Bangladesh’s second independence: A step forward for democracy

Since July, I have been glued to social media and international news reports on the student protests, massacre of students and subsequently, the student-led mass uprising that overthrew Bangladeshi autocrat Sheikh Hasina on Aug. 5.

I am a Bangladeshi who grew up in faculty housing at Dhaka University, the epicenter of the student protests. As a child, and later as an adult, I was surrounded by Bangladeshi students and witnessed their activism and political consciousness. 

Today, I am incredibly moved and proud of the current generation of students who have toppled a corrupt government and are working quickly to create a working democracy in its place. This has been dubbed the "Gen Z revolution."  

After more than 15 years of dictatorship by Sheikh Hasina and her party, Awami League, many found it surprising to witness a student movement spark a revolution without civil war. The students endured weeks of brutal attacks by Hasina’s police force and violent Awami League members. The student protestors were demanding reforms to job quotas that crippled the country with its high youth unemployment. 

In response, highly militarized police and regime loyalists killed over 500 people and injured over 1,000 in three weeks in what is called Bloody July. Today, there are more than 800 confirmed dead and more than 33,000 injured. A country-wide curfew was imposed, internet blackouts rolled out and more disappearances and massacres occurred in the dark. Democracy always dies in the dark. 

The swift organizing by secular Gen Z is perhaps what surprised many. Their focus on anti-discrimination, fairness, dignity and justice swiftly expanded as teachers, parents, artists, celebrities, and average people joined the cause. 

Through Bloody July, as more students were killed, student leaders called for a Long March to Dhaka, with one demand of Hasina’s resignation. Tens of thousands from across the country marched to the capital overnight on Aug. 5. This proverbial storming of the gates resulted in Hasina fleeing to India, her closest ally. 

Euphoria broke out across Bangladesh after she absconded, as people hailed this as the nation’s second independence and a return to democracy.  

There is usually chaos in the power vacuum left after a regime falls. The police force fled their posts for fear of reprisals due to their brutal treatment of student protesters. A country suddenly without a government or a security force faced widespread looting and violence on the night of Aug. 5, mostly against Awami League members.  

The democratic movement by students responded immediately and swiftly to restore law and order that very night with the assistance of larger community support. It was nothing short of remarkable. 

Students and civilians self-organized into groups to manage traffic, clean waste, guard minority religious institutions, catch culprits and vandals, remove and repair damage and rebuild infrastructure and the country at large.  

Within a short three days of the regime's fall, at the request of student leaders, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was inaugurated to lead the new interim government. It is poetic justice that Yunus replaced Hasina, who for over a decade persecuted him and filed spurious cases against him. Now, the government cabinet is the most progressive and diverse in Bangladesh’s history. 

The installation of Yunus as interim head is what Bangladesh needs at this time. His first speech called to ensure the protection of all religious and ethnic minorities, prevent violence and strengthen  democratic processes to keep rebuilding Bangladesh. Calls to investigate and prosecute culprits properly, without mob justice, have been reiterated repeatedly. 

Monumental challenges are ahead for the desired gains of the Gen Z revolution to come to fruition. Awami League hollowed out institutions with corruption, cronyism, offshore embezzlement of funds, disappearances and extra-judicial killings, and a deeply angry set of loyalists in the country who have been cut off from sources of extortion income. 

These party loyalists, alongside Hasina’s family and advisors abroad, are supporting a propaganda campaign against Bangladesh, with Hindutva support in India. Their goal is to return to power. 

On Aug. 10, a mere two days after the interim government was sworn in, a judicial coup was attempted. While Yunus was paying respect to the late student protestor Abu Sayeed, the Awami League loyalist chief justice of Bangladesh attempted to declare the interim government illegal. 

Luckily, junior army officers alerted students, who immediately descended on the court, pressuring the chief justice to resign. Again, the vigilance, response and self-organization of students and the youth became visible.  

There are still considerable concerns about what will transpire in the coming days and weeks as the interim government tries to bring order into the mess Hasina left behind. 

But while the interim government and the people of Bangladesh work to rebuild the country, many celebrate having freedom of speech back and begin the process of healing. Now schoolchildren, parents, artists and professionals are painting murals across Bangladesh to commemorate the events and pay homage to those who paid a price to bring about change. 

Nonetheless, there are ongoing attempts to discredit and undermine the secular students and civilians from diverse backgrounds and classes who led the uprising against a dictator who ruled with an iron fist.   

As a nation, we must rebuild and renew Bangladesh as a robust democracy. This means leaving the old dynastic party politics, guarding the democratic process, ensuring reparative justice and remaining progressive and inclusive in governance. 

Bangladeshis have the opportunity to reform our nation. We must not go back. Bangladesh 2.0 has just started. 

Bangladesh’s second independence builds on the long history of the anti-colonial revolutionary politics of the youth who were central in past democratic uprisings. While this one is hailed as the Gen Z revolution, these students and youth stand on the shoulders of our fierce ancestors of the past. We are better off for it. 

Farhana Sultana, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and research director (Environment) for the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration.