Students In Charge

Two black vehicles, their hoods adorned with Bangladesh’s national flag, idled late one recent evening in a parking lot at the University of Dhaka, in the nation’s capital.

The cars were waiting for two students, both 26. Just a week before, they were hounded leaders of a youth-driven mass uprising against the country’s seemingly unbreakable prime minister. Now, after her astonishing ouster, they’re leaders of the country’s interim government.

Young people milled around these unlikeliest of government officials, asking questions and taking selfies. On a nearby pillar, spray-painted graffiti declared: “Revolution is not a dinner party.”

On August 5, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned and fled the country after 15 consecutive years in power—forced out by young protesters who said they were fed up with her increasingly authoritarian rule. They had poured into streets around the country since July, frustrated by a lack of opportunity in Bangladesh and demanding the promise of better-paying jobs.

Two black vehicles waited late one night in a parking lot at the University of Dhaka, in Bangladesh’s capital. Their hoods were adorned with the national flag.

The cars were waiting for two students, both 26. Just a week before, the students were wanted leaders of a youth-driven mass uprising against the country’s prime minister. Now, after her astonishing departure, they’re leaders of the country’s interim government.

Young people hung around these unlikely government officials, asking questions and taking selfies. On a nearby pillar, spray-painted graffiti declared: “Revolution is not a dinner party.”

On August 5, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned and fled the country. After serving for 15 consecutive years, she was forced out by young protesters who said they were fed up with her increasingly authoritarian rule. Since July, protesters took to the streets around the country. They were frustrated by a lack of opportunity in Bangladesh and demanded the promise of better-paying jobs.

Driving their anger was a system that set aside 30 percent of lucrative government jobs for the descendants of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan. Hasina said war veterans deserved the highest respect, but the students said the quotas benefited her supporters, and the students wanted the policy replaced with a merit-based system.

The protests began peacefully but escalated into violence when the government shut down the universities and internet service, and sent in police and paramilitary forces, who fired tear gas and bullets at the protesters. Over four tumultuous weeks, some 300 people died. Hasina fled to India by helicopter as demonstrators stormed her official residence in Dhaka and other buildings associated with her family.

The student-led uprising was the biggest challenge ever faced by Hasina, who’d once had the world’s admiration for her policies that brought economic growth to Bangladesh and lifted millions out of poverty. But experts point to some poor policy decisions—mostly benefiting the wealthy—that eventually led to steep inflation, joblessness, and discontent.

Driving their anger was a system that set aside 30 percent of high-paying government jobs for the descendants of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan. Hasina said war veterans deserved the highest respect. The students said the quotas benefited her supporters, and they wanted the policy replaced with a merit-based system.

The protests began peacefully but escalated into violence when the government shut down the universities and internet service. Police and paramilitary forces were sent in and fired tear gas and bullets at the protesters. Over four tumultuous weeks, some 300 people died. Hasina fled to India by helicopter.  Demonstrators stormed her official residence in Dhaka and other buildings associated with her family.

The student-led uprising was the biggest challenge Hasina ever faced. She once had the world’s admiration for her policies that brought economic growth to Bangladesh and lifted millions out of poverty. But experts point to some poor policy decisions that benefited the wealthy and led to steep inflation, joblessness, and discontent.

It’s up to young people now to set a new course for Bangladesh, a nation of 169 million people, born in a bloody rupture from Pakistan five decades ago and marked by political violence, religious tensions, and income inequality ever since (see timeline, below).

It’s unclear how long the interim government will last, or whether it can produce results.  It faces the daunting task of stabilizing the economy and relieving the economic stresses that sent the protesters into the streets in the first place.

It’s up to young people now to set a new course for Bangladesh. It is a nation of 169 million people, born in a bloody rupture from Pakistan fifty years ago. Ever since, it has been marked by political violence, religious tensions, and income inequality (see timeline, below).

It’s unclear how long the interim government will last, or whether it can produce results. It faces overwhelming tasks. It will have to stabilize the economy and relieve the economic stresses that caused the protests in the first place.

To lead the transition, the students have called on 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, an economist who pioneered the idea of microfinance—providing loans to low-income people so they can start businesses. He’s accepted the mantle of handpicked grandfatherly figure for what the students describe as “generational transformation.”

“This is what the youth of the country wanted, and I wanted to help them to do it,” Yunus says. “It’s not my dream, it’s their dream.”

Nahid Islam, 26, a protest leader who says he’d been blindfolded and tortured by police, acknowledges that the students were unprepared for what happened after the prime minister fled.

 “The day Hasina resigned,” he says, “we realized everyone wanted to hear from us—what’s next for Bangladesh? How will Bangladesh be governed? How will the government be formed?”

To lead the transition, the students have called on 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. He is an economist who pioneered the idea of microfinance, a practice of providing loans to low-income people so they can start businesses. Yunus accepted the mantle of handpicked grandfatherly figure for what the students describe as “generational transformation.”

“This is what the youth of the country wanted, and I wanted to help them to do it,” Yunus says. “It’s not my dream, it’s their dream.”

Nahid Islam, 26, a protest leader who says he’d been blindfolded and tortured by police, acknowledges that the students were unprepared for what happened after the prime minister fled.

 “The day Hasina resigned,” he says, “we realized everyone wanted to hear from us—what’s next for Bangladesh? How will Bangladesh be governed? How will the government be formed?”

He and a second leader, Asif Mahmud, 26, are two of the 17 ministers in the cabinet. Mahmud oversees the ministry of youth and sports. Islam heads the information technology ministry, which puts him in charge of the internet Hasina had shut down to try to halt the movement.

The student leaders say the country must break from the way it has been run for most of its history.

Since independence, power had swung between two dynastic political parties. It was an often violent and murderous rivalry.

Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the independence movement in 1971 and became the first prime minister of independent Bangladesh. Four years later, when he’d become president, he was assassinated in a military coup. These stories have been told in Bangladesh for generations, but they have much less meaning for young people than they did for their grandparents.

Student leader Mahfuj Alam, 26, says he’d like to see a new political settlement founded on three principles: dignity, compassion, and responsibility.

“This generation is really, really aspiring for real changes,” says Alam, “not mere talking or blabbering about some families, about some histories, about some glories.”

He and a second leader, Asif Mahmud, 26, are two of the 17 ministers in the cabinet. Mahmud oversees the ministry of youth and sports. Islam heads the information technology ministry. He is now in charge of the internet Hasina had shut down to try to halt the movement.

The student leaders say the country must break from the way it has been run for most of its history.

Since independence, power had swung between two dynastic political parties. Often it was a violent and murderous rivalry.

Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the independence movement in 1971 and became the first prime minister of independent Bangladesh. Four years later, when
he’d become president, he was assassinated in a military coup. These stories have been told in Bangladesh for generations, but they have much less meaning for young people than they did for their grandparents.

Student leader Mahfuj Alam, 26, says he’d like to see a new political settlement founded on three principles: dignity, compassion, and responsibility.

“This generation is really, really aspiring for real changes,” says Alam, “not mere talking or blabbering about some families, about some histories, about some glories.”

The immediate task for the fledgling government is to restore law and order. Hasina’s departure triggered a near-total collapse of the state, continuing a wave of violence, including revenge killings and arson. The country’s long-persecuted Hindu minority, in particular, is gripped with fear.

The military, with its own history of abuses, has been deployed to guard the police. Almost all of the country’s police officers have gone into hiding, afraid of reprisals for the force’s role in the protest crackdown.

The interim government is trying to lure police officers back to work and reduce the toxicity associated with them. In a first step toward a return to a uniformed presence, young cadets and scouts have been placed at traffic circles.

In one stands Tahia, an 18-year-old cadet who’s directing traffic with six other young women. A man waits quietly nearby on the footpath, occasionally pulling out a bottle of water to give to Tahia. It’s her father.

Asked what he does for a living, the man grins nervously. He whispers in a reporter’s ear: “Both her parents are police constables.”

The immediate task for the new government is to restore law and order. Hasina’s departure triggered a near-total collapse of the state, continuing a wave of violence, including revenge killings and arson. The country’s long-persecuted Hindu minority, in particular, is fearful.

The military, with its own history of abuses, has been deployed to guard the police. Almost all of the country’s police officers have gone into hiding. They are afraid of punishment for the force’s role in the protest crackdown.

The interim government is trying to get police officers back to work and reduce the toxicity associated with them. In a first step, young cadets and scouts in uniform have been placed at traffic circles.

In one stands Tahia, an 18-year-old cadet who’s directing traffic with six other young women. A man waits nearby, occasionally pulling out a bottle of water to give to Tahia. It’s her father.

Asked what he does for a living, the man grins nervously. He whispers in a reporter’s ear: “Both her parents are police constables.”

So it’s the students who are managing traffic—checking licenses and reminding people to use helmets. The punishments they’re doling out to rule breakers are straight out of the classroom: an hour of standing for a wrong turn, 30 minutes for not wearing a seat belt.

One female student, who looks no older than 16, tries to ease traffic on a busy street, shouting what are more pleas than orders to every bhaiya— Bengali for brother.

“Bhaiya—helmet!” she implores one man racing by on his motorbike. “Bhaiya—footpath, footpath!” she yells at a group of pedestrians.

In another part of the city where some of the worst violence took place, Salman Khan, 17, and two other students man an intersection, pulling aside the fanciest of cars. What are they looking for?

“Black money, black money,” Salman says, explaining that Hasina’s senior officials are on the run, some carrying illegally obtained cash.

Students are managing traffic—checking licenses and reminding people to use helmets. The punishments they’re giving rule breakers are straight out of the classroom, including an hour of standing for a wrong turn or 30 minutes for not wearing a seat belt.

One female student, who looks no older than 16, tries to ease traffic on a busy street. She shouts what are more pleas than orders to every bhaiya (Bengali for brother).

“Bhaiya—helmet!” she implores one man racing by on his motorbike. “Bhaiya—footpath, footpath!” she yells at a group of pedestrians.

In another part of the city where some of the worst violence took place, Salman Khan, 17, and two other students man an intersection. They pull aside the fanciest of cars. What are they looking for?

“Black money, black money,” Salman says. Many of Hasina’s senior officials are on the run, he explains, some carrying illegally obtained cash.

Outside Hasina’s sprawling official residence, which protesters have looted, a teenager sits on a chair and speaks nonstop on a phone. This is her duty station. An army soldier calls on her for something, and she holds out her free hand in a motion meant to silence him. That single gesture encapsulates all that has suddenly changed in Bangladesh.

In toppling Hasina, the students showed that they have a mobilizing power that the organized parties lack. Those parties, they say, have been discredited by the kind of politics that ignored the young nation’s aspirations.

“If we go to our homes right now, there will be no change,” Alam, the student leader says. “We don’t want to let them relax.”

Outside Hasina’s sprawling official residence, which protesters have looted, a teenager sits on a chair and speaks nonstop on a phone. This is her duty station. An army soldier calls on her for something. She holds out her free hand in a motion meant to silence him—a single gesture that encapsulates all that has suddenly changed in Bangladesh.

In toppling Hasina, the students showed that they have a mobilizing power that the organized parties lack. Those parties, they say, have been discredited by the kind of politics that ignored the young nation’s aspirations.

“If we go to our homes right now, there will be no change,” Alam, the student leader says. “We don’t want to let them relax.”

Mujib Mashal and Saif Hasnat cover Southeast Asia for The New York Times.