We all probably have one or more clothes in our drawers or closets where the label says “made in Bangladesh”.

This country of 170 million people largely supports its economy from manufacturing in this sector, although in recent years there have been signs of fatigue in the textile sector, which lifted millions of people out of poverty, which is not unrelated to the economy problems, which the country now faces, after a period of economic growth.

For a position in the Government

Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why a position in the State is so sought after and was finally the reason for the large anti-government demonstrations, when the absolute ruler of the country for 15 years, Sheikh Hasina, decided to… return to the past and restore criteria for the recruitments to government positions, which were considered cut and sewn to suit the followers of her party.

The sequel is more or less familiar. The students, who have been protesting non-stop for weeks in the capital Dhaka, forced her to flee at the last minute, seeking refuge abroad, just before angry mobs stormed the prime minister’s palace.

Such events do not happen often in the 21st century, so this particular development deserves a little more attention. Especially the fact that the escape of the autocratic lady was not the result of a coup, but the action of a young, mainly student movement outside party walls, which other elements probably tried to invade or invaded.

Old-fashioned bipartisanship

But the biggest fear now is that the place of the iron lady’s party, the Awami League, could be taken by the Nationalist Party (BNR) of its sworn enemy Khaleda Zia, who was under house arrest and is now free. Which would just be “same flavor but different brand”. These two parties have dominated the political life of Bangladesh since the young country gained its independence from Pakistan in 1971. Accusations of corruption and authoritarianism are a tradition in this antiquated bipartisanship and are unfortunately not unfounded.

The question that foreign observers are now asking is whether an alternative modernist force could emerge from the student movement. For this to happen, time will be needed, which Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who was sworn in as interim prime minister just four days after Hasina’s “disappearance,” will have to give without… overdoing it.

The task of the 84-year-old economist will not be easy at all as the tension of the last weeks, the hatred that characterized the confrontation cannot but leave indelible marks on society. Attacks on the offices or homes of officials of the hitherto ruling party are indicative of the hatred that exists between the rivals. As it was typically written: “Hasina ruled by force and only by force could she leave.”

Force-fed

It is something that to some extent is “justified” by her resume. As the daughter of Majibur Rahman, the country’s first leader after the bloody liberation, she saw her father first rise to glory, then turn into an authoritarian leader and finally be murdered by his enemies in 1975 along with almost all of his family members , except for Hasina herself and a sister who fled to India, returning only in 1981. From then on she became involved in politics. It was again a rebellion that ended the dictatorship in 1990, but it was Zia’s rival BNP that won the election.

Their rivalry dates back to that time, which took on the characteristics of a personal vendetta, with Hasina gaining the “upper hand” in 2009 and creating a suffocating framework to preserve her power. The last elections last January, for example, were characterized as a “parody” and the opposition had boycotted them. Now Hasina has migrated without return, and Zia, in shaky health and the aforementioned equally gray past, is not considered capable of changing the course of history in the country.

Yunus’ bet

The moderate by nature Yunus thus won the “vote” of the students and the military establishment accepted him to prevent new disturbances. In essence, however, the difficult times now begin for him. Expectations are high, some are hungry for revenge, the military is watching and the students still don’t have a comprehensive political proposal that could bring something truly new to the country. It is a question of whether they will succeed.

It is one thing to strive to overthrow a corrupt and authoritarian power, which has begun to “rot” from the inside, and very “other” to propose something fresh and above all unifying to a society divided and in turmoil. The participation of two representatives of the movement in the transitional government is certainly not enough either. Aggression against the Hindu community was already a bad sign of the last days. The excitement of the first hour will not last indefinitely.