The downfall of Hasina Wajed as the prime minister of Bangladesh closes an important chapter in the country’s history.
Despite being celebrated in recent years as a poster-child of globalization and development, with economic growth, rising incomes and positive directions for various social indicators, Bangladesh could not overcome abiding weaknesses such as widening economic disparities, high youth unemployment, and a turn to autocracy under Hasina’s Awami League. Dissatisfaction arising from these conditions fueled the protests that erupted in Dhaka last month before spreading nationwide. Rather than addressing the complaints, Hasina repeated her pattern of ruthless suppression, with over 400 people killed thus far, mostly protesters. This carnage proved the final straw, prompting Bangladeshis to flood the streets, warning they would not end their demonstrations until Hasina’s ouster.
The daughter of Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina was the world’s longest-serving female head of state. Time and Forbes repeatedly named her one of the world’s most powerful people, while The Economist described her as “Asia’s iron lady.” Unfortunately, she often used that power for ill, plummeting Bangladesh in various democracy indices and measures of press freedom. Bangladeshi opposition parties and young people tried to push back against these trends on several occasions, but Hasina’s government met such demonstrations with heavy-handed force. The protests proved the frustration of the common man had crossed all limits and they were unwilling to allow their politicians to continue being irresponsible.
The events that played out in Bangladesh over the past week would prove fodder for scholars for years to come. They revealed the fundamentally brittle nature of Hasina’s regime, which had appeared impervious to any political opposition, and punctured the cult of personality she wove around her father, the country’s founder. In anger over Hasina’s rule, protesters tore down statues of Mujibur Rahman; set fire to a memorial museum; and removed posters and hoardings. Most importantly, Hasina’s downfall came at the hands of a mass grassroots movement unaffiliated with any party but no less capable of reshaping the country’s political landscape. The use of “people power” to do away with a seemingly invincible autocrat is inspiring, but such an inchoate popular uprising also brings great uncertainties. Even as Bangladeshis celebrate the end of the Hasina regime, they may also have reason to worry about what comes next.