Keeping the July uprising’s promise alive needs a vigilant public
This is an opinion article published in The Daily Star (Bangladesh) on August 5, 2026, written by former economics professor Anu Muhammad, marking the two-year anniversary of the July 2024 Mass Uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina's government. The author argues that the democratic and social aspirations that drove the uprising have largely gone unfulfilled, drawing historical parallels to the 1969 and 1990 uprisings that similarly ended authoritarian regimes promising development. The article identifies five specific failures of the post-uprising period: the rise of mob violence, religious intolerance, and continued state repression; attacks on cultural institutions and minority communities; non-transparent international agreements (including deals with Starlink, LNG suppliers, Japan, and the US) signed without public scrutiny; megaprojects approved without proper expert review or public consent; and the failure of both government and opposition to address systemic inequalities of class, religion, ethnicity, and gender. The author concludes that sustained civic vigilance and public engagement are essential to prevent Bangladesh from reverting to authoritarianism and to keep the uprising's democratic promises alive.
- Attribution
- The Daily Star
- Publisher
- The Daily Star
- Rights
- Rights retained by the original publisher. Archived as a preservation copy for public research, with attribution and a link to the original.
- Persistent ID
- ark:/19160/sydabswjxofev3opx3v2ta6ytni
Cite this source
The Daily Star. "Keeping the July uprising’s promise alive needs a vigilant public." The Daily Star, 2026. July Archive. https://julyarchive.org/sources/keeping-the-july-uprising-s-promise-alive-needs-a-vigilant-p-c0c01959.
Persistent identifier: ark:/19160/sydabswjxofev3opx3v2ta6ytni
Free to use with due credit — please cite the attribution above.