A miracle has happened in Bangladesh within a period of just 36 days – from July 1 to August 5. The heroes of this revolution is known as Generation-Z or the Zoomers, more specifically the students who were born between 1995 and 2010. If we look back at this amazing event, the revolution materialized due to the rampant discriminations over the years by the Hasina regime. The first round of this movement took place in 2018, when Hasina virtually capitulated to the students’ demand for reforming the quota system by abolishing it. She miscalculated the revolt of the Generation-Z, and therefore had to pay a heavy price by resigning and fleeing the country. Despite not having any experience of political movements, the Gen-Z warriors were successful as they were dedicated, smart and tech-savvy youngsters having long experience of networking through the social media. Another advantage they enjoyed was that they were mostly outside the surveillance of Hasina’s security establishment, as they did not have any notable political identity. Consequently, it was easy for them to communicate seamlessly through the virtual media. The first major protest program of the Zen-G was the ‘Bangla Blockade’ on July 7, when the whole country came to a standstill. This was followed up with road and railway blockades on July 8. Then came July 16, the beginning of the end for Hasina. The fearless and courageous posture of Gen-Z, Abu Sayeed – stood bravely before the policemen with open arms. He was shot dead and this engulfed the whole of Bangladesh soon afterwards. The incident set in huge protests across Bangladesh participated by all segments of people, which resulted in numerous deaths and injuries. Nevertheless, the ruthless regime did not stop. Over 12 thousand activists were indiscriminately put behind bars between July 26 and 31. Thousands of protesting people gathered at the Central Martyrs’ Monument of capital Dhaka on August 3. As many as. 111 people were killed on August 4. In the above backdrop, the Gen-Z students immediately switched to their 1-point demand of Hasina’s resignation. The patriotic armed forces of Bangladesh intimated that they would not open fire on the unarmed civilians of Bangladesh. And finally, on August 5, Hasina was compelled to flee the country. Thus a dictatorial government fell and a new Bangladesh was born.
