An ode to Bangladesh's students and the first Gen-Z revolution

Earlier this month, Bangladesh staged the world’s first-ever Gen-Z uprising. In doing so, it made history.

No one saw it coming. In a stunning and visceral display of defiance, a generation that finds expression through street art, hip-hop and TikTok ousted Sheikh Hasina, its autocratic ruler of 15 years, to become the unlikely torchbearer for all that is possible in the world.

The student protestors now face another challenge: to banish Bangladesh’s legacy of dynastic rule to the annals of history. Specifically, to dismantle the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — the two political parties that have dominated the country for decades.

Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus’s carefully curated cabinet is seen as a step in the right direction. Made up of human rights activists, lawyers, environmentalists, religious leaders, minority representatives and even students, it is widely hailed as competent, inclusive and, most importantly, non-partisan.

But the students are not stopping there. In the spirit of renewal that continues seeping into the nation, they have hinted at creating a new political party.

It promises to be an arduous task. The old guard is not ready to fade away quietly. Both legacy parties are scrambling to claw their way back into relevance, with the most vocal advocate for the Awami League being none other than Sheikh Hasina’s own son, Sajeed Wazed.

Wazed got off to something of a petulant start, declaring on an Indian news channel that his family was “done with politics”, that Sheikh Hasina was “disappointed with the people of Bangladesh after all she has done” and that they "are being very ungrateful”.

But he quickly changed tack, using his X platform to remind everyone of the Awami League’s historical significance as the party of independence, founded by his maternal grandfather and Bangladesh’s first leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

More disturbingly, he has been making capital out of the recent attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu and other minority groups, much of which has been coming from unverified sources inside India despite it being refuted by trusted journalists and community members on the ground.

Meanwhile, the BNP, which hasn’t been in power for 15 years, is tainted by its own history of corruption, human rights abuses, suppression of opposition voices and worse.  

Bangladesh's second independence

In a country where around 28 per cent of the population is under 29 and has been yearning for change for so long, what appeal can these tarnished parties possibly hold?

Meanwhile, as Bangladesh struggles to break free from its past, its neighbours look on keenly. In India, there appear to be rising concerns in some quarters about the nature of its future relationship with a new Bangladesh, especially given Sheikh Hasina’s cosy ties with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi — a relationship that many believed was turning Bangladesh into a de facto satellite of its powerful neighbour.  

In Pakistan, on the other hand, the mood appears to be somewhat different, in particular among the younger population, many of whom have taken to social media to express their admiration for their Bangladeshi peers and to post scenes of celebration in support of the uprising.

It comes as little surprise that Bangladesh’s neighbours are paying close attention. The histories of these three nations were entwined long before the Indian army rolled its tanks into Dhaka in 1971, sealing the fate of what was then East Pakistan and playing a key role in the liberation of the Bengali people.

Politically too, the spectre of dynastic politics looms large across South Asia: In India, the Gandhi family and Congress ruled for decades before being cast into the wilderness by the BJP. In Pakistan, the once-fallen giants of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) recently staged a comeback, despite the rise of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek e-Insaf (PTI).

With this in mind, is there a risk that Bangladesh will revert to its past?

It is worth noting that the number of people involved in Bangladesh’s uprising, while significant, is dwarfed by a population of around 120 million eligible voters.

And in a country where loyalty to established political parties runs deep, it is likely that support for the Awami League and the BNP remains substantial across large swathes of the country. Both parties know this would be reflected in the ballot box if an election was held today.

Perhaps that is why rumours abound that Yunus’s caretaker government may remain in place for some time, a few years even, before elections take place.

If so, it may not be a bad thing. Rushing to the polls could very well result in one of the old parties reclaiming control, if not outright, then possibly as part of a ruling coalition — even with each other, unlikely though it may seem.

Yet, whatever the odds, a new, truly representative party must emerge – and soon.

The future of Bangladesh depends on it. The country owes it to the hundreds of people killed by Hasina’s forces in recent months, to those who endured years of oppression and to the brave students who risked everything to bring about change.

Even if this new party cannot win outright, it may gain enough momentum to serve as a reasonably robust opposition, thereby providing some assurance of accountability and due democratic process.

Bangladesh has entered unchartered territory. The recent uprising should be seen as a beacon of hope, not just for its neighbours, but for many nations across the world.

Building a new Bangladesh will be a mammoth task, but if anyone can achieve it, it is Gen-Z. 

Shamim Chowdhury is a London-based British-Bangladeshi award-winning journalist and writer.

Follow on X: @shamimjourno

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.