you support it or not, does not sound outrageous enough to inspire enough outrage that people would be motivated to lose their lives protesting it. In the US plenty of people are upset over the secret service looking to have a thirty percent female quota for new agents but no one is willing to die or even protest in the streets over it.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4780166-secret-service-defends-female-agents/

What else is behind those protests or policy that elicited such a reaction in Bangladesh?

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    "reserves up to 30% of government jobs" sounds pretty outrageous to my western bias ears. It’s exactly how you keep certain people in and certain people out of power. This seems to match what your linked article says: "Protesters argue the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, saying it should be replaced with a merit-based system."
    – MisterMiyagi
    Commented Jul 21 at 4:49
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    Well, it worked - they've just announced a reduction in the quota from 30% to 5%. I'm unsure that this answers the question of why they were so upset in the first place, though.
    – F1Krazy
    Commented Jul 22 at 8:04

2 Answers 2

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FWTW, new developments:

On Sunday, the country’s top court dismissed the earlier ruling that brought back the quotas, directing that 93% of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit.

Shah Monjurul Hoque, a lawyer representing students, said of the Supreme Court’s ruling: “That is 93% quota for general people, 5% quota for freedom fighters and their kin, 1% for ethnic minority community, and 1% for third gender and physically disabled.”

That they cut it down from 30% to 5% for the "freedom fighter" veterans seems to suggest it was disproportionately benefitting a small minority, but I was not able find how many qualify as (freedom fighter) veterans and their relatives, out of the general population.

And, yeah, the latest protests were ostensibly about this issue, but Bangladesh has seen more or less a continuous political crisis since the opposition boycotted the last elections.

The demonstrations are the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Hasina since she secured a fourth consecutive term in January elections, which were boycotted by the main opposition party to protest what they said was a widespread crackdown on their ranks. [...]

Student protesters CNN spoke to say their demonstrations have gone beyond frustration over the quota system and their anger is now directed at Hasina and her government, which human rights organizations have long warned are headed toward a one-party system.

So yeah, "yellow vests" vibes here, in a certain sense.

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Why are people protesting so desperately in Bangladesh

Not people, but students. People joined after the 16–18 July massacre of students by police and the Chatra League.

Short answer

They are angry and frustrated with Sheikh Hasina's party's, the Awami League's, supplementary wing: Chatra League.

Long answer

If you read this Wikipedia link:

you will have a clear idea about how Sheikh Hasina's de facto private militia attacked the protesting students.

You can have a concise summary of how the student's protests about the quota system in government jobs toppled Sheikh Hasina's regime.

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