FROM A YEAR OF TURMOIL TO A YEAR OF HOPE

We are going through extraordinary times.

- Farid Hossain

The collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s iron-fisted rule of 15-plus years in the face of a student-led mass upsurge had been so sudden that it took us quite a while to realize its magnitude. For Hasina, the fallen leader, it had been a nightmare. But to the rest of the nation, the August 5 changeover had been a case of exalted celebration of the triumph of people’s strength. The yesteryear for Bangladesh began with a sham election on January 7. The now deposed Awami League often contested with its party members to get parliamentary tickets. At first, it seemed the election had saved Hasina and helped her struggling Awami League overcome the political standoff. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which defied widespread crackdown from the AL police and other security forces, especially before the national polls, was looking for an opportunity to get out of the political wilderness.