After the Revolution: Bangladesh's Long Road to Democracy
On the one year anniversary of Bangladesh's Monsoon Revolution, Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty sits down with Dr. Smruti Pattanaik, Mubashar Hasan, and Jyoti Rahman to examine the state of Bangladesh in the year since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, and break down the progress and pitfalls on its long road to restoring democracy.
We discuss the fallout from Sheikh Hasina's regime and the transition government's challenges in restoring stability, the realignments in Bangladesh's politics and the prospects for elections in 2026, as well as the wider economic and foreign policy challenges for Bangladesh's next government.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Diplomat
2 days ago
- The Diplomat
It Was an Uprising, Not a Revolution, Says Bangladesh's ‘July Declaration'
On August 5, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus read out the much-awaited July Declaration in a public program at the South Plaza of the National Parliament. The July Declaration calls for justice for victims, recognition of July martyrs as 'national heroes,' and implementation of reforms to ensure democracy, rule of law, and sustainable development. It also seeks constitutional recognition of the uprising and envisions a future free from fascism, corruption, and inequality, reflecting the aspirations of a broad-based anti-fascist movement. Interestingly, the Declaration does not describe the July protests that culminated in the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 last year as a 'revolution.' Rather, it frames the events as a mass uprising. By calling it an uprising, the interim government sidesteps the deeper questions of legitimacy and structural change that a revolution demands. The Declaration attempts to legitimize the Yunus-led interim government as a constitutionally mandated government. The July Declaration states that the Twelfth National Assembly was dissolved following the July mass uprising and 'an Interim Government was formed constitutionally under the leadership of Dr. Muhammad Yunus on August 8, 2024, under Article 106 of the Constitution and in light of the opinion given by the Supreme Court.' Yunus was thrust into executive authority following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The circumstances of Hasina's removal were anything but constitutional. It was a revolutionary act, one that bypassed legal procedures and institutional norms. To then retroactively declare Yunus' government as constitutionally legitimate feels intellectually dishonest. It's a classic case of using constitutional language to mask extra-legal power shifts — a tactic often employed in hybrid regimes to lend a veneer of legality to what is essentially a political maneuver. Only a revolutionary framework can properly legitimize this government. Another troubling aspect of the Declaration is its crediting of the military for the success of the July movement. The July Declaration states that 'the armed forces gave support to the movement at its final stage,' although there is much evidence to show that the military deployed force to put down the mass protests. In the words of a key coordinator of the movement who spoke to The Diplomat, 'the military had no option but to support us as our numbers were a hundred times bigger than the number of bullets they had.' The July Declaration blames the Awami League for constitutional distortions, human rights abuses, and economic mismanagement over the past 16 years, and also for Bangladesh's democratic backsliding over the past 54 years. It also blames the military dictatorship of General H. M. Ershad, founder of the Jatia Party. It carefully bypasses the negative roles of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami, two main parties that participated in the July movement, in the history of Bangladesh. What the Declaration chooses to leave out is revealing. There is no mention of the 2013 Shapla Square massacre, the 2009 BDR mutiny, or the controversial judicial killings of BNP and Jamaat leaders. These events are not minor footnotes in Bangladesh's contemporary history but defining moments that shaped public trust, institutional integrity, and the trajectory of political dissent. Their absence from the Declaration suggests a deliberate effort to sanitize the historical record, perhaps to avoid implicating powerful actors, including the judiciary. The National Citizen Party (NCP), which was formed recently by student leaders of the mass protests, has demanded inclusion of several events for 'historical recognition.' These include the Pilkhana Carnage of 2009, the Shapla Square massacre, judicial killings, the anti-VAT movement of 2015, the Quota Reform Movement of 2018, Safe Road Movement of 2018, the murder of Abrar Fahad, an engineering student, by Awami League student wing members for criticizing the government over a water-sharing deal with India, and the Anti-Modi Movement of 2021, when Hefazat-e-Islam protested the Indian prime minister's visit to Bangladesh. It has also questioned the number of martyrs cited in the Declaration and has slammed the interim government for failing to determine the correct number. Hefazat-e-Islam, a Deobandi Islamist advocacy group, has also criticized the interim government for the omission of the Shapla killings, and accuses it of historical erasure and selective memory. The Jamaat too has criticized it due to the omissions of these historical events. In addition, Jamaat also wants the Declaration to include reference to the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, which it calls 'the Azadi of 1947.' Regarding how the Declaration will be incorporated into the Constitution, the NCP wants it to be the Preamble of a 'new Constitution.' The Jamaat also demanded a legal basis for the July Declaration, 'either through an ordinance, a legal framework order, or a referendum.' The BNP, the largest political party since the Awami League's fall, has not officially responded to the July Declaration. However, a member of its Standing Committee, Salahuddin Ahmed, has welcomed the Declaration. 'We are committed to granting the declarations made in the July Declaration formal recognition at both the state and constitutional levels,' he told journalists. Without a broad consensus and transparent mechanisms, the July Declaration risks becoming another symbolic gesture — potent in rhetoric but hollow in substance. Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. The challenge now is not just to draft new declarations, but to build a political culture that values truth, accountability, and inclusive dialogue. Only then can documents like the July Declaration move beyond performance and contribute to genuine democratic transformation.
The Diplomat
4 days ago
- The Diplomat
After the Revolution: Bangladesh's Long Road to Democracy
Smruti Pattanaik, Mubashar Hasan, and Jyoti Rahman join the podcast to discuss the progress and pitfalls in the year since Sheikh Hasina's ouster. On the one year anniversary of Bangladesh's Monsoon Revolution, Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty sits down with Dr. Smruti Pattanaik, Mubashar Hasan, and Jyoti Rahman to examine the state of Bangladesh in the year since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, and break down the progress and pitfalls on its long road to restoring democracy. We discuss the fallout from Sheikh Hasina's regime and the transition government's challenges in restoring stability, the realignments in Bangladesh's politics and the prospects for elections in 2026, as well as the wider economic and foreign policy challenges for Bangladesh's next government.
Nikkei Asia
6 days ago
- Nikkei Asia
Bangladesh interim leader Yunus to seek elections in February
DHAKA (Reuters) -- Thousands of exultant Bangladeshis gathered in Dhaka on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of mass protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina, as the interim government unveiled a road map for democratic reform with a national election next year. Rallies, concerts, and prayer sessions were held in the capital as people in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation celebrated what they called the country's "second liberation." The events culminated with Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus reading out the "July Declaration," which seeks to give constitutional recognition to the 2024 student-led uprising in response to repression and economic hardship that forced Hasina, then prime minister, to flee to India on Aug. 5. "The people of Bangladesh express their desire that the student-people uprising of 2024 will get proper state and constitutional recognition," said Yunus, who heads the interim government installed after Hasina's fall, as representatives of political parties looked on. "The July Declaration will feature in the schedule of the reformed constitution as framed by the government formed through the next national election," he said. Supporters see the charter as a foundation for institutional reform; critics say its impact could be largely symbolic in the absence of a legal framework or parliamentary consensus. Yunus said in an address to the nation that he would ask the election commission to organize national elections to be held in February 2026. "We must ensure that no future government can become fascist again. The state must be restructured in such a way that any sign of fascism, wherever it appears, can be immediately eradicated right there," he said. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, which had called for elections to be held before the end of 2025 to prevent a political vacuum, welcomed the February vote. While Hasina's Awami League remains suspended, many believe it should be allowed to participate - despite its top leadership facing prosecution for alleged human rights violations during last year's protests. Earlier on Tuesday, Yunus said, "fallen autocrats and their self-serving allies remain active," urging unity to protect the gains of the uprising while his government holds talks with political parties and civil society. His government had already launched sweeping reforms while trials for those responsible for the "July killings" of 2024 were progressing swiftly, he said. Crowds waving flags, holding placards, and chanting slogans gathered near parliament, including some who had been injured in the protests. "On this day in 2024, the tyrant Sheikh Hasina fled the country," said Ahmedul Hasan. "I was here last year too. I've come again to remember that moment and join the celebrations." Others were less exuberant. "Even after all the bloodshed and sacrifice, a truly liberal democracy in Bangladesh still feels like a distant dream," said Sabbir Ahmed, a college student who joined the protests last year. Police were on alert throughout the capital, with armored vehicles on patrol to deter any attempt by the Awami League to disrupt events. "Let this anniversary not be a day of retrospection, but a rallying cry for a brighter tomorrow," Hasina said in an open letter to the people of Bangladesh, adding that she had never resigned as prime minister. "Bangladesh has overcome adversity before, and we will rise again, stronger, more united, and more determined to build a democracy that truly serves its people."
