From darkness to dawn: A year since 5 August

Robert Browning's poem The Patriot comes to mind. The victorious hero describes his return: "It was roses, roses all the way / With myrtle mixed in my path like mad." The crowds greet him with unadulterated adulation and obeisance. Then fast forward, and the poem continues: "I go in rain, and more than needs, / A rope cuts both my wrists behind, / And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds, / For they fling, whoever has a mind, / Stones at me for my year's misdeeds."

From Hitler to Hasina, Stalin to the Shah of Iran, once revered as statespersons, they morphed into megalomaniac monsters. Blinded by power, greed, and illusions of omnipotence, they lost all tolerance for dissent and clung to power at any cost, even at the cost of thousands of human lives. We saw that firsthand in August last year, and in the years leading up to that outburst of the people's pent-up outrage, ire, and indignation.

Today is 5 August. One year ago, the feeling on the streets was electric. While protesters fell like tenpins in the face of law enforcement’s incessant gunfire, the air was filled with the stench of tear gas, the streets were stained in blood, and the strident slogans against the fascist were even louder than the deadly bullets, and more powerful too.

Hasina fled. This woman had sneeringly mocked the protesters just days earlier, saying “Hasina never flees!” And there she was, on 5 August, scurrying to a helicopter with a couple of suitcases and her sister, fleeing like a coward, leaving behind her loyalists and toadies to face the music, to pay the price for her lust for power. Rats, they say, are the first to abandon a sinking ship. The captain is supposed to remain to the end. Her cronies now need to take a reality check about their misplaced loyalties.

The date 5 August 2024 marks the end of a long, brutal regime, and the beginning of a new, albeit uncertain, journey.

The journey may be uncertain, but the relief is palpable. The 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina and her party Awami League, was a saga of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, systemic torture, abuse of anti-terror and cybercrime laws, and a sheer reign of terror. So when critics are so eager to find fault with the present state apparatus, they should pause and take a hard look at the past. This does not mean impunity for the current government; it means prudence and patience.

Clearing up 15 years of garbage -- a plundered banking sector, embezzlement, a muffled media, politicised educational institutions, administration, police, the Anti-Corruption Commission, judiciary, and more -- is no easy task. It’s a Herculean effort. Kudos to those who have taken it on, despite all odds. They may be earning more brickbats than bouquets at a time they need support and constructive criticism. But they are tenaciously untangling the mess, weaving a way forward for those who will take the helm in the days ahead.

The July-August uprising was a turning point. The movement’s success lay in its spontaneity and the invisible momentum that powered it forward. And when Hasina fled and her government fell, it was not just the fall of a regime, it was a reclamation of civic agency.

Being neutral, respected both at home and abroad, and non-partisan Professor Muhammad Yunus emerged as a unifying figure. There really was no one else at that moment to take on this daunting role. The military, mercifully, declined to take over and thus earned public respect. And so, the interim government was installed. It was a medley of youth and experience. It may not be a perfect machine, may not be running the country like clockwork, but they are not here to stay. This is just a transition. They are doing the dirty work, cleaning up the debris of the past as much as they can, before an elected government takes over. All that the people want is democracy, that no power-hungry dictator ever grips the country again.

That the interim government is struggling to do the job should not come as a surprise. They have inherited a politicised bureaucracy, a politicised law enforcement system, a debt-ridden economy, a legal structure compromised by years of corruption and abuse, and more. The government has been striving to bring about reforms and rebuild trust.

But people are not patient. They are relieved at the end of autocratic rule, but they want results. There is rising impatience, a frustration at the lack of tangible change. Economic hardship persists. Justice moves at a slow pace.
Elements of the past Awami regime, as well as foreign powers none too pleased with the change, are ready to fan the flames, using all tactics, even the dirty ploy of misinformation and fake news, to deride the government and instigate unrest.

But the people are no fools. When all sorts of false videos pop up --  ranging from Hasina’s “imminent return” to fabricated discrepancies in the present government -- public reaction is mixed. Those who want to believe it, do so. And even those who don’t may use it to fan rumours and create a ruckus. But generally speaking, the people are politically savvy, and even tech-savvy. They are well aware of AI, and years of deception by the past government's political propaganda has made them wary, even cynical.

This is not the time to demand instant results. Elections are on the horizon, and this critical moment calls for unity and responsibility from all stakeholders. After all, the dream of democracy is a shared one. Civil society, political parties, the media, and the public must all pitch in and contribute constructively. Criticism is certainly required, but the kind that is constructive, not cheap negativity. Free expression must be exercised with truth, not hysteria or malice.

What lies ahead? Election and expectations. What people want is a genuinely free and fair election and an inclusive one. The young voters who have been deprived from voting all these years are eager to cast their ballots for the first time. Bangladesh’s elections were once festive occasions until the past regime turned them into occasions of fear, manipulation, and one-sided ugly jubilation. So the excitement and expectations are mounting as February, the tentative election time, draws near.

This is the moment when Bangladesh needs more maturity than ever before. It is a time to remember where we were and where we are today.
Look back -- 4 August was a day of darkness, then 5 August brought a dawn of hope. But dawn is not the day. As political parties and the public await the election in all eagerness, let us vow not to plunge back into the past. We want to vote. We want democracy. We want accountability. We want prosperity and progress. We want freedom of expression. We want a Bangladesh that stands proud and truly independent.

Let us not squander this hard-earned moment. The path ahead is ours to shape with patience, unity and unwavering commitment to the values we fought to reclaim.

* Ayesha Kabir is the head Prothom Alo English web