Just two years after a student-led uprising ended the nearly 16-year rule of Sheikh Hasina, many fear Bangladesh is slipping backward.
With Hasina, now in exile in India, planning a return in December and critics accusing the current government of failing to deliver on its promises, the country's political future is once again in doubt.
"At the end of the day, we did not see the elimination of discrimination, the creation of an inclusive society, or the new political order that was promised," Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, a professor of international relations at Dhaka University, told DW.
"It seems we are forgetting the very reasons behind the uprising of last July, especially those who came to power."
The protest movement began in 2018 over a controversial quota system for government jobs. In 2024, a court-backed move to reinstate parts of the system sparked fresh demonstrations that grew into a wider anti-government uprising.
