How Are Bangladeshi Students Facing the Counter-Revolution?

Recent media coverage has largely celebrated the role of students in the ousting of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, portraying it as a student-led revolution.

However, this narrative overlooks the significant involvement of the military, including the strategic dispatch of the so-called “Iron Lady” to India, and the military's reemergence as the ultimate authority in Bangladesh's political landscape.

'Quiet Coup'

Indian author Brahma Chellaney argues that the change in government in Bangladesh—home to the world’s eighth-largest population—was, in reality, a quiet military coup concealed behind a civilian facade.

Chellaney suggests that by establishing an interim civilian government composed solely of “advisors,” the military coup leaders effectively avoided U.S.-led sanctions and bolstered a romanticized Western media narrative of a student-driven “revolution.”

The appointment of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the “principal adviser” of this interim administration, he notes, was a calculated move to mask the military’s dominance.

With no clear limits on the interim administration’s powers, Yunus and his fellow advisers are largely operating under the directives of senior military figures, particularly army chief General Waker Zaman, who is seen as the true power behind the scenes.

This advisory group includes two student leaders from the protests, a hardline Islamist figure, and two retired army generals—one of whom has been tasked with restoring order in the country.

Chellaney clarifies that while the student-led protests, supported by Islamists, did play a role in challenging Hasina’s increasingly autocratic 15-year rule, it was the military’s withdrawal of support that ultimately sealed her fate.

As the protests intensified, the military’s refusal to enforce a government-ordered lockdown in Dhaka compromised Hasina’s security, leading to her eventual departure from the country.

According to Chellaney, Hasina’s exile was not an impulsive decision by the military but a key element of a well-conceived plan for an indirect takeover.

The international repercussions of assassinating or imprisoning a sitting prime minister were deemed too high by the military leadership, making forced exile the preferable option.

This coup set off a cycle of political instability that has hindered the growth of democracy in Bangladesh, leading to frequent periods of military rule in the country

Despite lacking a regional rival, Bangladesh maintains a large army of over 200,000 personnel, whose focus has shifted from external defense to political influence.

The military, Chellaney notes, has long sought to exert control through civilian governments when not ruling directly.

For years, Hasina managed to keep both the military and Islamist militancy in check. But her appointment of Zaman as army chief just weeks before her ouster proved to be a miscalculation.

Zaman, who is married to Hasina’s cousin, allegedly used the student protests to orchestrate her downfall, allowing violence to spiral beyond the control of police and paramilitary forces.

Safeguarding the Revolution

The "Student Movement Against Discrimination" in Bangladesh is urgently working to safeguard its revolution, which led to the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, from potential coup attempts and to prevent any counter-revolutionary efforts.

There are growing concerns that the former ruling Awami League party might attempt to reclaim power, even if it means resorting to violence and arbitrary arrests.

In response, the movement recently initiated what it calls “Resistance Week,” a series of escalating actions aimed at reinforcing the revolution’s achievements and countering any efforts to undermine them.

The Bangladeshi youth, it seems, are keenly aware of the lessons from other global uprisings, particularly the Arab Spring, which faltered in many cases due to a failure to secure their hard-won gains against the forces of the old regime backed by Western influence through regional proxies such as the UAE. 

One of the student movement's first actions following Hasina's ouster was to pursue accountability for those involved in the mass killings of protesters during the revolution.

More than 450 people were reportedly killed by police and army fire, prompting the Bangladesh War Crimes Tribunal—originally established by Hasina herself—to launch three investigations into these incidents.

Ataur Rahman, the tribunal's deputy director of investigations, confirmed that preliminary evidence is being gathered, with a list of names of those implicated in the violence being prepared for formal trials.

Parallel to these investigations, at least 15 lawsuits have been filed against the exiled Prime Minister, accusing her of crimes against humanity and targeting political opponents.

During Hasina's tenure, over 100 political adversaries were executed, with thousands more allegedly killed extrajudicially.

The interim government’s Justice Minister, Asif Nadhrul, has announced plans to establish an international court under United Nations supervision to prosecute those involved in these crimes.

Additionally, all charges filed against demonstrators in recent weeks are expected to be dropped by the end of the month.

Removing Pillars

The movement has also focused on dismantling the key structures of Hasina’s regime, adhering to the principle that successful revolutions must remove the pillars of the old order—the military, police, judiciary, and media—before new institutions can be built.

The student activists have called for the trial of leaders from the former ruling Awami League party and their collaborators, holding them responsible for the crimes and abuses that brought the country to its current state.

In tandem with these calls, a wave of arrests has targeted prominent figures from the fallen regime, including former Justice Minister Anisul Haq, Sheikh Hasina’s economic advisor Salman Farhan, Foreign Minister Hassan Mahmood, and Communications Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

These individuals are accused of orchestrating the internet shutdown during the protests, among other offenses.

Faced with the threat of a forced takeover, Hasan resigned, along with several appellate judges, who were seen as key enforcers of the old regime’s repressive tactics, including the imprisonment and execution of political opponents.

The purge extended to the military, where several generals implicated in past corruption were removed.

The revolutionaries have even called for the execution of Defense Minister Waker Zaman and other top military officials for their roles in the crimes committed during Hasina’s rule.

At the police level, a significant reshuffle has occurred, with 30 senior officers replaced, including the heads of the Special Branch, the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Dhaka Police.

The sweeping changes also affected the Rapid Action Force, the Army Institute of Science and Technology, the Military College and Academy, the Directorate General of Military Intelligence, National Security Intelligence, and the Ansar and Rural Defence Forces, all of whom were retired.

Finally, attention has turned to the media, the fourth pillar of the old regime’s corruption.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has frozen the bank accounts of former Information Minister Mohammad Ali Arafat and his family, while key media figures linked to the previous government have been ousted.

The student movement remains vigilant, aware that the future of their revolution depends on their ability to dismantle the remnants of Hasina’s regime and build new institutions that reflect the values and aspirations of the uprising.