Tawakul Karman, a Yemeni human rights activist known as the “Mother of the Revolution,” once said, “Youth are the revolution. They cannot be stopped, they cannot be suppressed, and they cannot be silenced.” Karman's words came true in Bangladesh on August 5.
On that day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, known as the Iron Lady of Bangladesh, resigned after weeks of deadly protests and fled the country. A nonviolent student movement against the introduction of quotas in the country's government jobs quickly evolved into an anti-government Generation Z revolution. This youth uprising resonated with a society already deeply resentful of the rising cost of living, corruption, and violent suppression of dissent. Sheikh Hasina's Awami League formed the government for the fifth time and was in power for 15 years before being forced to resign due to the intensity of the movement by people from all walks of life. Under his rule, there were allegations of various types of corruption, including vote rigging, irregularities, and elections without a major opposition party.
Signs of such a mass movement are visible across South Asia. It began with the overthrow of the Sri Lankan government. The revolution then spread to Bangladesh, toppling Hasina's government. Now we are seeing signs of it in India and Pakistan. Students in Pakistan are already organizing protests to establish true democracy. Meanwhile, a prominent Indian Congress leader has warned that future political unrest in India will have the same outcome as in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He predicted that one day, like in riot-ravaged Bangladesh, people in India will storm and occupy Prime Minister Modi's official residence.
Two years ago, in 2022, people from all walks of life in Sri Lanka began a movement to end the corrupt rule of the Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka. As a result, Sri Lanka's dynastic politics collapsed. The Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) won a majority in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections and formed the government. However, most of the party's ministers were from the Rajapaksa family. Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the head of the government. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the president. Chamal Rajapaksa was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Namal Rajapaksa was Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, and Basil Rajapaksa was Minister of Finance. The opposition parties accused the government of nepotism.
In 2021, the Sri Lankan economy collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tourism-based economy became almost fragile. The approval rating of the Rajapaksa government began to decline in 2021 due to poor economic management. In addition, the ban on the use of chemical fertilizers led to a serious food crisis at one point. The decline in the exchange rate of the national currency and the rise in food prices accelerated inflation, and the restrictions on tourism due to the pandemic further reduced the country's income. Imports also decreased as the government was unable to conserve reserves. As remittances decreased, GDP also collapsed. Furthermore, the government's mega-projects with high budgets were unproductive. At one point, a movement to overthrow the government began, and Mahindra Rajapaksa was forced to resign. The Sri Lankan national movement was successful.
The world witnessed one such mass uprising during the Arab Spring that began in 2010. The mass awakening in which people in the Arab world organized for various demands became known as the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring began on December 17, 2010 in Tunisia. An educated and unemployed young man named Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit seller, set himself on fire in protest against police corruption and misconduct. From that day onwards, the movement to overthrow dictator Ben Ali began. The Arab Spring protests led to the downfall of dictator Ben Ali in Tunisia on January 14, 2011. The mass protests that began in Tunisia spread to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and other Arab countries.
The Arab Spring was caused by government corruption, dictatorship, human rights violations, unemployment, extreme poverty, a weak economy, and rising food prices. People in various Arab countries united against dictators and launched anti-government movements to seek freedom from long-standing dictatorships. As a result, Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years, was ousted on February 11, 2011. Muammar al-Qaddafi was killed in Libya on October 20 of the same year, ending his 42-year rule. The Arab Spring sparked major uprisings in Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, and smaller uprisings in Iraq, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Syria.
Recently, student and public movements have been observed in various South Asian countries. In India, the BJP, a hardline Hindutva party, is in power. The Modi government has been heavily criticized for several controversial activities such as politicizing religion, providing special benefits to businessmen, the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, and interference in the politics of other countries. Recently, insurgencies have been seen at different times in the northeastern Indian states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, and Nagaland. The Jammu and Kashmir issue has also intensified since 2019. The decision to change the status of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate Union Territories was taken on August 5, 2019, when the Indian government abrogated Article 35A of the Constitution. There is also an ongoing movement to create a separate Sikh state named Khalistan. The proposed Khalistan would consist of the Pakistani and Indian states of Punjab, as well as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. India is also concerned about the collapse of pro-India governments in neighbouring countries. Anti-BJP sentiment is growing in India as people there are increasingly weary of the strict Hindu nationalist stance of Modi's party, the BJP.
Like Bangladesh, students in another South Asian country, Pakistan, are also calling for a movement to restore the country's constitution and revitalize the student government. The movement was called for by the Insaf Students Federation (ISF), the student wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and is demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the restoration of true democracy in the country. Inspired by the student movement in Bangladesh that toppled the government of Sheikh Hasina, the ISF called for the protests, according to a report from Pakistan's popular media outlet Dawn.
The current Prime Minister of Pakistan is Shahbaz Sharif of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Sharif won the elections held in February 2024 and formed a government. However, in that election, the party of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was banned and PTI candidates were not allowed to run under the party's election symbol. Furthermore, the election was tainted by allegations of vote rigging and delays in the counting of votes. These allegations led to widespread protests and unrest across the country. ISF Chairman Arslan Hafeez and Vice President Amjad Ali said Pakistan is currently under a “fascist regime.” Apart from this, the people are suffering from excessive electricity bills and taxes, and unprecedented inflation. It remains to be seen whether Shahbaz Sharif's government will be toppled by the student movement that began, or whether the agitators will be crushed by the government.
Similar to the Arab Spring, movements against governments are slowly building in South Asian countries. Mass protests have already been successful in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is entirely possible that we could see a new spring of political instability in other South Asian countries in the not-too-distant future.
