By Chethana Janith, Jadetimes News
Bangladesh’s economic plight and stagnant employment growth in the private sector led to widespread dissatisfaction among the citizens. Almost 32 million Bengali citizens out of the total population of 170 million are jobless or uneducated. Dollar reserves in the country are shrinking, while inflation hovers at around 10 percent per annum. The Bangladeshi High Court’s decision in June to reinstate the quota system for government jobs further ignited the situation. Students around the country conducted massive protests against this decision, resulting in the death of 300 people, and leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina Wajid.
The Rise and Fall of Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s Government
On 5th August 2024, Sheikh Hasina Wajid fled the country on a military helicopter after her resignation as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Hasina Wajid is the daughter of the founding father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. The latter led the country’s freedom movement in 1971. After one year of the independence of the country, the government announced a special quota system of 30 percent for the families, including the grandchildren, of the freedom fighters in all public sector jobs.
Bangladesh saw great progress during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina Wajid since 2008 at the macro level. In 2005, the country had only a 50000 km long road network which stretched to 90000 km in 2021. The number of airports also increased from 5 to 10 during her tenure. Only 50 percent of the households in the country had electricity in 2005, but now 90 percent of the Bengali households have access to electricity. Poverty also declined from 40 percent to 25 percent during her tenure. However, in recent years, the youth of the country have been facing significant unemployment in the private sector due to its stagnant growth. 19 percent of the country’s population still lives below the poverty line. Almost, 400000 Bengali youth appear annually in the competitive exams for 3000 public sector jobs.
Hasina Wajid turned the country from a democracy to a country ruled under fascism according to some observers and analysts. Most of the opposition leaders and workers were incarcerated during her rule. People from Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, including Meer Quasem Ali – a top leader of the party – have been hanged in the country under her tenure for supporting Pakistan in the past. Moreover, leaders and workers of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) have also faced arrests and other hardships during Hasina Wajid’s government in Bangladesh.
The Impact of Quota System Reinstatement and Public Uprising
The people of the country were desperate due to these moves. Rising inflation and declining job opportunities further infuriated the citizens. Reinstatement of the quota system, under which 30 percent of the jobs were allocated for the families of the freedom fighters, by the High Court earlier this year, sparked protests around the country. The demonstrations were taken out by the students. These protests turned into brutal conflicts between the workers of the Awami League, Hasina Wajid’s political party, and the protesters. People from both sides got injured and died as a result of these conflicts and clashes.
The state also used violence to control these anti-government protests. Police used batons, sound grenades, rubber bullets, and tear gas to quash these protests. Reportedly, 300 people died as a result of state violence and conflicts between anti-government protesters and Awami League supporters. The government also banned social media apps including WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Mobile internet was also restricted by the government to control student protests. However, these endeavors came to no avail. The protests gained further momentum after these restrictions and violence by the Hasina Wajid’s government.
Although the Supreme Court declared the High Court’s decision void and ordered to scale the contested quotas from 30 percent to 5 percent, the protesters started demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina Wajid for all the brutalities committed by the state under her rule. Protesters blamed the Prime Minister for all the deaths during these protests. Hasina blamed the opposition parties, Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP for the protests. However, the mounting public pressure forced her to succumb before the protesters. She fled in a military helicopter to India as per the reports.
The Future of Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities
General Waker-Us-Zaman, the army chief of the country, announced her resignation. He further announced that an interim government is formed in the country and the army will look after all the government set up before the general elections and will ensure peace and stability in the country. People around the country celebrated this movement as an independence from fascist rule. This successful uprising by the students has sent a message to the whole world that Gen Z holds the potential to stand against all the cruelties and is politically enlightened. However, the real challenge for the Bengali people starts now. Although many opposition leaders, especially former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, have been released from jail after the resignation of PM Hasina Wajid, there is a widespread fear that the Bengali army can take over all the control of the country for a long time and use this opportunity to declare a military coup. The people of the country will have to keep an eye on all the events up till the formation of a new democratic government to ensure transparency. If the Bengali military or any other non-democratic force sensed that the public pressure had now declined, they could use this opportunity to intervene in the democratic system and the fate of the people of Bangladesh would become darker in this case.
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