On July 18, 2024, internet connection between Bangladesh and the rest of the world was abruptly shut down, leaving the country and the world in the dark on what transpired. The next few weeks were a striking lesson on the fragile, so-called governance, the likes of which Bangladesh had not seen since its deadly 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.

Earlier in June 2024, protests began when the Bangladeshi High Court decided to reinstate a 30 percent quota for government jobs reserved for veterans of the War of Independence. This began a series of peaceful protests across universities that demanded more opportunities for meritorious students. By the second week of July, senior government leaders made incendiary comments, one of them labeling the protestors as “razakars” a term reserved for the anti-liberation movement from 1971. This resulted in clashes between the supporters of the government and protestors and culminated in the death of an unarmed student Abu Sayed. 

The government imposed a curfew and within a week, the Supreme Court revised the quota system for government jobs to 93 percent merit and the rest between freedom fighters, for disabled, third genders and for Indigenous people. However, amongst other demands the students made, it was too little, too late; hundreds of protestors lives’ were already lost in the extreme violence. The carnage fiercely spiraled across the country — from the burning of the national television studio, the death of hundreds of innocent civilians and policemen. It was later learned that the Prime Minister refused to leave and in an unthinkable instance wanted single-handedly to meet head-on with the incoming mob of thousands of students and supporters barreling towards her residence. Overwhelmed by the sheer collective force of the movement, dramatically ended the nearly two-decade rule by the Awami League government — leaving 170 million people to fend for themselves without any law and order.

In an unprecedented event, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus — who was given an honorary doctorate from Yale in 1998 — took the reins of an ailing country after students in Bangladesh made their very public and urgent plea. Professor Yunus has extensive developmental expertise and international connections attached to both national and international accolades that gave the students confidence in his capacity to bring change. This was not the first time that Professor Yunus had been approached to take center stage — it happened once before in 2007 in yet another country-wide shake-up. However, this time, the extreme tribulations came from all corners of the nation and there was no turning back.

Bangladesh since its independence suffered through corruption, unreliable and coerced sociodemographic documentation and pervasive misinformation propelled cascading impacts on people’s lives and the economy. Regardless, significant progress in both infrastructure and the general framework of society cannot be suppressed, so much so that the Human Development Index of Bangladesh is higher than India’s. There has not been a famine in nearly 50 years; the drive of the farmers and policy fed the massive population, from a land mass the size of New York State. Bangladesh has become the second largest garments exporter in the world, a new state-of-the-art airport terminal, extensive bridges and modern highways connecting remote towns and a substantial metro rail system — all geared towards bolstering the economy. Unfortunately, the sudden dark period that fell over Bangladesh has egregiously stained the progress made.

The looming question is once Bangladesh reels through this turbulent period, will the country collectively with Yunus at its helm be able to rebuild, or will it stumble again? 170 million people are at the heels of a barely functioning police force, there is deadly fear amongst the general population of continued mob violence, potential foreign interference and growing financial instability. There are no easy solutions; complex and intricate relationships among students, supporters of the former government, and the sensitive geo-political relations with India — as it is now an interim home to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina — makes it even more challenging for Yunus.

It is important to not forget during the abrupt Bangladesh regime change, that the political chapters of Bangladesh are cyclical to a burden — the deep roots of the two primary powers of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Awami League are strong and ossified into the very fabric of the nation. So, when one party weakens after an election, the winning party quickly fills the shoes in key departments, for better or for worse, and the cycle continues.

While not particularly unique to Bangladesh, political friction has either been extremely eruptive or slow trickling. The entire history is repeated intergenerationally, in an identifiable pattern, oscillating between the two key parties and military regimes depending on the social milieu. To not repeat the violence that ensued, Bangladesh needs urgent and solid reform in its interim governing laws. This must be achieved through progressive strengthening of its founding pillars and secularism — Bangladesh is home to Christians, Hindus and Muslims — for a functional democracy. The founding father of Bangladesh Mujibur Rahman once said “If you declare that your country is an Islamic republic … at once minorities become second class citizens … and my conscience tells me it is against the fundamentals of Islam.” 

Furthermore, state institutions must be geared independently from the oscillating powers. This must be achieved first by ensuring deep reform of the police, public service, judiciary and election commission that has independent members without any financial or personal ties to either political party or internationally. The pillars should be people oriented, focused on public welfare and support, through a multiparty democracy that demands peaceful transfer of power that is timely, regular and fair through participatory national elections.

However, it must be said that the state is a reflection of the nuances of its people, where we, as individuals, have an innate responsibility to ensure the collective wellbeing of society. When a member of society takes part in mob “justice,” which has become common in Bangladesh, they attack the state and its reason for being.

If not cautious in approach, starting with the redesigning of the existential need of the nation’s broken law and enforcement systems, the demons of a sullied past can resurface at a moment’s notice. And just as quickly as the former government fell, nefarious actors can rise from the hostile nodes that remain in ways that are least expected. All the regime changes in the world cannot predict the trajectory of a country and one regime change can harken the beginnings of another in an endless cycle that could end in the failing of any state. 

SHAMS-IL AREFIN ISLAM is an Associate Fellow at Berkeley College. He graduated from the Yale School of the Environment in 2017. A classically trained musician, he currently works on climate mitigation, focusing on insetting carbon within the global supply chain of major companies in the United States and Canada. Previously, he worked for Professor Muhammad Yunus, now the interim head of the Bangladesh government.