Every year we struggle with extreme heat. Then the rain comes, to refresh us, to give us relief. Farmers start harvesting jute from their fields, others start preparing their land for cultivation of Aman rice crop.
In vast areas of Bangladesh, Ashar is one of the busiest months of the year. However, urban life rarely shares this experience. In cities, rain is often not welcomed. Newspaper headlines talk of daily life being disrupted due to incessant rain or “bad” weather, while office commuters face inconvenience and hardship.
These are two opposite realities of the same country. For millions of farmers in villages, the fields are their workplace, and rain is a profound blessing. On the contrary, in the city it is often considered a nuisance.
Globally, July is marked by several international “days”. These include World Population Day (11 July), which aims to raise awareness of health and development challenges; World Youth Skills Day (15 July), dedicated to equipping youth with the skills needed to become productive and capable members of society; Nelson Mandela International Day (18 July), which symbolizes the struggle against racism and the pursuit of peace and freedom; and International Tiger Day (29 July), which aims to raise global awareness about the conservation of endangered tigers and their habitats.
These rituals come and go. Government agencies and some NGOs usually mark the occasion by organizing rallies and seminars, in which participants wear matching caps and T-shirts. Afterwards, they are largely forgotten.
However, two years ago, July came to Bangladesh with extraordinary force. The university campus and the streets echoed with the determined steps of the youth. The catalyst was the anti-discrimination student movement. The country entered the longest July in its history – a July that swept away those in power like a devastating flood.
July of 2024 can be viewed from many angles and from many different perspectives. Broadly speaking, two groups of people are associated with this. Some believe that he emerged victorious; For them it was a mass rebellion or revolution. Others believe that he was defeated; Its members see themselves as victims of events and view what happened as the result of a conspiracy.
The conspiracy theory is that a group conspired to overthrow the government because the country was making significant progress. This was unbearable for his enemies. He allegedly instigated the public against the country’s “angelic” leaders and ruined the country.
Many people in Bangladesh believe in this theory. They consider their leader to be “godlike”, a person who is incapable of making mistakes. In his view, the leader did nothing wrong, and no one in the country was a greater patriot than him. He believes that those who did not want the best for the country conspired with foreign enemies to overthrow the government. According to this narrative, the United States was behind this move.
Conspiracy theories are nothing new. We know the history of 1971. Pakistan broke and Bangladesh was born. A lot of blood was shed in this process. Why does this happen? Here, too, conspiracy theories abound. According to one such legend, Pakistan was a golden land flowing with “milk and honey”. Its enemies could not tolerate its success. To fulfill its geopolitical interests, the Soviet Union allegedly used India to break up Pakistan and create Bangladesh. This theory claims that the people of the country did not want separation, nor did they have any resentment against Pakistan.
Conspiracies are as old as history. People who lose often hold on to their losses in an attempt to justify themselves. They describe their own actions as a “plan” while dismissing the actions of those with opposing views as a “conspiracy”. In short, both are same. Sometimes, one overpowers the other. This is how society and history move forward.
Let’s look back at the days of July two years ago. What do we see?
On 1 July, a large number of students and job seekers gathered in front of the Dhaka University Library under the banner of Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, demanding reform of the quota system in government recruitment. From there, they marched to the Raju Memorial Sculpture in front of the Teacher-Student Center (TSC), where they held a rally. In that meeting, he announced boycott of classes and examinations in all universities and colleges till 4 July.
Meanwhile, students of Jahangirnagar University took out a procession on their campus. From 11:57 am, they carried out a symbolic blockade of the Dhaka-Aricha highway for ten minutes. Students of Rajshahi University and Bangladesh Agricultural University also demonstrated in their respective campuses with the same demand. This is how it all started.
It was the ruling authorities who introduced the freedom fighter-Razakar divide into the debate. The students did not demand abolition of the quota reserved for freedom fighters. Rather, he called for proper reform of the quota system
July 14 proved to be a turning point. On her return from China, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her displeasure over the protesting students in a press conference, saying: “Why is there so much resentment towards the liberation war and freedom fighters? Shouldn’t the grandchildren of freedom fighters get jobs? Who should the grandchildren of Razakars (collaborators of the enemy) get them?”
There was a strong reaction to his comment. The anti-discrimination student movement expanded rapidly in both size and strength.
Thousands of students, most of whom were born long after the liberation war, arrived on campuses chanting slogans: “Who are you? Who are we? Razakar, Razakar! Who said this? Who said this? Dictator, dictator!”
Hasina’s supporters seized on only the first part of the slogan and started portraying the movement as being led by Razakars (a term used for those who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh). To save themselves politically and for ulterior motives, they ignored the second part of the slogan, which directly denounced the government as a dictatorship. Some pro-government intellectuals also joined in putting forward this interpretation.
It was the ruling authorities who introduced the freedom fighter-Razakar divide into the debate. The students did not demand abolition of the quota reserved for freedom fighters. Rather, he called for proper reform of the quota system. Sheikh Hasina made this issue political capital. Considering this point helps to explain why such a large number of students became extremely angry with Hasina.
How many freedom fighters and how many Razakars are there in Bangladesh? In my view, their numbers are roughly comparable. There are approximately 200,000 officially recognized freedom fighters. However, most of them did not actually fight inside the country. They were refugees in India, while some were in other countries. He returned to Bangladesh in December 1971. Similarly, the then military government is believed to have officially registered around 100,000 people as Razakars. However, many of them also helped the freedom fighters. Without their tacit approval, we could not cross highways or railway culverts during the liberation war. This is based on my own experience.
In any case, apart from these officially recognized freedom fighters and registered Razakars, there were millions of others. The overwhelming majority supported independent Bangladesh. We can describe them as “non-freedom fighters”. Sheikh Hasina herself is an example. She was not a freedom fighter. In 1971, he led a normal life in Dhaka. Her husband worked regularly at the Atomic Energy Commission throughout the war. This does not make her a king. Nor will I call his children the children of Razakar.
The real question of principle is: Why should the children and grandchildren of the overwhelming majority of “non-freedom fighter” families be subjected to discrimination through the quota system? One more thing is worth considering. If someone fought in the liberation war, what role did that person’s newborn child, or a child born after the war, play in making their parents a freedom fighter? There are many other ways of expressing the nation’s gratitude to those who fought in the liberation war.
As a result, a large number of students joined the anti-discrimination student movement, most of them coming from families that supported Bangladesh’s independence but were not officially recognized as freedom fighters. Soon people from other sections of the society also joined them in solidarity.
The authorities first deployed activists from their affiliated organizations against the protesters and also deployed state security forces. Protestors started being killed. Instead of stopping, the movement gained even more momentum. The death toll increased day by day.
On “33 July” (3 August), slogans echoed from a student rally:
“Resign, resign – Sheikh Hasina must resign.”
This is the order of history.
July has come again. Debate and investigation continues on July 2024.
* Mohiuddin Ahmed is a writer and researcher
*The opinions expressed here are entirely those of the author.
*This column appeared in Bengali in Prothom Alo print and online and has been translated by Ayesha Kabir for Prothom Alo English Online.