What sort of change did we want?

To speak in terms of cricket scores, today we cross the first half century since the fall of the autocratic rule. But the days are zipping past fast and the memory of many has started to grow hazy. And when memory starts clouding, it is quite easy for many persons to say, is this the change we wanted?

The full picture is yet to come to light of the brutality that was unleashed in those turbulent days of July-August, in the all-out effort for Sheikh Hasina to cling on to power. Little Junaid Islam Ratul of Bogura breathed his last on Monday, after a 48-day struggle against death. There are over 300 more injured persons who are languishing in hospital, with no guarantee that they will eventually survive and return home.

Very little is known of how the government ran in the three days before the interim government headed by Dr Muhammad Yunus took over responsibility. The ire of the infuriated masses first fell upon the police and Awami League leaders and activists.

According to the Bangladesh Police Association, at least 450 of the country's 639 police stations were "affected". The police, in a bid to save themselves, abandoned their weapons, changed out of their uniforms and fled. So even if anyone was summoned to enforce law and order, there was no one to be found. The presence of the army does assist in restoring confidence among the people, but they cannot carry out police duties. The same applied to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

The Ansars, who always served as a support to the police, launched a sort of rebellion against the government. It was hardly two weeks into the interim government at the time and things were not fully functional. And while tackling the Ansar rebellion, the country was suddenly inundated with a deluge of floods.

Diplomatic tensions with the large neighbour were sparked off when India failed to provide forewarning of the floods, a young boy and girl were shot dead in a matter of two days along the border by India's Border Security Force. The political activities of former prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina who was sheltered in India made matters worse.

The tensions continued, with the instigation of extremist Hindutva groups, spewing out propaganda and disinformation in an effort to create unrest.
Unrest was unabated within the country too. We are all well aware of how the workers' demands for minimum wages were suppressed over the past years. Now with the environment conducive for meetings and rallies, the workers are bringing out processions, erecting blockades on the roads. Even the auditors in government service are now able to block busy roads. And amidst all this, there has been serious violence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. No one can say for sure if all this unrest is spontaneous. Many are seeing indications of the past government's followers and beneficiaries playing a role in the unrest within the administration.

Undoubtedly, due to the cruelest brutality unleashed in Bangladesh since independence, anything associated with Awami League was subject to public fury and vengeance. Many members of the minority community came under attack because of the support and involvement with Awami League. Also, taking advantage of the disorder and absence of the police, personal grievances and conflicts came to the fore and in some instances the minority community was targeted by those aiming to snatch their possessions and property. But the Indian media went to such extremes in their exaggerated reports and propaganda that the leading global media came to see things first hand, and ended up highlighting how the Indian extremists were spreading false propaganda.

It may be recalled how, a year or so ago, Awami League's general secretary had responded to demands for Sheikh Hasina's resignation, saying that if BNP came to power, they would wipe Awami League out overnight. He had said, "They say that if they come to power they will not harm Awami League. How sweet! As it is they have finished us. If they come to power, they will complete the job in just one night."

Prior to Obaidul Quader, another politician made an even scarier prediction. President of Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangabir Kader Siddiqui (Bir Uttam) on 23 March 2022 said, "Today I am worried that if the government steps down and BNP comes to power, Bangabandhu Government Medical College will be shut down. Those who are there will be kicked out. If Tarique Rahman comes to power, 500,000 people will be killed in one day."

However much Awami League has been finished off, has happened in broad daylight, not in the deep of night, and that is because of the harsh policies of the party chief and her fleeing away. How much of the party is left, or will be left, only future will tell. Kader Siddiqui may say, Tarique hasn't come to power yet. No killing can be condoned. All the killings, attacks and looting must be investigated and face justice.

Those who maintained that there was "no alternative to Sheikh Hasina" propagated a scare of horrific circumstances. That did not happen. But that does not given space for complacence. Rather, there is all the more need to focus on ensuring the rule of law to ensure a positive outcome to the 5 August change and to advance towards full-fledged democracy. And justice must be ensured for all the killings and crimes that have taken place.
Violence for long had become embedded in the very bone marrow of a large part of our politics. The university campuses were not free of this either. Unfortunately, there is no justice for the killings or brutality in the campuses. Other than Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party, the student wings of the parties who never came to power have been active too in such violence. But Chhatra League's aggression over the past 15 years has broken all records.

According to news reports, 151 students were killed in the universities of the country since independence. The records of 2019 indicate that 24 students were killed in various universities during the 10-year stretch of Awami League at the helm. We do not want to see a repetition of this in any educational institution.

The question has arisen as to why we have to see such condemnable incidents even after the campuses have been freed of Chhatra League. That question is everyone's question. But the tone and slant of the question asked by certain people indicates that they want to go back to the past, they want to say, "We were better off before." Actually we should all take a look back at history.

If we just look at the numbers during the July movement, even then we will see from 15 July to 5 August the official number of these killed surpassed 700. Unofficial records put the number at double, that is, 1,423. And in the 26 days after 5 August, according to Dhaka Tribune, the number was 286. Let me repeat, not a single death is acceptable and each one must be brought to trial. But at the same time, we cannot forget the few weeks of unprecedented brutality. How can be forget the 15 years of innumerable enforced disappearances, killings, imprisonments and torture?

Before we ask "is this the change we wanted", we must remember that the financial crimes and massive corruption of the collaborators of the autocrat has come to a halt for now. Perhaps it cannot be said for how long this remains halted, but certainly efforts must be made to retrieve at least some of the 2000 billion taka that has been drained from the country and siphoned abroad, that the dues be collected from the embezzlers who emptied out the banks in the guise of borrowing. And above all, would it be wise to relinquish this opportunity to fulfill the fight to revive our voting rights?

* Kamal Ahmed is a senior journalist
* This column appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir