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| Mohammad Yunus and Mohammad El Barani. taking pictures Independent Digital |
Mohammad Yunus and Mohammad El Barani. taking pictures Independent Digital Bangladesh
The day after Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I received a phone call from a friend. The friend spent some time on the streets of Dhaka that day. He told me how students as well as common people participated in massive protests and led the movement. I ask him about the political structure of the students and their leaning towards politics. He then said that the protest appeared to be well organized. Students started a movement for quota reform in government jobs, but it eventually led to demands for the resignation of the government. However, even a few hours before Sheikh Hasina left the country, it did not seem that the government might fall. Everyone thought the government would be more violent.
This protest in Bangladesh is not at all sudden. It's basically a part of a cycle of outrage that started over a decade ago. The claims are also quite old. Such as reforming quotas, treating students well, stopping government repression, etc. These apparently simple claims could have been easily resolved. But the demands for quota reform have always been tried desperately by the country's elite. The birth history of the country is associated with this quota. Because the majority of the quota was reserved for the country's freedom fighters, who fought for independence in 1971 against the Pakistani army risking their lives. Many have given their lives, many have lost limbs.
But it must also be recognized that such a quota system should not be maintained from generation to generation. At the same time, it must be recognized that the quota system is associated with the problem of youth employment in the country and the re-establishment of Islamist forces in the country. It must be recalled that the Islamist parties of Bangladesh compromised with the Pakistani army during the liberation war.
Anyway, Sheikh Hasina canceled this quota system once during the anti-quota movement in 2018. After that, whether the quota system will be maintained or not, the decision will go to the court this year. The High Court argued that the quota system should be reinstated. But later in June, the Supreme Court ruled that the quota system could not be fully reinstated, but only partially. After this verdict, the movement took a new form. The agitators started the agitation targeting Sheikh Hasina.
A decade ago, there was a massive protest in Dhaka's Shahbagh square. The court sentenced Jamaat leader Quader Mollah to life imprisonment on various charges during the liberation war in 1971. Thousands of people gathered in Shahbag square to protest against the court verdict. However, the end result of such protests cannot be predicted. For example, it could not be predicted until Sheikh Hasina's departure on August 5. However, these recent protests have similarities with the 2011 Cairo protests. As a result of the protests, then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11 and fled to Saudi Arabia.
Cairo to Dhaka
Egypt's army took over after Hosni Mubarak left Cairo. But those who protested in Cairo's Tahrir Square wanted International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradi to take charge of Egypt. In such a situation, the army was forced to hold elections in 2012 to convene a Constituent Assembly. Egypt's most organized political party, the Muslim Brotherhood, came to power in that election. A year later, in 2013, the army overthrew the Brotherhood government. They appointed El Barady as Vice President. But he was only able to hold that position from July to August. During that time, Egypt's military suspended the constitution and the army chief took off his uniform and sat in the president's chair himself in a simple suit. The outspoken General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been Egypt's president for more than a decade. He jailed most of the leaders of the Tahrir Square protests. The agitating generation is now very disappointed.
El Baradi is the Nobel laureate in Bangladesh. Muhammad Yunus. He has already formed a government of former bureaucrats, academics and liberals from the NGO sector. Former Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed has been given the charge of Finance Ministry. He is particularly famous for implementing neoliberal economic policies. He will no doubt feel comfortable meeting and discussing Ahmed Kouchouq, a senior economist at the World Bank and Egypt's newly appointed finance minister.
Bangladesh army is still in barracks. But the culture of repression has not changed, only the address of arrest has changed. Yunus's government is arresting ministers-MPs and other leaders of the outgoing Sheikh Hasina government on various charges. Bangladeshi newspapers are reporting new arrests on various charges every day. Sheikh Hasina's party Awami League is on the verge of destruction. He himself lost the right to travel on a diplomatic passport. Rashed Khan Menon, leader of the Workers' Party, was recently arrested on charges of murder. Even Awami League MP and cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, who is now playing cricket for Bangladesh in Pakistan, has been charged with murder. It remains to be seen whether these cases will last or not. Apparently, Sheikh Hasina's Awami League and associated party members are being arrested only for the purpose of revenge. Meanwhile, the resurgence of Jamaat-e-Islami is seen. Another wing of Jamaat, 'Amar Bangladesh Party - (AB Party)' has been registered as a political party. It is believed that several leaders of this party have a few University administration may be given responsibility.
As a result, it seems that Bengali spring is going towards winter very quickly.
Author: Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent for The Globetrotter. He is also the editor of Left Word Books and director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
-Article taken from People's Dispatch. Translated and abridged from the English.
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