PEOPLE’S power has toppled one more authoritarian regime. Another bloody day in Bangladesh ended in triumph for the uprising in that country. Defying a nationwide curfew, hundreds of thousands of people came out onto the streets, bringing an end to prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed’s back-to-back 15-year rule. The military has now taken charge, putting in place an interim administration. But can this end the political turmoil that has shaken the South Asian nation? The situation continues to unfold.

It all started with protests by students against a controversial job quota system, which soon turned into a mass movement against a regime that, under Hasina Wajed, had secured a fourth straight term in office a few months ago through a controversial electoral exercise. The government had virtually established a one-party system, eliminating the opposition from the political scene. The enforcement of draconian laws had turned Bangladesh into an authoritarian state.

But student protests broke the fear. The use of coercive power by the administration to crush the demonstrations exacerbated the anger. Hundreds of protesters were killed by the security forces, turning the streets into battlegrounds. Bangladesh has not witnessed such violence in its over 50-year history as a state. The protests broke the myth of the Hasina Wajed government’s invincibility.

Within weeks, it turned into a mass uprising, breaking the hold of an authoritarian regime. It united all kinds of opposition forces that had been suppressed by the state. The events of the past weeks........

© Dawn