BANGLADESH has entered a critical phase in its history on August 5. The student-mass uprising of July-August is evidence that Bangladeshis will not tolerate fascism. What started off from Dhaka University on July 1 as an innocuous demand for reforms of the quota system for government jobs turned into a massive revolution and ousted 16-year-old Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 despotic Awami League government.
What is amazing is that young students guided this movement with exceptional skill and turned it into a revolution. They intelligently cashed in on Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 blunders. The movement was completely apolitical. Opposition political parties supported the movement but were not allowed to meddle in it. The students announced a 65-member coordination committee involving students from different universities and colleges across the country. They organised protests, human chains, and highway blockades. They raised the campaign step by step to a level where general people voluntarily identified themselves with the students. It was extraordinary to see hundreds of thousands of young boys and girls marching the streets and chanting slogans. Enthusiastic mothers clasping their babies and toddlers holding their fathers鈥� fingers marched the roads of Dhaka, not fearing that a bullet may hit them anytime. It was truly an unprecedented sight. The power of youth vanquished the brutal and rotten Hasina government. Freedom-loving people have proved their power in 1971 and again in 2024.
The BNP, or other political parties, did not succeed in mounting such a movement to oust the Awami League government during the past 15 years. One wonders from where these students got guidance to lead this movement. Who were their mentors? It was really gratifying to see these young students speak with reason, restraint and creativity. After seeing the way the students led this revolution, many want them to launch a new political party and be the vanguard of new Bangladesh.
People have suffered immensely from the oppressive methods of the Hasina government. Hasina did not tolerate even the slightest criticism. She used state security apparatuses to quell dissenting voices. She used draconian methods to silence critics. There are reports that say nearly 2,700 people were victims of extrajudicial killing during her 16-year rule. At least 700 people disappeared. Thousands of opposition political activists were thrown into jails on fictitious charges. People languished in secret prisons (aynaghor) for months without any recourse to justice. She systematically violated human rights and tried to eliminate all opposition parties.
Behind the fa莽ade of democracy, freedom of speech was severely curtailed. The print and electronic media were controlled harshly. What was nauseating was the preponderance of the Mujib cult in every sphere of public life. Anyone not falling behind the Mujib cult was called a 鈥榬ajakar鈥� ie, 鈥榯raitor鈥�. Every government department was nakedly politicised. Unless one was an Awami League follower, one did not get a government job or promotion. These suppressive measures had effectively distanced Hasina from the mass. All these injustices and repressions brewed tremendous resentment amongst the people.
For the first 15 days (July 1鈥�15), the movement was peaceful. They repeatedly wanted to discuss their demands with the government. Sheikh Hasina refused to speak to the protesting students, arguing that the matter was in court. They met president Shahabuddin on July 14 and presented a memorandum, seeking his intervention to reform the quota system. The president did not have the courage to tell Hasina to accept the students鈥� demand.
On July 15, Sheikh Hasina unleashed her Chatra League hoodlums to quell the students agitation. These lethally armed gangsters attacked protesting students on the streets. Many girls and boys were severely beaten up. On July 16, Abu Sayeed, an unarmed student of Rangpur Begum Rokeya University, was shot from close range and killed by police in cold blood. Another fearless student, Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, an MBA student of Bangladesh University of Professionals, was shot dead on July 18 in Uttara while he was distributing water bottles to protestors.
The photo of Abu Sayeed standing alone with his arms stretched out facing the police before being shot several times went viral. Abu Sayeed, Mugdha, and many others shall remain indelible icons of freedom for the young generation of Bangladesh. Several others were killed that day. Remember Noor Hossain, who was killed by police on November 10, 1987, and Dr Milon, who was killed on November 27, 1990, while protesting against autocrat president Ershad. The photographs of these valiant unarmed protestors shall remain in the minds of democracy-loving people of Bangladesh.
That martyrdom of Abu Sayeed was the turning point in the movement. There was no turning back. 鈥楺uota reform movement鈥� turned into 鈥榓nti-discrimination movement鈥�, which had a broader connotation. When people conquer the fear for life, it becomes impossible to defeat them. While showing photographs of killed students to home minister Asaduzzaman, a policeman said that when one died in firing, those standing near him refused to flee. It is difficult to suppress this protest, he said. People by then had overcome fear for life and joined the protesting students. Between July 15 and August 4, Hasina let loose a reign of terror across the country. The latest count of deaths during this revolution is over 800. The actual figure is yet to be compiled. Several thousand have been injured.
On August 3, the students organised a massive demonstration at Dhaka Shahid Minar and announced a one-point demand 鈥� the resignation of Sheikh Hasina. The students announced 鈥楳arch to Dhaka鈥� for 6 August, but later it was preponed to August 5. That day, defying curfew, students and people started to march peacefully towards Gonobhaban. Hasina realised her time was up. Meanwhile, army chief General Waqer-Uz-Zaman had taken the decision that his forces would not shoot at people. That impelled Hasina to hastily resign and flee Bangladesh after midday on August 5, bringing an end to her diabolic rule of 16 years. All Awami League ministers and leaders had either fled the country or gone into hiding.
Hasina fled to India, which had supported her to the hilt to continue her repressive rule in Bangladesh. India is yet to accept the revolutionary change in Bangladesh. The Modi government is now faced with a dilemma on what to do with Hasina. Hasina has not been able to find a country that will accept her. She is stuck in India. Delhi has two options: either to give her political asylum or hand her over to Bangladesh to face trials for abusing human rights and committing mass killing. Giving political asylum to Hasina will certainly jeopardise Delhi鈥檚 relations with Dhaka. India, over the past two decades, had not been able to read the minds of Bangladeshi people. Delhi鈥檚 squint-eyed policies to dominate Bangladesh in every aspect had failed. The main reason for this failure is that Delhi befriended only Hasina, not the people of Bangladesh. India鈥檚 relations with all its neighbours are hostile.
Now that the fascist regime is gone, a new democratic Bangladesh has to be rebuilt. A new interim government under Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on August 8. The main objective of the reform is to ensure that fascism never returns to Bangladesh. Many call the revolution new independence. People want a corruption-free society with equal opportunities. There would be complete law and order and justice for every citizen. Every government organ would be fully accountable.
The old charter of 1972 has become a piece of rag. Hasina amended it repeatedly in such a way that she gained absolute control over every organ of the government. The judiciary, administration, and the legislature were under her complete control. She divided the nation into pro-Mujib and anti-Mujib segments, equating Mujib with the spirit of 1971. She depraved every department and indulged in unprecedented corruption. In the process, she became a monster. The coterie of sycophants around her made millions, destroyed the banking system and syphoned off the money abroad. Hasina left the country鈥檚 economy in a precarious state.
The interim government has started the process of cleaning the administration and bringing back discipline in public life. Civil societies are now energetically discussing the need for a new constitution. Some of the recommendations that have come from different civil societies are; bringing a true democratic system; repealing all anti-people laws; enacting a law for the formation of Election Commission, re-introducing the caretaker government system; national election on the basis of proportional representation; ensuring the right to vote freely; separation and balance of power between the president and the prime minister; introducing referendum for major political decisions; accountability in every organ of the government; independence of judiciary; no more than two terms as prime minister; democracy in political parties; and introducing laws that foreclose possibilities of reappearance of fascism, etc. The primary aim of these reforms is to make sure that true democracy is established and ensure that fascism never can raise its ugly head in Bangladesh.
Drafting a new charter will be a daunting task. But Bangladesh needs one now. The task of the interim government now is to set up a constituent assembly to draft the new constitution.
With the 1972 constitution, the first Republic of Bangladesh began its journey. The student-people uprising of 2024 has created the stage for a new constitution. The second republic of Bangladesh will start its odyssey with the new constitution.
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Mahmood Hasan is a former ambassador and secretary.
