Why 2025 is a crucial year for Bangladesh

January 2, 2025

DHAKA – This New Year is dramatically different from any other New Year we have celebrated. Our nation has gone through a profound transition, one that has brought with it unimaginable possibilities and extraordinary opportunities. The most remarkable part is that one of the least empowered and apparently most politically apathetic sections of the population—the youth—has become a serious political force.

What began as a student-led uprising—sparked by the injustices of an entrenched and repressive government—became the rallying cry for freedom. These young people, some of whom paid the ultimate price for their convictions, have done what seemed impossible: they have united the people, toppled a government that turned into a grotesque parody of power, and forged a path towards a new political order. Standing in the face of live ammunition, willing to sacrifice their lives, they showed a courage that will resonate in the nation’s memory for generations. We cannot—and must not—forget the lives lost in this struggle, or the thousands whose bodies bear the permanent scars of their fight for justice.

Against the backdrop of such intense events that include the people’s uprising led by students in July-August, and the four months that followed with the interim government taking the helm, let us recap some of the most critical lessons of 2024 as we look forward to 2025.

We are not powerless

The events of last summer were a stark reminder: we are not a powerless people. The uprising demonstrated, in the most instinctive way, that when a critical mass of people are determined, when they come together in unity, anything is possible. Change does not happen by accident, nor does it come through patience in the face of