Islamabad - According to official data, the number of deaths in the ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh has exceeded 150. However, according to Bangladeshi media, at least 210 people, mostly young people, have lost their lives and thousands have been injured.
Some restrictions have been eased after the court ruling and protests over the quota system, but social media platforms and educational institutions remain closed.
Increased distrust of government
Barrister Rahul Quddus Kazal, the leader of the country's largest opposition party Bangladesh National Party, says that the protests have fueled public suspicions against the ruling party in the country for 16 years.
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Speaking to DW, Kazal said the government must now abandon the idea that it has a license to do whatever it wants for the next five years.
Bangladesh: The situation calm but tense, twelve hundred arrests so far
Awami League's approach to the movement
The state reaction against the protesters was harsh. In the capital Dhaka alone, more than 200,000 people were named in at least 200 cases for rioting and violence during the protests. According to media reports, over 12 days, thousands of people were arrested, including at least 253 students.
Anti-government protests in Bangladesh, opposition leader arrested
Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Naseem acknowledged the government's mismanagement and acknowledged the leadership gap. He further informed that any future policy will be determined through discussions within the ruling party.
'So-called democracy is not acceptable'
However, it may not be easy for things to return to normal right now.
Ali Riaz, a Bangladeshi expert and professor at the University of Illinois USA says that the effects of the protests on the ruling party are already clear.
Has Sheikh Hasina opposed democracy?
The government tried to create a fake impression of democracy through somewhat dubious elections but that era is now over he told DW.
This government, which already had no moral justification, now has no other option but to use force to preserve its power.
Emergence of new political leadership
According to political scientist Tasnim Siddiqui, this movement has demonstrated an unprecedented ability to effectively mobilize people without any central leadership.
He told DW that due to one party being in power for 16 consecutive years, the country's system has turned into a personal dictatorship, where every problem is addressed to the prime minister.
According to Siddiqui, the movement is challenging the existing political culture. Moreover, the political rivalry between Awami League and BNP neither benefited the youth nor improved the political landscape.
Arrests and deaths but the Bangladeshi students won!
The youth of the country don't like this kind of politics she says. If these two parties do not understand this, they will not be able to rule. He believes that a third major party may emerge as a result of this movement.
Bangladesh: The Supreme Court rejected the court order to restore the quota system
Ali Riaz says that the government has crossed all limits through the politics of oppression. They believe that despite some success in suppressing the movement through the power of the government, the movement will not end
