Bangladesh has just witnessed the successful outcome of a mass movement as the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government had to resign and the Armed Forces have taken over power of the government. A simple protest of the students, which started in demand of quota reform in public service, turned into a mass protest on the face of brutality and violence during the past few weeks. The protesters at a point placed their one-point demand for the resignation of the government and within only 2 days, the Awami League government was compelled to do so. Now, as the government had resigned and the Army has taken over power, the students and other protesters need to maintain peace and contribute in eliminating inequality from all aspects, the ground on which this protest actually started.
During the past few weeks, Bangladesh has witnessed tremendous violence and chaos as hundred of people lost their live, thousands were injured and public assets worth billions were vandalized. The general people were struggling to meet their ends and the country's economy took a strong hit. The movement of the students, which later became political, is the second largest movement after the mass movement of 1990. This protest was very different from the 1952 Language Movement or 1971 Liberation war but gained quick support from the people due to severe irregularities of the Awami League government during their past 15 years in power despite their strong development initiatives. Now, after a successful movement, we are yet to receive a democratic blueprint on which the country will move forward.
At one point of the movement, it seemed like Bangladesh was approaching towards a prolonged civil war. The impact of a civil war could be multifaceted, affecting the economic stability, social fabric, and political institutions of a nation. Fortunately, the political standoff ended after the government's resignation as that will act quickly to bring peace in Bangladesh. We must congratulate the Army chief Waker-uz-Zaman for stepping forward to take power to end the crisis and as he rightly requested the protesters to go back to their homes while they create a solid plan to take the country forward by establishing an interim government, we must show patience and provide required time to implement the changes.
The new Army government now must focus on bringing peace and stability inside the country. They need to make every institution of both public and private sector functional within quickest possible time so that the economy can turn around. All the relevant personnel irrespective of their political ideology must cooperate with the new government. Most importantly, the new government must run the country as per the constitution so that Bangladesh can protect its democratic stature.
The protesters must not engage in any more violence as that cannot bring any good for the country. A part of the protesters is still vandalizing the public properties and even attacking the properties and establishments of Awami League and its leaders. There is possibility of huge attack on the Awami League leaders and activists. But such violence will hurt our democracy and will delay our effort to be back on the road of development. Hence, the protesters should allow the new Army government to perform its duties properly without any hassle and only then the welfare of the country and the countrymen will be ensured.
Bangladesh went through severe humanitarian crisis during the past decade as the holders of opposing ideals were critically oppressed. Freedom of expression was critically violated. Rule of law did not prevail to a great extent. Recently also, we have seen the government to bar internet and social media on the face of mass movement. The media was controlled brutally and only those in favor of the government received acclamation and reward. Moreover, serious inequality in the society was created with the aid of heavy corruption. The cost of living went so high that we observed shift among social classes. This mass movement with the promise of eliminating inequality should now support the new government in ensuring that these missions are achieved and freedom of expression, rule of law and democracy is ensured all around.
Truly, this movement was a huge success and changed the history of the independent Bangladesh once again. Now there is a new Army government and hopefully a democratic government will be formed soon. But if everything remains same and the inequality, humanitarian issues and most importantly, corruption keeps existing, then this win cannot bring any real change for the nation. Hence, we should now focus on bringing these changes. We must know that, it will take time and need to have patience. Hopefully, these changes will come and Bangladesh will run on the road of development much faster.
As the demand of quota reform were met and the Awami League government finally resigned, the protesters including the students should now constructively use their protest to repair the nation, as they mentioned in their initial slogans. There are many issues in our education sector like corruption and lack of quality. While our students started protests to reform quota, no public or private university of Bangladesh is among the global or regional top ranking. This is because of the poor quality of education and teachers. The students should now also address such issues, which will truly repair the nation.
If critical constructive issues are not addressed, then only the government will change and everything will remain same. Our education system will not improve, quality of teachers will not improve or even the corruption in the education sector will prevail. If the students' protests can challenge these issues, only then their protests can bring constructive results. The guardians, honest teachers, the intellectuals and even the ordinary citizens should support the students to bring those changes, which will make us competitive globally and will create solid employment opportunities while supporting our development. But most importantly, the students must work with the government to bring these changes.
One of the critical challenges for the new government will be to repair our relationship with developing partners and the neighbors. Due to the recent violent clashes, we are in a challenging position globally. We need to comfort our neighbors to ensure regional stability. Moreover, we need to comfort our development partners to ensure their support in our national progress. To make the nation a functional one, the new government must place experienced and relevant personnel at key position so that they can truly contribute towards our development.
Moreover, the new government must ensure communal harmony. None for different religion or ideology must not face any atrocities. Human rights must be protected for every individual. If such things happen, then it will be a practice of inequality and will daunt our reputation globally. Hence, the new government as well as the protesters must remain very careful in this matter.
Most importantly, all Bangladeshis now want to return to a normal and peaceful life. The speech of the Army Chief was very encouraging as he expressed his strong commitment towards stabilizing the nation. The students, the intellectuals, the political leaders and all relevant stakeholders must support the new government to ensure the welfare of the nation and the citizens. The new Army government must also ensure justice for the deceased ones in this protest to ensure rule of law throughout the country.
The whole country is full of emotions right now. The students have led all the glorious movements in the history of this country just like this one. Due to any further violence or chaos, our achievements must not go in vain. The new government along with the participants of the movement must focus on constructive agenda to ensure our national progress. At the end of the day, Bangladesh must win.
The writer is Chief Editor at Mohammadi News Agency (MNA) and Editor at Kishore Bangla
