At the start of the year 2024 when the Sheikh Hasina government conducted a (non)election for the third consecutive time and firmly sat in power yet again, two reactions were visible in the society. On one hand, the individuals and groups connected to government power were exuberant and grew even more arrogant at the prospect of being permanently ensconced in power . On the other hand, all strata of society were gripped with a sense of helpless despair, a social depression, at the prospect of a further rise in corruption, looting and repression.
Behind this despair, anger was building up. There were many reasons for this steadily accumulated anger. The Hasina government displayed a high GDP rate, but the extreme unemployment, the economic struggle of the majority, the steady upward spiral of prices of essentials coupled with embezzlement, money laundering and growing disparity triggered by loan fraud and abnormally inflated costs of various development projects, had infuriated the people. Another reason of this anger was the government's total inaction in addressing the problems of the public along with the repression unleashed by the ruling party men.
Various "leagues" like Chhatra League and Jubo League were grabbing property, looting, razing forests to the ground, destroying rivers. Then there was torture and extortion everywhere, "toll" collected from the hawkers on the footpaths to the university halls. And those not in the good books of the government were picked up by the government forces, there were threats against expressions of dissent, there was crossfire, enforced disappearances and more.
The third matter that heightened the anger was the subservient stance with India. Killings along the border continued, water was increasingly blocked. Rather than resolving these matters, heads were bowed in submission and more and more was handed over to India. In June this year Sheikh Hasina visited India twice. On her second visit she expanded the transit facilities further. The people were in the dark about such agreements. It was when the various "leagues," police and BGB cracked down on the students who were demonstrating for jobs, when these forces began indiscriminate killing, that this accumulated anger exploded and people from all walks of life took to the streets.
On 5 June this year, in reference to a case pertaining to quota reforms, the court passed a ruling to revive the old quota system. In reaction, after 2018 the quota movement was revived all over again. The movement picked up pace and spread throughout June. From first July all educational institutions went on strike at the behest of the students. Incidentally, the teachers of public universities were also striking for their professional demands to be met.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sat at the helm of power in 1972 with the highest popularity in history. But it was he that laid the foundation of autocracy in the constitution. Within three years Bangladesh became a one-party almost feudal state
This strike was called by the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers Association and all teacher associations, which had always been known for their unswerving loyalty to the government. Coming to power through fraud and force for the third consecutive time, the government's propensity to sneer at people's demands had grown greatly.
Rather than addressing the demands of the teachers and students, the government made fun of them, humiliated them. This reached a height on the night of 14 July when the students were arbitrarily attacked and on 16 July when the indiscriminate killing began. It was difficult for the people to accept all this and thus the masses exploded in protest.
The manner in which people streamed to the 'Drohojatra' march organised on 2 August by 37 cultural organisations and the University Teachers Network, the way the Shaheed Minar teemed with crowds on 3 August and massive public support for the interim government outline drawn up by the Teachers Network for a post-Hasina democratic transformation of the state, made it clear that Hasina's government had lost all relevance. Even after thousands of people were killed and over 20 thousand injured, the people just would not stop. This unstoppable mass uprising tore down the government and Sheikh Hasina fled along with the people.
The people of Bangladesh liberated this country through the 1971 liberation with unimaginable courage and a sea of blood. Aspirations arose for a discrimination-free non-communal democratic state. But instead, there was a political system of wealth concentration, military and civil autocracy, looting and injustice.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sat at the helm of power in 1972 with the highest popularity in history. But it was he that laid the foundation of autocracy in the constitution. Within three years Bangladesh became a one-party almost feudal state. Sheikh Mujib was killed along with his family in 1975 and military rule took over. After than BNP and then Jatiya Party were created, one after the other, by military rulers. Awami League and these parties came to power at different times, and even Jamaat had a share in power as their cohorts.
As before, it was the youth that played a leading role in this mass uprising. Though the left, right and various parties had a role to play in the movement, this was not directly under any political party
Over several decades, expectations were dashed to the ground, but the people's resistance never stopped. There were the movements against military and civil autocracy, the anti-Ershad mass uprising, the movement demanding trial of the war criminals, the movement for a caretaker government, movement for the labour rights, student rights, movement for autonomy of the Chiittagong Hill Tracts, movement against rape and sexual harassment, movement for democracy, movement demanding cancellation of agreements that went against national interests and protection of Fulbari, Sundarbans, rivers, forests and land, movement against corruption and looting, movement for safe roads and resistance on innumerable such issues. People generated these movements, were assaulted, gave their lives. The 2024 mass uprising of people from all walks of life was a continuation of this trend.
There are three major successes of this extraordinary movement of the students and the general people: The fall of the powerful Hasina government which was corrupt and brutal from head to toe. 2. People's release from the daily torture and threat at the universities and all over. A halt to state-sponsored enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing. 3. An emergence of innumerable discussions, debates all over the country. Everyone had something to say, they were thinking of the country's future, they had opinions, they had differences of opinion.
As before, it was the youth that played a leading role in this mass uprising. Though the left, right and various parties had a role to play in the movement, this was not directly under any political party. Secondly, there was the active and sensitive role of students, teachers, guardians and women. Thirdly, digital technology had an important role through which news reached people speedily, video clips of brutality and resistance united the people and the demonstrators remained connected.
Fourthly, as there was no clearly delineated central leadership in this movement, several centres were created. A special characteristic of this movement was spontaneous participation and decentralisation of leadership. This was reflected on the walls. The writing by uninitiated hands calling for a discrimination-free Bangladesh was extraordinary.
Rising above all religious, racial and gender discriminations, a dream emerged for a Bangladesh of equality. But the way to materialise that dream has not been clearly enunciated so far in the words and deeds of the interim government formed after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, as its associate student leaders. It is being proven time and again that they had no preparation or guidelines for such a huge change.
A flip side of the aspirations was visible last month. There were a large number of youth from poor or lower middle class families, working people, among those killed and seriously injured in the mass uprising. The state is supposed to take responsibility to care for the families of those killed and the treatment of the wounded. This is still in a haphazard state.
Even now many persons of the religious and ethnic minority communities are suffering from insecurity. Temples, shrines, mosques and many works of art have been damaged. Many factories have come to a halt leaving thousands of workers without work, many workers are still having to take to the streets for their dues wages. Extortion has begun again. The price of essentials is still high. Dhaka's air pollution still ranks among the worst in the world.
The anti-environment projects, taken up during Hasina's rule, that are harmful to life and agreements that go against national interests are still intact. Traffic jams, road accidents or structural killing continues. In the meantime there is a gradual increase in activities of discriminatory politics. There is a visible propensity to trivialise or deny the 1971 liberation war, to dismiss the people's heritage of struggle, to glorify communal ideology.
Use of force, tagging, mob violence and misogynist activities are also popping up in various degrees. The forceful occupation, looting and corrupt ways stemming from the new liberal economic trends promoted by the World Bank, IMF and ADB, continue unabated.Needless to say, all this must be changed if the aspirations of the mass uprising are to be met.
However, the government had created reform commissions on various issues. These commissions are carrying out massive work on preparing their reports. The white paper committee had submitted its report. This includes detailed information on the irregularities, corruption, looting and money laundering of the past government.
If a discrimination-free Bangladesh for all is to be established, there will be need for political system of specific policies and programmes to eliminate class, gender, race and religious discrimination. If the prospects of a pro-people change that has emerged in 2024 are to materialise, then in 2025 the discriminatory activities must be defeated. The ideals and politics for a Bangladesh free of discrimination, oppression and dominance must be strengthened.
* Anu Muhammad is a teacher and editor of the quarterly journal Sarbajankatha
* This column appeared in the print an online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir