Bangladesh entered a new era on August 5, 2024. On that day, the country’s then-prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned and fled to neighboring India in the face of a mass uprising by students and people from all walks of life. The people celebrated a ‘second independence,’ after the one in 1971. As we know, the concept of a nation’s independence or freedom includes key elements such as the right to self-govern without foreign interference, the people’s right to choose their government, and civil liberties, including social justice and human rights. This raises the question: did Bangladesh lose these essentials of freedom during Sheikh Hasina’s rule? Let’s explore this question.
Only about seven months before the fall of her government, Sheikh Hasina was elected the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for a successive 4th term in January 2024. Thus, she and her party, the Awami League, had been in power for over 16 years before their fall. An interim government, backed by the army, took over after the collapse of the Awami League government.
The new government is headed by Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Younus. There is a panel of twenty advisers to assist him; none of whom are politicians. The interim government is supposed to pave the way to a free and fair election and will hand over power to the people’s elected representatives. There is widespread speculation about the duration of this government with none exceeding two years. Hence, the interim government neither has the time nor the mandate to address long-term issues like climate change or poverty alleviation.
Returning to the point of mandate, we must consider the mindset of the people after a great struggle and sacrifice. They toppled a wrongdoing autocratic regime and want to quickly carry that momentum forward to fix everything in no time. That’s not possible of course, but it defines their aspirations for the interim government, which is more than any official mandate.
Therefore, the interim government has an obligation to the people to make significant changes and reforms, particularly in the areas of human rights and social justice. The student movement was launched under the banner of “The Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement,” with the appellation ‘anti-discriminatory’ implying that the ultimate aim of the movement is achieving social justice. Social justice and human rights are the building blocks of a just, equitable, and prosperous society without which a country’s independence cannot be meaningful.
To understand the importance and urgency of the changes and reforms mentioned above, we must look back at the ousted regime and recount some of its actions and performance in the areas of human rights and social justice. Social justice and human rights are closely intertwined. Human rights are the universal birthrights of individuals, based on the principle that all people are born free and equal. Social justice ensures that human rights are protected for everyone in society. However, this did not happen under the Awami League regime.
[… … …]
This article was published in an special issue of the Daily Sun on October 24, 2024. Please read the full article here or here.