What the students of Bangladesh did in bringing down the despots who had the backing of the mightiest of regions is unparalleled in the Indo-Pak-Bangladesh subcontinent. Through their disciplined and cohesive movement, they ousted the country's longest-serving Prime Minister, won over the army's support for a democratically elected government, recommitted the country to its pluralistic character, assured the citizens of dignity to all, and helped a Nobel Prize winner run the country for the good of all.
It is a feat the students of India, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka could only dream in South Asia. Pakistan, in its 78-year history, could not inspire its youth to challenge dictators and army generals and stand for a plural and progressive society. Its younger generation, divided based on ethnicity, religious factionalism, and religious fanaticism, could not identify fellow citizens as equal humans deserving dignity and equality. Under the leadership of religious bigots, extremists, and directionless liberals, the youth succumbed to the culture of slavery to the power elites.
Caste and religious differences in India promoted a culture of hatred and violence, dividing the strength of the youth to destroy others based on a false notion of cultural superiority. The story of Sri Lanka is not different. In Bangladesh, youth from all walks of life came out to the streets, offering their lives to make their homeland an abode of peace and progress for all.
Over 65 percent of Bangladesh's population is under 35, predicting a bright future for its people. No wonder, Bangladesh can emerge as the Japan of South Asia. The youth are enthusiastic, proud of their cultural heritage and linguistic bondage, and understand the challenges of the time. They are hardworking, dignified, and self-respecting and have experienced a history of repression, first at the hands of the power elites of Pakistan and then the local despots who tried to sell out the soul of the country to neighboring India, especially under its Hindutva-led government.
Like other nations of South Asia, Bangladesh faces severe challenges from the Hindutva forces in India. The Hindu militant organization RSS has designed to forcibly convert the vast population of Sindh, Balochistan, Bengal, and Punjab to its version of Hinduism. It used the Hindu population of the area to foment trouble and constantly created tensions with Muslims. It uses its paid agents to promote violence against minorities to destabilize the country.
India's political and military designs under the Hindutva government are well known. During the recent student movement, it tried to play the hatred card by circulating old videos of riots between Muslims and Hindus, trying to find a pretext to weaken the movement of democracy.
The student movement and the emerging leadership exposed the propaganda of the RSS-led groups not only physically protecting places of worship of minorities but also visiting their neighborhoods, assuring constitutional rights to all.
Unlike the unruly mobs led by Hindutva gangs in India, they did not lynch innocent citizens or bulldozed homes of minorities. Instead, they guarded places of worship, risking their lives.
This spirit of citizenry will usher Bangladesh into an era of unparalleled peace and progress. All it needs to do is be vigilant of the designs of the Hindutva forces that want to burn those who do not subscribe to their racist and supremacist ideology into the fire of hatred and bigotry.
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