If the events of the past month or so have proven one thing, it is this: The spirit of young Bangladeshis -- especially once their blood has been spilled and when they unite together for a greater good -- cannot be vanquished.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation came suddenly, but the writing had been on the wall. As the crisis deepened, her position became less and less tenable. With Sunday seeing deaths in the triple digits, it was apparent that the situation was beyond her control, and that the nation had lost confidence in her and her administration. Her resignation was the right thing to do.
As has been observed many times over the past month, this was a slow-motion tragedy, and there were many points at which the crisis could have been de-escalated or resolved. Sadly, this didn't happen, and the situation just grew worse and worse, as the death toll mounted and instability grew, and with it the anger and unhappiness of the populace, until there was no way back.
Time and time again, the administration had the opportunity to resolve the issues it was facing, to right their wrongs, to listen, to face up to its actions, and act in a manner befitting a dignified, democratic government of the people. Instead, these were squandered, where leaders, including the prime minister herself, continually misjudged the public mood and failed to de-escalate the situation and led us to where the nation finds itself today.
While there is tentative new hope in Bangladesh today, we must remember that these are uncharted territories for us as a nation. We must not make the mistakes previous administrations have made, distancing themselves from the needs and concerns of the people, and acting without transparency and commitment.
Moving forward, we need to make sure that we act constitutionally, consultatively, and inclusively, and that above all the rule of law remains sacrosanct. Together we can do this, create a system that works for the long-suffering people of this land and puts their concerns and their aspirations first.
This crisis has engendered an opportunity for us to fix the deep-rooted problems in our system that have been dragging us down for so long, and to create a functional, sustainable, democratic future for our nation.
